Welcome to the Woods: Small Town, Big Heart
February 18, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BUCHANAN -- Dilan Shearer’s advice for Josh Money was simple enough.
“Shoes and hats. Match,” Shearer used say to his usually mis-matched friend, before providing a fashion upgrade by making Money wear a pair of his Nike Air Jordans.
The MHSAA finished its “Battle of the Fans” tour Friday at Buchanan for its boys basketball game against Bridgman. On his way back to school that afternoon, Money stopped at Shearer’s home and grabbed those Jordans to wear for an occasion that surely would’ve meant the world to his friend. Money knew right where to find the shoes – Shearer’s bedroom is just as it was June 17, the day the Buchanan junior died in a car crash.
Shearer and Money would’ve stood together this winter at the lead of the “The Herd,” which over the last few months has transformed from a loosely-organized group of student cheerers to an example of student section fervor at its most efficient – while rallying their small southwestern community near the Indiana border.
Sadly, the most super of superfans in “The Woods” was not a part of this school year’s incredible effort. But that hardly means Shearer’s influence hasn’t been present since the section’s new start this fall.
“I feel like he’s the backbone of everything,” said Money, who leads the Herd during games with one of Shearer’s cousins and Shearer’s best friend.
“It would have been me and him. During the first meeting (to plan the section), I was thinking, ‘Man, he would love to be here, being crazy.’”
Buchanan was the final stop on the Battle of the Fans tour, which also included visits to Frankenmuth, Vandercook Lake, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East. A fan vote will be held on the MHSAA Facebook page beginning Tuesday and ending Thursday, with those results then being combined with a vote by the MHSAA’s Student Advisory Council to determine the champion – which will be announced Friday on Second Half.
Shearer’s death rocked this town of nearly 4,500. He was known to say, “Make a statement everywhere you go,” and “Do it big. Never downsize,” and was recognizable as a regular at Buchanan sporting events.
Money knows his friend would’ve loved how the Herd of nearly 300 strong arrived at 4 p.m. for the freshman game this night. How home basketball nights have become so big in town that the 1,000-fan capacity was filled. How a community member mentioned he’d been coming to game for 30 years, “and I’ve never seen anything remotely like this.”
Coming off the momentum of last year’s inaugural BOTF contest, and prior to the MHSAA Sportsmanship Summit this fall in nearby Kalamazoo, Buchanan athletic director Fred Smith showed Money the video of last year’s champion, Frankenmuth. The Battle was a major focus of this fall’s MHSAA summits, and Smith said he hoped Money and other leaders could create something similar to last year’s champion.
When Money found out Frankenmuth has 507 students – only 40 more than Buchanan – he realized the Bucks could achieve that goal.
But how he and his classmates and advisors made it happen so systematically is something schools would be wise to model.
Smith and Money built out the rest of the leadership team and attended the summit, during which they came up with so many ideas for the new Herd that Smith had a hard time keeping up while writing them down. “I got the chills as we were coming up with the ideas,” sophomore Sam Swem said.
The next step was forming the school’s spirit club. The first meeting drew 15 students; the second drew 30. With Money, Swem and sophomore Ellie Hurd in the lead, the group meets after school Tuesdays and Thursdays for planning, with theme nights spread quickly over Twitter marked with hash tags #FearTheDeer and #TheWoods.
Slogans took off quickly -- “Welcome to the Woods,” “Don’t be a bully, be a Buck,” and during football season, “Stay classy, but a little Bucknasty.” And like for a sports team, the school's booster club has provided the group with funds and supplies.
The leaders then took a “prep rally” on the road to the district’s middle and two elementary schools. They brought along Bucky, the high school’s mascot, to great cheers from the kindergarten, first and second-grade students.
Money, also known as the "Trophy Buck," has become something of a mini-celebrity among the mini students, who rush up to say hi and give him a high five, or say things like “Welcome to the woods” and “Herd dat.”
“‘Herd Dat’ is part of my regular vocabulary,” Money said, referring to the term that plays on the Herd nickname while signifying understanding and agreement.
“It’s a small town, and I’ve been here my whole entire life, so I know everybody here,” Money added. “If I go to the bank or the gas station, people say, ‘How’s the Herd doing? What’s the next theme?’”
“We’re a family, and not just a family within the school,” Swem said. “Even if you’re not at the games, you’re still part of the Herd.”
There’s no doubt, Shearer is also still part of the Herd. The school’s “fan from above” certainly is never far from the Herd’s collective heart.
Lose or win, like the Bucks did Friday, the students pay tribute to their classmate after every final buzzer. They join arms – and the parents have begun to do so as well – and sing Eric Church’s song “Springsteen,” one of Shearer’s favorites.
