P-W's Smith Breaks Away for Records
April 1, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Jared Smith has a season to play for the Pewamo-Westphalia football team.
But he had an incredible season to remember as a junior last fall in literally carrying the Pirates’ offense to Ford Field.
Smith set MHSAA records with 3,250 yards rushing (on 315 carries; 10.3 yards per carry), total touchdowns in a season with 53 and rushing touchdowns in a season as all 53 came on the ground. His 22 2-point conversions helped give him a season total of 364 points, good for second on the MHSAA list for that category. He also earned a records entry with six rushing touchdowns in a playoff win over Carson City-Crystal on Oct. 30.
The 6-foot, 195-pound running back also ran for more than 2,100 yards as a sophomore and should push into the career rushing leaders by the time this fall is complete – especially if P-W replicates its team finish of 2015, when it was runner-up in Division 7 after a 22-16 loss to Ishpeming in the MHSAA Final.
See below for more recent record entries for football, boys soccer, softball and volleyball, and click each sport heading to see that record book in full.
Football
Of 186 passes Jondell Jones completed for Bangor over 28 high school games the last four seasons, 57 went for touchdowns including a high of 21 in eight games as a sophomore. Jones started the final two games of his freshman season and then through senior year last fall.
Quarterback Tony Poljan and receiver Tony Palmer played leading roles in Lansing Catholic’s combined record of 30-8 over the last three seasons and trip to the Division 5 championship game in 2014. Poljan finished his career in the fall placing in the MHSAA records with 390 completions, 682 attempts, 6,179 yards and 59 touchdowns passing over mostly three seasons as quarterback. Palmer ranked with 134 receptions, 2,036 yards and 21 touchdowns receiving over his three seasons. Poljan will play next at Central Michigan University, and Palmer has signed with Northern Michigan University. Also added for Lansing Catholic was Jack Swain for a 99-yard scoring run against Albion in 2010, and Demond Winston, Bob Fata and Brent Nakfoor for tackles for losses during seasons in the mid-1980s. Winston went on to play for Vanderbilt and then the New Orleans Saints, while Fata played collegiately at Michigan State.
Boys Soccer
Simon Roennecke was limited to only nine games in the fall for Birmingham Roeper. But he still tallied 29 goals and two assists to join the career goals list with 98 and move up the career assists (56) and points (154) lists with a season to play. His 154 career points are tied for 17th-most in MHSAA history.
Softball
Midland’s softball team made the doubles listing with 64 in 2015 on the way to a Regional title, and Maya Kipfmiller led the way with 17 doubles to make the individual record book. Kipfmiller was a sophomore last season, hitting .504 as an outfielder and first baseman and pitching to a 1.17 ERA according to a report by the Saginaw News.
Katie Kish finished a fine four-year varsity career for Grosse Pointe South last spring ranking 13th in MHSAA history with a career batting average of .547. She hit .605 as a senior, with her 66 stolen bases tying for 10th in one season, her 78 hits tying for 14th and her 208 career hits and 39 career doubles also making records lists. She’s continuing her softball career at Hillsdale College.
Coleman’s run to a Division 4 Quarterfinal last season saw the Comets score nearly 10 runs per game – 408 total, led by junior Carley Starnes’ 68. Both totals made MHSAA records lists, as did Cassidy Tucker’s seven RBI in a 20-5 win over Merrill. Coleman finished the season 33-8.
Volleyball
Meredith Norris bettered one of her MHSAA records and continued climbing toward a few others, while Corunna teammate Skylar Napier also put list-worthy touches on her high school career in the fall. Norris’ 56 kills against Goodrich on Nov. 7 set an MHSAA record by three over the 53 kills she had against Goodrich nearly a year to the day prior. Norris also made the single-season kills list for the third time with 836 and ranks seventh on the career kills list with 2,287 and a season to play. Napier finished on the career assists list with 2,912 over three seasons and on the single-match assists list three times including with a last-season high 52 in that Goodrich match.
South Lyon’s Hannah Barton tied for the sixth-most assists during the rally scoring era in a Nov. 10 match against Farmington Hills Mercy. She had 59 over five games, only eight shy of the record, in her team's 3-2 loss.
Saginaw Swan Valley’s run to a record 58 wins and a Class B Regional Final berth in the fall was keyed by a number of strong individual performances. Lauren Huebner made the MHSAA records with 32 kills in a three-game match against Chesaning, 813 kills for the season and 2,109 for her four-year varsity career; the single-season kills rank 15th and the career kills 10th during the rally scoring era. Senior Larissa Crook is listed with 16 aces in a match against Saginaw, 51 assists in a four-game match against Belding, and 129 aces and 1,439 assists both for one season last fall – her assists rank 11th on that list. Senior Noelle Champagne also made the single-match aces list with 15 against Saginaw.
PHOTO: Pewamo-Westphalia's Jared Smith looks for an opening during last season's Division 7 Final against Ishpeming at Ford Field.
K-Zoo United Lights Up Record Book
April 15, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Kalamazoo United has finished a combined 19-4 over the last two seasons in part because of a high-powered offense that has left its mark all over the MHSAA football record book.
The co-op program of Hackett and Kalamazoo Christian this past fall scored 600 points (50 ppg) in finishing 11-1 and reaching a Division 5 Regional Final before losing to eventual champion Hudsonville Unity Christian. Quarterback Eric Wenzel completed his three-season varsity career with MHSAA records for 42 completions (on 61 attempts) in a 2017 game against Delton Kellogg and for 56 passing touchdowns this past fall.
