Scane's Scoring Provides Lofty Goal for Future Stars

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 11, 2021

Isabelle Scane finished her four-season varsity girls lacrosse career in 2018 with a pair of records that may not be challenged for some time.

The Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood standout scored 461 goals – 52 more than the next highest scorer on that list – and her 577 career points over 93 games are 54 more points than the rest of the list. She also finished with 116 career assists to rank eighth in that stat category.

Scane has continued her career at Northwestern and earned All-America honors as a sophomore.

Click to see the girls lacrosse record book in full, and see below for more recent additions for baseball, 8-player football and softball.

Baseball

Muskegon Mona Shores grad Austin Flowers capped his career in 2018 with a .390 batting average – and added significantly to his ability to get on base by being hit by pitches 21 times. That total ranks sixth for one season in MHSAA history.

8-player football

Colon’s quest to finish undefeated and win the 2019 Division 1 championship saw the Magi set an 8-player record with 91 touchdowns. Their 59 rushing touchdowns ranked third all-time, and they also made the list with the second-most interceptions for an 8-player season, with 20. Senior Austin Stoll was added for kicking 51 extra points over his 12 games. 

Au Gres-Sims quarterback Caden Zeien can be found all over the passing record book for both 11 and 8-player football after a four-year career that saw him lead teams in both formats. He’s among career 11-player leaders with 430 completions, 748 attempts, 5,906 yards and 72 touchdowns over 28 games and the 2015-17 seasons. After his program switched to 8-player in 2018, Zeien capped his career making single-season lists with 2,125 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air over 12 games. Zeien is playing now at Alma College.

Portland St. Patrick’s run to the 8-player Division 2 championship game this season saw the Shamrocks score 85 touchdowns, second-most in 8-player history, led in part by 35 passing TDs by quarterback Connor Cross. Scoring tosses made up nearly 37 percent of his passes, and 18 of those scores were to senior Zach Spitzley, who caught 30 passes overall for the season but for 1,047 yards. Along with Cross’ scoring passes, Spitzley’s yards and receiving TDs made the record book as did his 1,721 yards and 24 touchdowns over three years playing offense and four on varsity overall. The Shamrocks also made the list four times for holding teams to five or fewer first downs in a game – tying the record by allowing two Sept. 27. Cross will be a senior this fall.

Mayville senior Jacob Miller capped his career last fall with a pair of 8-player record accomplishments, with 30 tackles for loss for the season and nine in a game against Genesee. Teammate Jeffrey Frost also was added to a career record list with the third-most touchdown receptions, 33 over 39 games and four seasons.

Bridgman earned the first entry for come-from-behind victory for 8-player on Oct. 23. The Bees came back from a late second-quarter 47-0 deficit to defeat Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 54-53 in overtime.

Clay Ayers became the first to be listed in the 8-player record book for both extra points in a game and consecutive during one game, making 10 of 10 in Adrian Lenawee Christian’s 78-14 playoff win over Mayville on Nov. 6. Ayers was a junior this season.

Softball

From 2013-19, Unionville-Sebewaing won three Division 4 championships and finished Division 3 runner-up twice – and with that run came a number of totals eligible for record book placement. Individually, 2019 grad Rylee Zimmer was added for 71 hits and 11 home runs that season, and 39 career doubles over three seasons. Katelyn Englehardt, a senior in 2018, was added for 22 doubles that season and 33 over three years on varsity, while now-senior Brynn Polega was added for 20 doubles in 2019 and 2014 grad Stephanie Neuman was added for 18 doubles her junior season. As a team, USA is listed 33 times for achievements over the years; the most impressive of those added recently might have been 421 runs scored over 42 games in 2013, 100 doubles (seventh most) over 40 games in 2018, 365 RBI (eighth most) over 42 games in 2013 and 30 shutouts (fifth most) over 41 games in 2014. Neuman went on to play at Ferris State, Zimmer plays volleyball at Saginaw Valley State and Polega will continue next season at Northwood.

PHOTO: Cranbrook Kingswood’s Isabelle Scane is introduced before the start of the 2018 Division 2 championship game.

Long-range Skill Helps P-W Go Distance

July 29, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Pewamo-Westphalia girls basketball team this past winter won its first MHSAA Finals championship, in Division 3, based in part on record book-caliber 3-point shooting.

