Alcona Keeper McCoy Has Net Covered

April 22, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Only a sophomore, Conner McCoy is an MHSAA record holder after a busy fall patrolling the net for the Lincoln Alcona boys soccer team.

McCoy made 391 saves in goal last season, eclipsing the former record by a save while piling up his total over 24 games. He had a high of 26 against Fairview and at least 20 saves in nine games. Alcona finished 12-11-1 and reached its Division 4 District Final.

Click for the MHSAA boys soccer record book in full and the headings below for full records in those respective sports as we report recent additions for boys and girls basketball, football and girls and boys tennis.  


Boys Basketball

Kimball Landmark Academy's Cameron Koch made the MHSAA records for steals in a game, season and career this winter. He had 12 (along with 17 points and nine rebounds) in a game against Kimball New Life Christian on Jan. 26, 107 steals for the season and 242 over his four-season varsity career.


Girls Basketball

Niles Brandywine’s great run over this decade has been led by a number of strong individuals. Mackenzie Shelton was added for her 185 assists as a junior in 2011-12, which rank 10th all-time, and her 482 career assists that rank 14th. She also made the games played list with 102 over her four varsity seasons. Emily Erwin’s 85 3-pointers in 26 games this winter rank ninth, and her 262 3-pointers over four seasons rank fourth on the career list; Carlie Newman’s 211 3-pointers from 2009-12 are ninth on the career list. As a team, Niles Brandywine was added a number of times for 3-pointers made adn attempted, in games and for seasons, over the last four; its 746 attempts this winter rank second all-time for a team, and it’s 211 made 3-pointers were third-most. The Bobcats finished 24-3 and made the Class C Semifinals. Shelton plays at Calvin College, while Newman played at Spring Arbor and then Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla.


Football

Omar Salih finished his high school football career in the fall with 40 entries in the MHSAA football record book after playing the 2013 and 2015 seasons at Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy and 2014 at Detroit Cody. Among recent additions, Salih’s 615 passing yards against Marine City Cardinal Mooney on Sept. 19 of last season rank second to his record 674 in a game in 2013. His 4,173 passing yards in 10 games last season rank second all-time, while his 414 attempts ranked fourth, his 238 completions were third and his 45 passing touchdowns also were fourth. His career passing yards (8,484) also rank second in MHSAA history, with his 940 pass attempts third, his 474 completions seventh and his 88 passing touchdowns third. He will continue his career at Saginaw Valley State University. 

Wayland quarterback Tanner VanDyke became the second player from his program to make the MHSAA records in football after throwing for 2,047 yards as a senior in the fall. He’ll continue his career at Davenport University.

Matthew Meagher added a pair of kicking accomplishments to a previous for punting, making 56 of 57 extra-point tries for DeWitt in the fall and 97 of 106 over his two seasons on varsity; he previously made the listings for a 78-yard punt as a junior.

Martin Schau has been added for a 100-yard interception return for Climax-Scotts in its 42-14 loss to Constantine on Oct. 11, 1980. The Climax Crescent reported at the time that Schau caught the ball four yards deep in the end zone before returning it for a score.

Blake Dunn’s incredible junior season led to his inclusion for multiple categories as both a running back and a kicker, and another Saugatuck player now owns an MHSAA record. Dunn ran for 2,748 yards –12th most for one season – on only 234 carries (11.7 yards per carry) with 36 rushing touchdowns and 286 total points – which rank as fifth most and included 48 extra points. Graduated Saugatuck kicker Tanner Nutting made the single-season extra points list three of his four seasons with a high of 56 in 2011 – and finished his career in 2013 with a record 175 in 204 attempts. Dunn has committed to sign as a senior with Western Michigan University for baseball, while Nutting kicks now for Division II Malone University in Ohio.

Girls Tennis

All four Traverse City St. Francis singles players made championship matches at the 2015 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final – and three also made the MHSAA record book for wins. No. 1 singles champion Amanda Bandrowski and No. 3 runner-up Natalie Burke are both listed at 33-1, and No. 4 runner-up Anne Bandrowski made the list at 32-2.

Boys Tennis

All eight flights of Traverse City St. Francis’ team that finished third in LP Division 4 in the fall made the record book for victories – in singles, Elliott Bandrowski (32-10), Nathan Sodini (33-10), Tyler Spigarelli (37-8) and Victor Casler (35-2). And in doubles, Jay Jones & Patrick Burke (33-5), Jackson Richmond & Nathan Tafelsky (39-2), Sean Navin (37-8), Jonathan Pax (36-9), Ryan Navin (39-5) and Joe Primeau (37-4). Jones also made the career doubles wins list with a four-season varsity record of 107-42, as did Tafelsky with a 99-28 record from 2012-15. 

