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.
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.
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.
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.)
Ruddy, Whiteford Run Into Record Book with Championship Rushing Attack
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 25, 2023
Ottawa Lake Whiteford won its second Finals championship in 2022 with a power rushing attack that’s become expected of the program, but also with a record-setting quarterback leading the way.
Senior Shea Ruddy was added to the MHSAA record book for 4,461 yards and 52 touchdowns passing over four seasons, plus five touchdown passes in a half last season against Kalamazoo Loy Norrix.
Whiteford, meanwhile, made the record book for 664 points scored, 5,756 total yards and 87 total touchdowns, 4,515 rushing yards, 635 rushing attempts and 68 rushing scores. Whiteford’s 2021 team also was added for 64 rushing touchdowns, 5,468 total yards and 628 points after a Semifinal run. Ruddy is playing now at Hillsdale College.
See below for more recent updates to the 11-player record book.
11-Player Football
Portland lost a 39-34 heartbreaker to DeWitt on Sept. 1, 2022, but a pair of Raiders top a record book list for one of the game’s biggest highlights. Marc Nobis found receiver Chris Battley for a 99-yard touchdown reception, tying the record for longest scoring pass. Nobis was a senior, and Battley was a sophomore.
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek senior Quentin Ubaydi earned a record book listing for a flawless kicking performance last Aug. 25. He made all 10 of his extra-point tries in his team’s 70-0 win over Detroit Mumford.
The list of football programs with at least 500 wins over their histories is short – but growing. St. Joseph was added with a 563-376-34 record dating to its first season in 1913. The Bears also were added for 706 total yards in their Sept. 30, 2022, game against Portage Northern, a 62-49 win.
Walled Lake Western’s Jaxon Lippert became the 21st player to return a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown when he did so against Davison on Sept. 30, 2022. Lippert is a senior this fall.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix was part of one of the highest-scoring games of the 2021 season, and a pair of then-senior standouts earned individual record listings that day. Quarterback Tyler Roberts threw for 424 yards, and received Kevin Lucas had 223 yards and four touchdowns through the air, although Whiteford prevailed 76-40. Roberts is playing football and baseball at Hope College, and Lucas is playing football at Albion College.
Four decades later, Flint Kearsley standout John Yancer had been added for his 19 sacks over nine games in 1983, including five in the season finale against Flushing. Yancer was a senior that fall.
Holton quarterback Austin Fowler capped his high school career in a big way as a senior in 2021, making the record book seven times for passing – most notably for 2,265 yards, 153 completions and 33 touchdown tosses over nine games. He threw for 463 yards on 32 completions as Holton and Muskegon Heights Academy combined for 108 points that Oct. 30. He’s played baseball at Muskegon Community College this spring.
Tarik Ahmetbasic finished his high school career in 2022 having made 48 straight extra points dating back to the final game of his junior season, and he made the record book three times total for Clinton Township Chippewa Valley. He was added also for 87 extra points over 90 attempts over two seasons as the team’s point-after kicker, and for making all nine of his field goal attempts last fall. Ahmetbasic also just missed the career field goals list with 16 in 18 attempts, having kicked all 16 over the last two seasons after attempting one as a sophomore. He is continuing at Michigan State.
Boyne City seniors Jack Neer and Alex Calcaterra didn’t take long to make memories last season. Both made the record book in an opening 51-35 win over Benzie Central, Neer with seven touchdown passes (tied for eighth-most in a game) and Calcaterra catching five of those (tied for third). Neer signed with Hillsdale College, and Calcaterra is playing basketball at Michigan Tech.
Hudson’s 43-0 win over Blissfield on Oct. 8, 2021, was memorable for a few reasons. But arguably the most notable was achieved by the Tigers’ defense, which held Blissfield without a first down.
Mio’s Grant Price earned two listings over a month near the end of the 2010 season, rushing for six touchdowns in a win over Au Gres-Sims on Oct. 8 and then six again in a win over Cedarville that Nov. 5. He was a junior that season.