The Pirates finished 14th all-time with 183 3-pointers and also made the attempts list with 533 over 28 games. Ellie Droste, Rachel Huhn and Hannah Spitzley all had at least 42 3-pointers as the team finished 27-1.

A trio of other long-distance shooters also recently were added to the girls basketball record book – see more on those achievers below, plus recent additions in wrestling as well. Click the headings to see those record books in full.

Girls Basketball

Comstock’s Daisy Ansel capped her career this winter as one of the top long-distance shooters in MHSAA history. She made 78 more 3-pointers as a senior to finish her four-season career with 261 in 721 attempts (36 percent) over 86 games. She also was added to the records for scoring 45 points in a game twice, and just missed the career free-throw shooting list finishing with a career success rate of 79.9 percent. As a team, Comstock was added for 162 3-pointers, 524 attempts, and a 71.2 free-throw shooting percentage in finishing 17-5. Ansel will continue her career at Grand Valley State University.

Westland Universal Learning Academy junior Zahraa Cherkaoui added to her 2017 entry for 47 points in a game with 49 in a Feb. 5 69-42 win over Warren Michigan Math & Science Academy. She made 15 two-point field goals, five 3-pointers and 4-of-5 free-throw attempts.

Birch Run’s Sarah Miller has made a significant imprint in the record book through her junior season, with 140 steals as a sophomore in 2017-18 and then three entries for free-throw shooting this past winter. Miller’s 21 free throws against Carrollton on Feb. 2 tied for fourth most for one game, and her 17 in 17 attempts Dec. 18 against Alma are tied for fifth-most consecutive in one game. Her 176 free throws total (in 218 attempts) were 13th most for one season.

Rogers City’s Taylor Fleming was a three-sport standout over the last four years, and will continue in volleyball at Lake Superior State University. She left her mark in basketball with a pair of record book entries, for 28 rebounds in a game Dec. 27 against Posen and for 355 rebounds over 19 games total this winter. Her aunt Ashley Fleming also was added to the records for grabbing 1,194 rebounds from 2001-04 – that total ranking ninth all-time. She went on to play at Ferris State University.

Midland Dow’s run to the Division 1 Regional Finals was keyed by a pair of sharp-shooting guards finishing their high school careers. Molly Davis made 68 3-pointers this past season and Maizie Taylor connected on 65, including 11 in a Feb. 20 game against Flint Powers Catholic. Davis finished her four-season varsity career with 174 3-pointers and will continue at Central Michigan University, and Taylor will play at Northwood University. As a team, Midland Dow made 222 of 616 3-point attempts in finishing 23-2. The Chargers had 15 3-pointers twice – against Powers and also Dec. 11 against Howell – and the 222 for the season rank fourth all-time.

Wrestling

Clinton’s Noah Comar finished his two-time championship career this winter with a record of 219-8 and 151 pins over those 227 matches. Those career falls rank 16th all-time, and he also made the single-season list with 46 over 60 matches as a junior. Comar won the Division 4 championship at 125 this past winter and at 112 as a sophomore, and was 125 runner-up as a junior and 112 runner-up as a freshman. He will continue at University of Michigan.

Petoskey grad Kegan Arthur also was added for winning more than 200 matches during his career, which concluded in 2010. Arthur finished 201-31 with a career-high 54 victories as a senior, when he finished Division 2 runner-up at 135 pounds. He also came in fifth at 130 as a junior and was a four-time Finals qualifier. He went on to compete at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Gaylord junior Chayse LaJoie added an Individual Finals runner-up finish this past winter at 125 to championships previously won at 103 and 112, and made the MHSAA records with 16 technical falls in finishing 48-2.

Kyle Schaaf capped his Clare career this winter with a four-season varsity record of 194-23, with highs of 52 wins as both a sophomore and a junior. He finished fifth in Division 3 at 125 pounds as a senior and was a four-time Finals placer – he also was 119 runner-up as a junior, third at 119 as a sophomore and eighth at 112 as a freshman.

Mattawan sophomore Anthony Williamson opened his Individual District competition at 152 pounds this winter with a pin in just four seconds – edging two others by a second for the fastest fall at that weight in MHSAA history. Williamson went on to win his bracket and eventually take sixth place at his weight at the Division 2 Finals.

PHOTO: P-W’s Rachel Huhn fires a 3-point attempt during last season’s Division 3 championship game win over Flint Hamady.