Edwardsburg 'O' Piles Up Yards, Points & Record Book Entries
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 7, 2021
Edwardsburg’s excellence over the last decade, especially on offense, has led to 56 additions to the MHSAA football team record book.
Most notably, the 2017 team has records for rushing attempts (678) and yards (5,490), both over 14 games, and the Eddies set the single-game rushing touchdown record with 10 against South Haven in 2018.
The 2018 team – which won the Division 4 championship – ranks second with 82 rushing touchdowns, over 14 games, and third with 5,232 rushing yards. The 2018 team also ranks second for total touchdowns with 97 and fifth for total yardage with 5,886, and finished with the sixth-most points scored, 705.
Read on for more recent football record book additions:
Football
On Sept. 6, 2019, Watervliet’s Don Smith became the sixth player in MHSAA 11-player history to return a fumble the length of the field for a touchdown. Smith, then a junior, picked up the fumble in the end zone on a Saugatuck running play and raced down the sideline for the score. Watervliet as a team also was added to the record lists for some of the state’s most productive offenses over the last half-decade – the 2015 team scored 590 points and averaged 53.6 per game, the 2016 team scored 524 and averaged 52.4 and the 2017 team scored 588 and averaged 49. The 2015 team’s scoring average ranks eighth all-time and came on 5,504 total yards. The 2017 team’s 5,935 total yards ranks fifth all-time.
Royal Oak Shrine Catholic kicker Charles Mulcahy closed a successful career in 2019 on the career extra point list with 123 made in 133 attempts over his four seasons. He also was added for his 46 in 48 tries as a freshman in 2016.
Oscoda scored a school-record 70 points in a 2019 game against Coleman, and quarterback Brayden Mallak played a big part. The senior quarterback threw five touchdowns passes, all during the first half, to make the list for most touchdown tosses over a half.
Clevelyn Jefferson played a big part in carrying Fulton to the 2007 Division 8 Final, rushing 269 times for 2,463 yards. The Pirates’ then-senior made the single-season rushing list as his team finished Division 8 runner-up.
Although his team fell 59-35 in its 2019 matchup against East Grand Rapids, Chase Bradman showed off his passing abilities completing 31 of 52 passes for 470 yards. The Grand Rapids South Christian senior made the record book with all three totals and also for his 194 completions, 333 attempts and 2,510 passing yards over 11 games that season. He is continuing at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Although Elk Rapids fell 49-33 to Harbor Springs in 2019, the Elks kept pace with the passing game as a pair of standouts reached the record book. Junior quarterback Gordie LaFontaine made the single-game completions list with 25, on 41 attempts, while senior Marlin Starkey made the single-game receptions list catching 13 passes.
Bloomfield Hills quarterback Tanner Slazinski capped his junior season in 2019 throwing five first-half touchdown passes in a 35-14 win over Rochester to make the list for most touchdown tosses in a half. Teammate Dominic Curti was added to the records for his nine extra points the week before in a 63-31 win over Troy. Slazinski will continue at Saginaw Valley State.
Jacob Jodway became the first Quincy individual to be included in the MHSAA football record book, added for his 229 yards receiving on six receptions in a 2014 loss to Jonesville. Jodway went on to play at Olivet College.
Holland Christian’s Jonathan Keizer joined the list of kickers who have connected on field goals of at least 52 yards, connecting from that distance during a 42-39 loss to Zeeland East in 2019. The senior also had a 36-yard field goal and three extra points in the game.
PHOTO: Edwardsburg’s 2018 championship team was among those that have earned entries for the Eddies in the MHSAA football record book.
Smith's Record-Caliber Swing Lifts Mendon to Multiple Titles
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 12, 2021
Anna Smith’s four-year varsity career capped in November included helping Mendon to back-to-back Division 4 championships in 2018 and 2019, and she finished last season among the top hitters in MHSAA history.