Mason set a school record for wins in finishing 12-1 last fall, and expectations are high again with junior Cason Carswell and senior Derek Badgley among returnees this season. Carswell was added to the record book three times including for 2,403 yards and 34 passing touchdowns, and Badgley was added for catching four of Carswell’s six touchdown passes in a Regional Final win over Trenton. Sophomore Collin Winters also was added after connecting on 58 of 62 extra-point tries, and the Bulldogs as a whole made the season scoring list with 554 points.
Senior Charlie Martyn joined a group of accomplished Ithaca kickers with his achievements over the last three seasons, earning record book entries for nine straight extra points in a game last fall, 53 extra points in 57 tries total over 11 games and 82 extra points in 95 tries over a three-year career with nearly all of those points coming as a junior and senior. He will next play baseball at Alma College. Ithaca also was added for holding St. Louis to only three first downs during their 2022 meeting.
A pair of Coopersville standouts capped their careers last fall with multiple entries in the record book. Four-year varsity quarterback Colton Bosch was added for 329 completions, 572 attempts and 4,574 passing yards, while three-year receiver Ryan Serba was added for 129 receptions and 1,975 yards for his career. Additionally, then-junior teammate Nick Gordon was added for 14 receptions in a game against Hudsonville Unity Christian on Sept. 9 and four touchdowns against Allendale on Oct. 7. Bosch will continue his career at Concordia-Chicago.
Semaj Morgan capped a magnificent three-season career at West Bloomfield last fall with four record book entries, most notably for his receiving. Morgan was added for 116 receptions and 1,876 yards over 34 career games, including 1,015 yards as a junior in 2021. He also earned a listing for a 100-yard interception return against Lake Orion last Sept. 24. He is continuing his career at Michigan.
Brandon Soltis completed his DeWitt football career in the fall with the career-record 207 extra points over his 47 games and four seasons – 46 more than the previous record holder. He drilled 55 of 57 tries last season to move to the top of the list, including a stretch of 38 consecutive. Teammate Bryce Kurncz was added for his 23 touchdown catches over 21 games and two seasons, and DeWitt as a team was added for 623 yards in a game against Grand Ledge, 5,056 yards over its 12 games for the season and for allowing only four first downs in its season-opening win over Haslett. Soltis is continuing at Hope College, and Kurncz is playing at Michigan Tech.
M'Khi Guy became the latest Muskegon star quarterback to reach the record book, doing so with six rushing touchdowns in his team’s 49-21 Division 3 Semifinal win over DeWitt on Nov. 19. Guy is a senior this fall.
A trio of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice standouts were added for accomplishments last season or over careers that finished in 2022. Senior Henry Garrity made the single-game receiving yardage list with 225 against Warren De La Salle Collegiate on Sept. 16, and senior Griffin Pardi made the longest-punt list that game with a 72-yarder. Senior Owen Pardi finished his three-season varsity career last fall with 85 extra points in 95 tries. Jake Coulter also was added to the longest-punt list for his 71-yarder in 2020. Garrity is continuing at Notre Dame, and Owen Pardi is continuing at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Coulter plays baseball at Central Michigan.
Belleville kicker Brayden Lane made the single-season extra point list for the second time last season, connecting on 74 of 79 attempts. He’s also now on the career list with 126 in 144 attempts heading into his junior season this fall.
Edwardsburg continued to achieve among the state’s highest-producing offenses the last two seasons, ranking among the all-time leaders with 5,227 total yards, 4,634 rushing, and 89 total touchdowns with 78 rushing in 2021, plus 4,343 rushing yards in 2022. Trevor Houseworth was a senior on the 2021 team and made individual lists with 73 extra points in 79 attempts and a long punt of 81 yards. He’s kicking at Saginaw Valley State.
Reed City continued its run of success in 2022, finishing 11-2 and making the MHSAA record book with 544 points total including 73 touchdowns – with 54 rushing, 13 passing, four on special teams and two scored while playing defense.
PHOTO Ottawa Lake Whiteford quarterback Shea Ruddy takes a snap to start an eventual touchdown run during last season’s Division 8 Final at Ford Field.