He appears in the football record book a total of 14 times, including for 3,624 passing yards in 2018 (eighth most), 8,643 career passing yards over 28 games (second), 401 pass attempts in 2017 (seventh), 941 career pass attempts (third), 256 completions in 2017 (second), 598 career completions (third) and 110 career touchdown passes (second).
Senior receiver Andrew Widger ranks ninth for receiving touchdowns in a season after grabbing 20 this past fall, and made the single-season yardage list with 1,077 and the career touchdowns list with 26 over two years. Senior received Heath Baldwin was added for 105 catches, 1,744 yards and 30 touchdown catches over the last two seasons, and junior Christian Bartholomew with a season to play has made career lists already with 141 receptions, 2,144 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Wenzel will walk-on at Western Michigan University, while Widger has committed to Kalamazoo College and Baldwin – last season’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion in the 110-meter hurdles and long jump – will continue his track & field career at University of Michigan.
Click to check out the football record book in full, and read on for more recent entries.
Football
Reed City has finished 33-4 over the last three seasons, and senior Phillip Jones-Price finished his three-season varsity career among the leading rushers and scorers in MHSAA history. His 284 points this season rank as seventh most, and his 604 career points over 37 games are tied for 11th. His 44 touchdowns (all rushing) over 12 games this past fall are tied for seventh most, and his 95 career touchdowns rank 11th on that list. He ran for 2,223 yards this season and ranks 17th on the career yardage list with 5,475. Those 44 touchdowns in the fall also rank third for most rushing scores in one season, and he’s listed seventh on the career list with 90. Reed City as a team made the total points list with 573 over 12 games this past fall and 546 over 13 games in 2017, rushing for more than 4,300 yards as a team both seasons and gaining at least 5,100 yards as a team during both. Jones-Price will continue at Albion College.
Brad Dunn became the latest Saugatuck offensive standout to leave his name all over the MHSAA record book, finishing up a three-year varsity career in the fall on lists with 472 points and 78 touchdowns. He had 260 points, 43 touchdowns – with 41 rushing – and 2,574 rushing yards in 11 games in his final season. He also was added for six rushing touchdowns in a game against Fennville, as was older brother Blake Dunn for six against Martin in 2014. Teammate Nick Stanberry tied the longest rushing touchdown with a 99-yarder against Kent City on Oct. 26, and kicker Griffin Milovanski made both the single-season extra points list with 69 and career consecutive extra points list with 53 straight last season. As a team, Saugatuck was added 11 times, most notably for scoring 524 points (47.6 per game) this past fall, and taking its place atop the single-season rushing list for its 5,281 yards over 14 games in 2010.
Delton Kellogg’s 86-50 win over Niles Brandywine in a first-round Division 6 playoff game Oct. 26 ranks among the highest-scoring in MHSAA history. Brandywine junior receiver Shane Brown was one of the shining individual performers, making the MHSAA records with 259 receiving yards (on 11 receptions) and five receiving touchdowns.
A pair of Corunna grads were added for defensive performances in 2015. Then-senior Dakota Ryan ranks tied for fourth for single-game interceptions for his four against Flint Beecher that season, and then-junior Brandon Blair made the list for longest fumble return touchdown with a 95-yarder against Durand. Blair now plays at Northwood University.
DeWitt joined the list of consecutive winning seasons this fall with 19 straight after finishing 12-1. This fall’s success also pushed coach Rob Zimmerman over 200 career wins – he’s 207-62 in 20 seasons at DeWitt and three at Cedar Springs. Junior Carson Hayes was added in two individual categories, for extra points (making 56 of 59) in one season, and for connecting on 37 straight.
Quarterback Blake Fialek and receiver Brent McLaughlin earned Holton’s first football record book entries with their contributions against Lakeview in 2016. Fialek was added for 413 yards passing on 24 completions (and 40 attempts), while McLaughlin caught 14 of those passes for 269 yards to earn two record entries. Fialek was a senior that fall and plays now at Alma College, and McLaughlin graduated last spring.
Elk Rapids’ added three players to the record book for accomplishments over the last four seasons. Sophomore Gordie LaFontaine earned four entries this past fall, including for 2,033 passing yards and six touchdown tosses in a half against East Jordan on Aug. 30. Senior Alex Villegas was added for 143 receptions and 1,773 receiving yards over four seasons, and kicker Marshall Fox made the career extra point list with 82 in 85 attempts also over the last four years.
A pair of Crystal Falls Forest Park juniors joined the growing 8-player record list. Tommy Peltoma made the single-game rushing attempts list with 50 (for 272 yards) against Phillips, Wis., on Sept. 21. Evan Hedtke was added for five tackles for loss against Felch North Dickinson on Oct. 5. He finished with 11 tackles total in the game.
Cedarville senior Jarron Masuga earned three 8-player record book entries including the first for fumble recoveries in a season (12) and fumble returns for touchdowns in a season (five on defense; he also returned a fumble for a touchdown while playing offense). He also moved to the top of the list for sacks with 18 over 12 games last fall. He will continue his career at Albion College.
PHOTO: Kalamazoo United quarterback Eric Wenzel (center) congratulates teammate Andrew Widger (10) after a touchdown this fall. (Photo by Daniel J. Cooke.)