Extra, Extra: Seymour Sets PAT Record
May 1, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Griffin Seymour will head to Eastern Michigan University this fall as one of the most successful kickers in MHSAA history.
Seymour capped a 29-game career this fall with two MHSAA football records and nine listings total in the record book after helping Muskegon Catholic Central to back-to-back Division 8 championships.
He set both records during the Division 8 Final against Munising – in making all four of his extra-point attempts, Seymour set the season extra point record of 87 (surpassing the previous of 85) and the career extra point record of 165 (the previous was 164). Seymour kicked in one game as a sophomore and then 14 each the last two seasons.
He’s also listed for 85 straight extra points, the fourth-longest streak, making 10 of 10 attempts in two games and 75 total as a junior. He had five extra points in his team’s 2013 Final win over Beal City. Seymour reportedly will walk-on as a kicker on the EMU football team.
See below for more of this week's additions to the MHSAA record listings, and click on the headings to see those sports' records in full.
Football
- New Lothrop senior Grant Steinborn also placed himself among the top extra-point makers in MHSAA history during a two-season varsity career. He booted 135 PATs in just 24 games over the last two seasons to tie for eighth on the career list, with his 74 as a junior ranking ninth and his 61 this fall also making the single-season list – he had nine in a game as a junior to make that ranking as well. New Lothrop finished a combined 22-2 over the last two seasons, making the team points list with 577 in 2013 and 539 this fall and for its average of 48.1 in 2013.
- West Bloomfield’s 9-2 finish in the fall included a pair of record-listing performances. Junior quarterback Trishton Jackson threw for 2,046 yards – completing 124 of 210 passes – to make the season yardage list. Junior kicker Ari Goldberg connected on 46 extra points in 53 attempts.
- Olivet freshman quarterback Parker Smith moved up to the varsity during the fall and into the record book with a 99-yard touchdown pass to Wyatt Smith in the Eagles’ 27-0 win over Parchment on Oct. 24. Olivet won the Greater Lansing Activities Conference title and finished 8-3.
Baseball
- Portland’s Tanner Allison capped his prep career in 2014 with some of the highest hitting marks in MHSAA history on his way to joining the Western Michigan University program. His 155 career runs, 189 career hits and 54 career doubles from 2011-14 made those respective lists, as did his 23 doubles last year for one season. The hits tied for 13th most, the season doubles tied for fifth on that list and the career doubles are fourth in MHSAA history. Portland’s team average of .372 last spring also made that category, and Josh Pleyte was added for his seven triples in 2009.
Girls Basketball
- Jessica Murphy scored 30 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists in Oxford's Feb. 10 win over Bloomfield Hills – and also entered the MHSAA records by making all 17 of her free throws. Her total is fourth-highest for consecutive free throws made in one game. Murphy has signed to continue her hoops career at Wayne State University.
- Breckenridge’s Erika Wendling accomplished much during her career ending in 2014, including a 15-steal game as a senior, Dec. 12, 2013, against Saginaw Valley Lutheran. She also ended as the first 1,000-point scorer in her school’s history and played this season at Mid-Michigan Community College.
Boys Basketball
- Ben Carlson graduated from Manistique in 1996 but still holds six school records for this sport, including two that make MHSAA lists – his 201 career 3-pointers and 556 career assists over four seasons. The assists total ranks ninth in MHSAA history. Carlson also owns the school’s career scoring record of 1,495 points.
Boys Soccer
- His totals would’ve stood third when he graduated from Bay City John Glenn in 2008, and Ty Richards now stands fifth in MHSAA history with his 159 career goals entered into the records. His 53 goals as a senior and 40 as a sophomore made the single-season list. His 52 career assists also ranked, and he’s sixth with 211 career points. Former teammate and 2009 grad Stefan Michalsky also was added for 55 career assists over four seasons, and John Glenn’s Connor Windiate was added for 50 goals in 2013. Windiate now plays at NAIA University of St. Mary in Kansas and Michalsky played at Delta College.
Wrestling
- Sparta’s Jason Brew and Matt Armock have been added to the MHSAA list for 200 wrestling wins – Brew with a record of 204-16 from 2002-05 and Armock 202-11 from 2004-07. Armock was the 140-pound title in Division 2 in 2007 and 2006, while Brew was the 145-pound champion in 2005 and 140-pound in 2004. Brew later wrestled at Olivet College.
PHOTO: Muskegon Catholic Central's Griffin Seymour connects on an extra point against Beal City during the 2013 MHSAA Division 8 Final at Ford Field.
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.