Holmen Helps Pace Memorable Finals Run
April 8, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nikoma Holmen played a major role as Grandville reached its first MHSAA softball championship game in 25 years in 2017 – and 15 record book entries are enduring proof of the impact she made on the program.
Holmen finished her four-season varsity run on four career lists. Over 126 games she accumulated 170 runs, 218 hits, 54 doubles and 33 home runs.
Her senior season, Grandville made its first Semifinal and then first Final, both since 1982, before falling to Macomb Dakota 4-3 in eight innings in the Division 1 championship game. Holmen now is a sophomore playing at Grand Valley State University.
See below for more recent record book additions in softball, football, boys lacrosse and boys soccer.
Football
Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior Hunter Lake became the first to be listed for interceptions in one quarter after snagging three during the first quarter of a 64-0 win over Stryker, Ohio, on Aug. 31. He tied the MHSAA single-quarter record by bringing two of those back for touchdowns and made the single-game list for interception return touchdowns and single-quarter list for total defensive touchdowns as well.
Led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, Edwardsburg finished this past fall 14-0 and as Division 4 champion. The Eddies also made the MHSAA records multiple times, with their 705 points ranking sixth all-time and their 50.4 per game making the list among highest averages. Edwardsburg also made the total yardage (5,886) and total touchdowns (97), and rushing attempts (578), yardage (5,232) and touchdowns (82) lists. The Eddies also became the first team to register more than 60 rushes in a game when they ran 63 times against Holland Christian on Nov. 10.
Boys Lacrosse
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Micah Eby stopped 23 shots last May 12 against West Bloomfield. Eby, then a junior, tied for the 13th-most saves in one game.
Boys Soccer
Evan Veenhuis climbed the scoring lists one more time as a Comstock senior this fall. He added 34 goals and 35 points to finish with 121 career goals and 156 career points over four seasons.
Troy Athens carried a perfect record into the MHSAA Tournament this past fall and finished among the most impressive teams defensively of all-time. Athens became one of nine teams to give up seven or fewer goals over the course of a season and also made the season shutouts list with 16. Junior Jason Kemp was in net for all 16 to make the individual shutout list, and for six straight in September to earn another record book entry. Athens also was added for its 21 straight wins and 20 straight in 2013, when it gave up only 10 goals during the entirety of the fall.
Hudsonville Unity Christian had 18 shutouts and gave up only eight goals on the way to winning the Division 3 championship this past fall, making the team record book in both categories. Individually, junior Grant Balcer ranks tied for fourth with those 18 shutouts (including eight straight) and has 26 over his two-year varsity career.
Softball
A pair of Grosse Pointe South players were added for accomplishments last season. Julia O’Halla, now a senior, had home runs on two consecutive at bats and six RBI total in a win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Teammate Lauren Sancya, a senior in 2018, finished her four-year varsity career on the all-time doubles list with 48. Emma St. John was added for her 2014 performance when she became one of four to strike out 18 batters in a six-inning game, a 10-0 no-hitter against Center Line. St. John was a freshman that season and played two seasons for South and her final two for University Liggett.
Olivia Tomaszewski graduated from Frankfort last spring with 160 RBI over four varsity seasons, enough to make the MHSAA record book list in that category and come in second on the school’s all-time list to Katy McKay, who had 165 from 1996-99. Tomaszewski is playing at Cornerstone University. Junior Haley Myers also was added to the career home runs list after two seasons – she had 22 after hitting 13 last spring as a sophomore.
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s Brooke Myles last April 12 became the first since 2010 to strike out more than 15 batters in a five-inning game, tying for second on that record list with 16 Ks against Sterling Heights Parkway Christian in a 13-1 win. Myles is a senior this spring.
PHOTO: Grandville’s Nikoma Holmen gets ready to advance after reaching first base during the 2017 Division 1 Softball Final against Macomb Dakota.
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.