Mort Assists Corunna in Record Run
January 10, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half
Senior setter Lexi Mort and junior hitter Elizabeth Norris led Corunna’s varsity volleyball team to its first MHSAA Semifinals this fall with record book-caliber contributions.
Mort had 1,529 assists (10th all-time) to go with 1,429 as a junior and to finish her career with 4,322, which ranks sixth all-time. She also made the single-match assist list with 54 against Mount Morris, when Norris had 33 kills.
Norris had 879 kills this season, 13th-most on that list. Freshman Ellie Toney was added for 11 aces in a match against Burton Genesee Christian. The Cavaliers finished the fall 50-7-5, with District and Regional titles in Division 2. Mort will run collegiate track at Saginaw Valley State University.
See below for more recent record book additions in volleyball, football and boys soccer, and click on the headings to see those sports’ record books in full.
Football
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley’s Division 1 championship season this fall included a number of record-setting performances. David Ellis returned four kickoffs for touchdowns, good for second most all-time. Niko Kepi made the season extra point list with 73 and the career list with 104 in 109 attempts over the last three seasons. Quarterback Tommy Schuster threw 26 touchdown passes for the second straight season and made career lists with 4,960 passing yards, 509 attempts, 330 completions and 67 scores through the air over the last three seasons. As a team, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley made lists with 546 points and 76 touchdowns over 14 games. Ellis will continue his career at Indiana University. Also, Jeff Deliz was added for a 93-yard punt return in 2003 and Chris Lomasney for six rushing touchdowns in a game in 2000. Deliz went on to play at Navy and Lomasney at Michigan Tech.
Sanford Meridian’s Kyle Stockford found his way to the end zone in multiple record-setting ways over the last two seasons. This fall, he made the record book for two kickoff return touchdowns in one game, against Lake City, scoring from 87 and 85 yards out. He also made the season kickoff return touchdown list with four despite playing only six games. The senior also returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a game this fall against Houghton Lake – after accomplishing the same feat as a junior against Farwell.
Among highlights of Hudsonville Unity Christian’s Division 5 championship run this season was a 57-20 win over Hamilton on Oct. 5, when Unity totaled 637 yards – which sits fifth all-time. Its 629 rushing yards, on 39 carries, is one of two totals on the list for most rushing yards in one game.
Quanelle Pritchett had a solid senior season receiving for Warren Fitzgerald in the fall – augmented by a record book-worthy accomplishment against Sterling Heights on Sept. 14. Pritchett caught seven passes for 239 yards in the 52-13 win to make the single-game receiving yardage list.
Boys Soccer
Jack Vezmar had 17 shutouts this fall in leading Marshall to a 23-1-1 record and Division 2 District title. Those shutouts tied for 11th-most in one season and helped him make the career shutout list with 28 over the last two seasons.
For the second straight fall, Midland Dow made the team record lists for total shutouts and consecutive shutouts, this time with 18 overall in 24 games and nine straight from Aug. 18-Sept. 12. Dow also tied for ninth all-time by giving up only eight goals on the way to finishing 20-1-3 on the season.
Volleyball
Longtime southwest Michigan coach Tony Hooley has reached the 500-win plateau, actually doing so in 2017 at Marcellus and adding to his total this fall leading Dowagiac to a 25-15-2 finish. Hooley has coached at Centreville and White Pigeon as well plus two seasons at Glen Oaks Community College, and his high school record stands at 538-311-92 over 18 seasons.
After two seasons of varsity volleyball, Vermontville Maple Valley sophomore Keilyn Carpenter has four record book entries. She’s been added three times for kills in a match – twice reaching 32 – and for this fall totaling 623 kills over 126 games.
Bronson’s fourth straight MHSAA championship – this one in Division 3 in the fall – included, predictably, a number of outstanding individual performances. Sophomore Meagan Lasky had 1,775 assists this past season to rank third on that list, while senior sister Kiera Lasky added to her career aces total to finish with 454 – fifth most all-time. Senior Ashton Wronikowski made the season aces list with 137, and junior Keona Salesman did as well with 122 to go with her entry for 766 kills. She’s also on the career kills list with 1,679 over three seasons and with one to play. Kiera Lasky will continue her career at Davenport University, and Wronikowski will continue at West Liberty University in West Virginia.
