Linked Up: 10/28/11

December 13, 2011

Each week I'll post links to stories that interest me most during my travels in online sports land. I was going to wait for next week for this first installment, but these seemed worthy of telling you about now.

See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link.

Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown eager for long-awaited playoff games in first season of eight-man football bracket (Bay City Times)

These two teams provide multiple reasons why 8-player football has been such a strong addition -- most notably, it is providing our smallest schools with an opportunity to still play football despite fewer players, and succeed. The sport took off in this state in 2009, and this weekend mark the start of the first MHSAA 8-player Tournament. Akron-Fairgrove will play its first postseason game since 1992, while Owendale-Gagetown will play its first since 1979.

Olivet's Peters coaching his heart out (Battle Creek Enquirer)

I covered Olivet and coach Dean Peters for more than a decade, including during last season's first-ever Eagles run to the MHSAA football finals. One of the great people in high school coaching, he needed emergency double-bypass surgery earlier this month but is back in the coaching booth. Olivet faces Lansing Catholic in a Pre-District game.

Megan Hubbard a standout for Hanover-Horton cross country (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)

This is a neat story about a runner who is second-best on her team and has never won a race -- but also is likely the second-best to ever run at her school. Usually, we hear only about who finishes first.

Standley Lake football player Rhett Gutierrez overcomes eye disease (The Denver Post)
 
Almost always, links I post will be Michigan-related. But this story is just incredible. We've seen athletes with different degrees of vision impairment do incredible things in high school athletics. But this is the first time I've heard of someone overcoming that obstacle to play quarterback for his football team.

Today in the MHSAA: 1/21/25

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 21, 2025

1. COMPETITIVE CHEER Gibraltar Carlson scored nearly 800 points to get past Rochester and win the Pat Christiansen Memorial Classic – Southgate News-Herald

2. WRESTLING Kingsford claimed the Upper Peninsula Championships – Upper Michigan’s Source

3. SWIMMING & DIVING Midland Dow – No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – won the Tri-Cities Championship for the 22nd-consecutive season – Bay City Times

4. WRESTLING Division 3 No. 5 Whitehall won the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association title for the 18th time over the last 19 seasons – Local Sports Journal

5. HOCKEY Division 3 No. 2 Houghton downed Division 2 No. 7 Grandville 6-3 on Friday and then Division 1 No. 8 Northville 2-0 on Saturday – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

6. BOYS BASKETBALL Warren Lincoln downed Muskegon 76-66 at the Horatio Williams Freedom Classic – Local Sports Journal

7. GIRLS BASKETBALL Frankenmuth posted a 39-31 win over Saginaw Heritage at Saginaw Valley State’s MLK Classic – Saginaw News

8. WRESTLING Division 2 No. 8 Freeland was the repeat champion at the 40th Reed City Invitational – Cadillac News

9. COMPETITIVE CHEER Fruitport posted a big win at the Grand Rapids West Catholic Invitational – MuskegonSports.com

10. COMPETITIVE CHEER Dexter earned its first victory this season, finishing first at the Dearborn Heights Crestwood Invitational – Chelsea Sun Times News