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.)
Benzie Star Receives Record Recognition
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 30, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Despite missing the majority of his senior season in 2003 with an injury, John Plumstead graduated from Benzie Central the following spring among the top rushers and scorers in Michigan high school football history – and those accomplishments now are reflected in the MHSAA record book.
Plumstead ran for 5,595 yards over 40 games and four seasons, and also scored 72 touchdowns. The career rushing yardage still ranks 15th all-time. He went on to play linebacker for Army at West Point.
See below for more recent additions to the football record book, and click the heading to see the listings in full.
Football
Berrien Springs senior Faith Kittleson drilled all nine of her extra-point attempts in her team’s 63-0 win over Parchment on Oct. 4. While that missed the list for most extra points in one game, it made the list for most consecutive extra points made in one contest. Kittleson also has been a standout on the school’s girls soccer team.
Mattawan senior Noah Janssen became the sixth player to return at least two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game Sept. 28, when he scored on a pair against Portage Northern. Both run-backs also made the list for longest kickoff return touchdown, at 98 and 96 yards.
A pair of impressive defensive performances earned Breckenridge’s first football record book entries last fall. Sophomore Luke Saunders had four interceptions during a 49-0 win over Muskegon Heights Academy on Sept. 6, including tying a record with three in one quarter. Breckenridge as a team also was added for holding Coleman to only two first downs during a 56-0 victory Sept. 20.
Warren Fitzgerald sophomore Trey West showed in the fall he was capable of scoring offensively, defensively and on special teams – and his kickoff return prowess especially stood out. He became the latest to tie the record for longest kickoff return when he scored on a 99-yarder Oct. 25 against Port Huron Northern. He tied for second-most kickoff return touchdowns in one game with two against Warren Woods-Tower on Oct. 12, and also tied for second-most kickoff return TDs for a season with four total in 2019.
Eastpointe senior Davion Watkins also joined that list for longest kickoff return, bringing one back 99 yards against Warren Fitzgerald on Oct. 18.
Quarterback Vaughn VanTil led the way for Coopersville against Fruitport during a 62-50 win Oct. 12, 2018. The then-senior made the MHSAA record book in multiple categories with seven rushing touchdowns, and was part of 431 of the 607 total yards that earned Coopersville an entry in the team record book. The seven rushing touchdowns are tied for third-most on the rushing scoring list.
Pewamo-Westphalia has had a number of individual standouts in winning MHSAA Finals titles three of the last four seasons, and not to be forgotten was kicker Alec Thelen. He made the single-season extra point list twice with 55 in 2017 and 71 in 2018, and his 154 (in 171 attempts over 31 games from 2016-18) are tied for 10th most on the career list. He’s playing at Siena Heights University.
Griffin Milovanski kicked the last two seasons on Saugatuck’s varsity and finished on the career extra point list with 83 made in 86 attempts. He also made the single-season PAT list as a junior.
Ogemaw Heights advanced as far as the Regional Finals during the last decade, doing so in Division 4 in 2012. A powerful rushing offense led the way – and led to four record book entries. The Falcons were added for 4,220 rushing yards and 5,604 yards of total offense that fall, plus 631 total yards in a Week 9 win over Alpena and 74 rushing attempts in a District Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills.
PHOTO: Benzie Central running back John Plumstead turns the corner on the way to some of his 5,500 career rushing yards. (Photo courtesy of the Benzie Central Gridiron Club.)