PHOTO: Conner McCoy stops a shot for Lincoln Alcona last season. (Photo courtesy of the Lincoln Alcona boys soccer program.)

Gee, Mason ... What a Run for Stockbridge

December 18, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Stockbridge averaged 45 points per game in building a 13-7 record over the last two seasons, mostly on the arm of quarterback Mason Gee-Montgomery and top receivers Austin Cimala and Kolby Canfield.

Their achievements are among those added this week to the MHSAA record book, along with a record-setting game by another receiver, the fastest goal ever in boys soccer (with video of the feat) and more top performances in softball and volleyball.

Football

Mason Gee-Montgomery, a junior, is listed 24 times, most notably after setting records this fall with 22 straight completed passes in an Oct. 9 games against Vermontville Maple Valley and for 51 touchdown passes in one season; he also tied a record with seven touchdown passes against Leslie on Sept. 11. Total, Gee-Montgomery has thrown for 5,660 yards and 84 touchdowns over his two seasons on varsity with the touchdowns already ranking fourth on the career list for that category. Receiver Austin Cimala earned 13 entries in the records with a two-year varsity career that saw him total 133 receptions for 2,674 yards (10th most) and 43 touchdowns, also tied for second-most in MHSAA career history. Kolby Canfield, also a junior, had 90 receptions this fall, sixth-most for one season, and he gained 1,265 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. Also, 2015 graduate Nick Ensign was added for six rushing touchdowns in a 66-64 win over Perry in 2014. The Panthers were part of four games this season with more than 100 points – wins of 54-50 over Parchment, 53-48 over Sand Creek and 55-46 over Essexville Garber, and a 61-42 loss to Lake Odessa Lakewood.

Senior pass combo Pat Naughton and Nick Turowski also earned its way into the records this season leading Comstock Park to an 8-3 finish. Turowski tied the MHSAA record with 18 receptions in a 44-27 win over Allendale on Oct. 16 and set the MHSAA season record with 113 receptions total (he also made the yardage list with 1,474, good for eighth most). Naughton was a three-year starter for the Panthers, completing 444 of 719 passes for 6,133 yards and 54 touchdowns. This fall he completed 184 of 271 passes for 2,386 yards and 25 scores. His career completions rank 10th on that list.

Former Kent City quarterback Jake Krueger finished his senior season in 2013 with five entries. He earned two with five touchdown passes in a half and six for a game against Howard City Tri-County, and also for 26 touchdown passes total that season and 52 over his three-year varsity career. He also threw for 4,547 yards over those three seasons.

Ypsilanti Community’s Jahz Watts joined Gee-Montgomery and a host of others by throwing six touchdown passes in a game, in his team’s 51-40 loss to Monroe on Sept. 4. Watts, a junior, completed 13 passes total for 315 yards that evening.

Clinton’s Erik Bouse kicked 11 straight extra points in a 77-6 win over Britton-Deerfield on Oct. 24, 2014, to tie for second-longest extra point streak in one game. He also contributed as the team reached the Division 6 Final this season.

Boys Soccer

Allen Park Inter-City Baptist added a trio of high scorers new and old. Senior Garrett Kraatz had 46 goals and 25 assists this fall for 71 points, good to tie for 13th most for one season. He finished his four-year career with 105 goals and 47 assists. Steven Fiema was added for finishing his career in 2011 with 96 goals and 130 points over four seasons. And Lyle Wensley was added for notching 121 goals from 1982-85; he made the all-state Dream Team as a junior and senior and currently is an assistant coach at Spring Arbor University, while Fiema plays at Division II Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida.

Josh Busscher’s kickoff for Holland Christian against Muskegon Western Michigan Christian on. Oct. 3 landed four seconds later as the fastest goal scored in MHSAA history. See video below. 

Softball

Allen Park pitcher Hayley Bartholomew joined an elite group May 11 with 20 strikeouts in a seven-inning, 9-3 win over Taylor Kennedy. She’s now playing at Oakland University.

Reese’s Carlee Selle finished her career this spring with three more entries to go with 16 doubles she hit in 2014. She also had 16 this season, plus eight RBI in a game May 21 against Essexville Garber and back-to-back home runs against Sandusky in a Regional game June 6. Teammate Monica Hagen also was added for her 73 hits during the 2014 

Volleyball

DeWitt’s five-set win over Mattawan on Nov. 12 included a pair of record-qualifying performances. Lexi Nordmann had 39 kills and Brooke Binkley had 55 assists although the Panthers fell 3-2. 

PHOTO: Stockbridge quarterback Mason Gee-Montgomery drops back to pass during a game this season. (Photo courtesy of Frazzini Photography.