Smith graduated with 2,234 kills to rank 18th all-time since the start of rally scoring. She has eight record book entries total, also including for a career-high 740 kills as a junior, a tied-for-second 24 aces in a match last fall, and a career total of 398 aces to rank 13th on that list.
She’s continuing her career at College of Charleston (S.C.).
Click to see the volleyball record book in full, and read on for more recent record book updates in baseball, football and girls lacrosse.
Baseball
Saugatuck’s baseball success over the last three seasons has been tied in part to its work on the base paths – with its total steals in 2018, 2019 and 2021 all making the record book. Saugatuck’s 222 steals in 248 attempts in 2018 remain the second-most steals for one season, while its 182 steals in 2019 rank 10th and its 166 steals this spring were tied for 22nd-most.
11-player Football
Belleville senior quarterback Christian Dhue-Reid became the first to be added to the football record book for the 2020 season after throwing for seven touchdown passes – including six during the first half – of his team’s win over Dearborn Fordson last Sept. 25. The first-half TD passes tied for sixth-most in a half, and the seven total tied for eighth-most in a game.
Mitchell Middleton showed his powerful leg in Middleville Thornapple Kellogg's Sept. 17, 2019, win over Wyoming. The then-senior booted a 52-yard field goal to make the list for longest.
DeWitt’s championship run last season included a number of record book performances, on both sides of the ball. Then-junior quarterback Tyler Holtz made the records for 2,396 passing yards over 12 games, and for a single-game high of 405, and also for 35 passing touchdowns. Senior Tommy McIntosh was added for 245 yards and four touchdowns in the same game, against Grand Ledge, and Nathaniel Deppin was added for a 96-yard kickoff return in that same game. The Panthers as a team made the touchdown list with 70, and also for giving up only 80 points over the season. Additionally, senior Brandon Soltis finished his two-year varsity career with 78 extra points and also was added for his 45 as a junior. A number of others were added for accomplishments over the last four seasons, including Blake Gatfield, Noah Koenigsknecht, Alan Smith, Jack Horan, Carson Hayes and Luke Bresser. Koenigsknecht and Bresser play for Northwood.
Then-junior Nick Kay earned his first record book entry last Sept. 25 with a 52-yard field goal for Walled Lake Central against Troy. Also added was past quarterback Nick Krumm, who scored eight total touchdowns (six rushing) during a 2013 game against Waterford Mott. Krumm was a junior that season; he went on to play at Michigan State.
North Muskegon then-senior Brendan Moat navigated some tough weather in his team’s 2019 playoff loss to Pewamo-Westphalia to drill a 74-yard punt, tying for 17th longest in MHSAA history. Moat is playing currently at Kalamazoo College.
Despite a shortened 2020 season, Brady Hessbrook finished his four-season Ithaca career with record-book highlights. He made the single-season passing yards list with 2,002 over eight games, and the career list with 4,091 over 37 games total. He made the lists for passing touchdowns in one half and a single game with six against Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Oct. 9, on the way to making the single-season passing TD list with 30 and career list with 51. Hessbrook is continuing his career at Wayne State.
Livonia Stevenson senior Caden Woodall put together one of the most impressive rushing seasons in state history over just eight games last fall. On just 186 carries, Woodall ran for 2,228 yards and 34 touchdowns, making single-season lists for both. He scored six touchdowns in a game twice and totaled more than 200 yards rushing in seven straight games. He’s continuing his career at Harvard.
Girls Lacrosse
Three Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central players earned single-game entries during the 2021 season. Sophomore Gabriella Hendricks was added for eight goals in a May 19 game against East Grand Rapids, seven goals on May 14 against Ann Arbor Skyline and five assists on May 10 against Grandville. Sophomore Shannon Murphy also had seven goals in that Skyline game and seven against Grand Rapids Christian on May 20, and sophomore Delaney Smith had five assists against Holland West Ottawa on March 29.
PHOTO: Mendon’s Anna Smith follows through on a kill attempt during the 2019 Division 4 championship match against Leland.