PHOTO: Lexi Mort cheers on her Corunna teammates during their Division 2 Semifinal against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in November.
Whiteford's Title Team Runs Into History
April 25, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Ottawa Lake Whiteford’s perfect season last fall concluded with its first MHSAA title.
The Division 8 champion also finished with a number of lasting record book accomplishments.
Whiteford set MHSAA 11-player records with 6,570 total yards and 5,167 rushing yards, and also set the record with 103 total touchdowns. The Bobcats also were added recently for a record 672 rushing attempts from 2016, when they finished Division 8 runners-up.
Read on for more recent additions to the MHSAA football record book, and click the heading to view those listings in full.
Football
Bloomfield Hills senior receiver Ty Slazinski made the record book with 14 catches twice during the early weeks of the 2017 season, but that was just the start. Slazinski set the single-game record for receptions with 22 in a 58-39 win over Oak Park on Oct. 20. Slazinski also made the record book with 224 yards receiving on Sept. 1 against West Bloomfield.
As Ionia completed the biggest comeback in MHSAA history Oct. 13, coming back from a 32-0 deficit at halftime to defeat McBain 41-40, John Meyer did his share to move the Bulldogs down the field. The senior quarterback completed 29 of 65 passes for 406 yards, making single-game lists in all three categories – the 65 attempts are tied for fifth-most in one game.
Suriya “Susu” Davenport Jr. quarterbacked Wyoming Godwin Heights to the playoffs as both a junior and then a senior last fall, making the MHSAA records with 2,414 yards and 25 touchdowns passing in 2016 and 2,173 yards passing last season. He also made the career passing yardage listing with 4,846 yards, with 259 more from his sophomore campaign. Teammate MarShawn Kneeland, a junior, was added to the records for 16 sacks and 26 tackles for loss this past season as well. Davenport will continue his career at Davenport University.
Reed City’s rush to its first Semifinal this past fall came in large part on the legs of junior Phillip Jones. His 266 total points ranked 11th for one season, and his 42 touchdowns tied for 11th. Jones also ran for 2,335 yards and 37 of those scores (tied for 11th-most rushing touchdowns), including six TDs in a game against Stanton Central Montcalm.
Milan’s Hunter Aeschbacker returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in his team’s 51-45 win over Carleton Airport on Oct. 13. The junior’s scoring sprints both came in the fourth quarter.
Dakota Knieper joined eight others who have recorded 99-yard rushing touchdowns, adding his against Hanover-Horton on Oct. 13. The Addison senior scored after an interception gave his team the ball inside its 1-yard line, and his sprint contributed to a 38-3 win that helped Addison clinch its first Cascades Conference title since 2008.
A trio of Homer quarterbacks from this decade were added in multiple categories. Alex White was added for 2,333 yards and 30 touchdown passes over 13 games in 2013, while Caleb Drumm was added for 2,400 yards and 33 TDs in 11 games in 2015 and Jordan Sherman was added for 2,237 yards and 30 TDs as well over 10 games this fall. White went on to play football and golf at Kalamazoo College.
Lawrence has been one of the top 8-player programs in Michigan since the sport began at the start of this decade, and a number of standouts were added for passing game accomplishments. Among throwers, Connor Murney now has the records for single-game (521) and single-season (3,236) passing yards, single-game (66) and single-season (276) passing attempts, single-game (40) and single-season (176) passing completions and he sits tied for the single-season passing touchdowns record of 45. Derek Gribler and Hunter Coombs also were added in multiple passing categories, Gribler most notably for 2,607 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2014 and Coombs for 2,179 yards and 33 TDs in 2015. Matthew Cammire, the go-to receiver in 2013 and 2014, moved to the top for career receiving yardage (2,832), career receptions (126) and career touchdowns (53) among other entries. Gribler and Jacob Alburtus also were added for single-game receiving accomplishments. Murney went on to play baseball at Olivet College, and Gribler plays baseball at Lake Michigan College.
Mayville senior Jackson Schenk earned the first entry for tackles for loss in the 8-player record book with 26 in the fall. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end had six in a Sept. 22 win over Burton Madison Academy to make the single-game list as well.
PHOTO: Ottawa Lake Whiteford lines up for a snap during last fall’s Division 8 Final at Ford Field.