“I feel like we do it big here, and we never downsize,” Money said, echoing his friend’s favorite sayings, “and we make a statement everywhere we go.”
Swem’s reply simply said it all:
“Herd dat.”
Subway is sponsor of this season's Battle of the Fans II contest.
PHOTOS: (Top) Members of the Herd are joined by players and coaches for the postgame singing of "Springsteen." (Middle) Senior Josh Money leads the Herd through its array of cheers and dances. (Photos courtesy of Caryn DeFreez, DeFreez Photography.)
Finalists Announced for 2023-24 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2024
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2023-24 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 35th year, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $2,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 928 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification and could have more than one finalist. Ann Arbor Greenhills, Birmingham Seaholm, East Grand Rapids, Manistee and Midland Dow have three finalists this year. Seven schools have two finalists: Beal City, Britton Deerfield, Dearborn, Mason, Northville, Oxford, and Traverse City West.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.88. There are 77 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 445 schools which submitted applicants, 28 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,607 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete Award information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the Scholar-Athlete page.
The applications were judged by a 65-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 6, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 13 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 20. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, and submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services—life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more—protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.
2023-24 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Yan Yee Adler, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Bella Adams, Battle Creek Lakeview
Katherine Slazinski, Birmingham Seaholm
Aya Moughni, Dearborn
Sam M. Peot, East Grand Rapids
Julia Holt, Farmington Hills Mercy
Tori Briggs, Fowlerville
Arianna Pate, Gibraltar Carlson
Cameron Herman, Hartland
Brooke Pedersen, Holland West Ottawa
Ella Chatfield, Jenison
Meghan Ford, Mason
Lauren VanSumeren, Midland Dow
Addison Raffle, Northville
Ella Boyd, Oxford
Abigail DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Anna Lassan, South Lyon East
Lily Sackrider, St. Johns
Cecilia Ruchti, St. Joseph
Addison Booher, Traverse City Central
Ava King, Traverse City West
London Williams, Trenton
Sarah Fromm, Utica
Ryah Dewey, Walled Lake Western
BOYS CLASS A
Viraj Nautiyal, Birmingham Seaholm
Dylan Shoresh, Birmingham Seaholm
Charles Howell, Cadillac
Erik Giedeman, Dearborn
Joseph Stachelek, Detroit U-D Jesuit
Charlie Lentz, East Grand Rapids
Charlie Seufert, East Grand Rapids
Chris Piwowarczyk, Fenton
TJ Silvernale, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Jack Ryan, Grosse Pointe South
Jaden Reji, Livonia Churchill
Connor Curtis, Livonia Stevenson
Austin Martel, Mason
Jonathan Song, Midland Dow
Logan Yu, Midland Dow
Jaxson Whitaker, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Kyle Brown, Northville
Sean Wilson, Oxford
Anirudh Krishnan, Plymouth
Abrar Hossen, Portage Central
Andrew Miller, Saline
Jack Carlisle, Stevensville Lakeshore
Willem Howard Anthony DeGood, Traverse City West
Vansh Jvalit Baxi, Troy Athens
GIRLS CLASS B
Elaine Gordon, Adrian
Navya Ashok, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Anika Bery, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Hannah Herman, Buchanan
Gwenyth L. Geiger, Caro
Reese Herioux, Gladstone
Julie Ashbaugh, Grant
Grace deWaalMalefyt, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Megan Marta, Ishpeming Westwood
Addison Rutter, Kingsford
Libby McCarthy, Manistee
Cecilia Postma, Manistee
Malena Johnson, Marshall
Katelyn Baney, Paw Paw
Malia Thelen, Portland
Isabella DeWildt, Sault Ste. Marie
BOYS CLASS B
Angelo Ciarelli, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Lucas Nor, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Austin Hinkley, Big Rapids
Logan Cripps, Brooklyn Columbia Central
Jackson Dell, Chelsea
William E. Ribby, Eaton Rapids
Logan Lipka, Frankenmuth
Charles Lindemann, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Ben Sytsma, Grand Rapids Christian
Stephen Petersen, Hillsdale
Michael Stout, Howard City Tri County
Anthony Mariotti Goatley, Madison Heights Lamphere
Braydon Sorenson, Manistee
Ethan Chambliss, Niles
Aiden Roulo, St. Clair
Oliver Brown, Williamston
GIRLS CLASS C
Mikaela Ann Boyle, Bad Axe
Kylie Ott, Bridgman
Allison Bowles, Clinton
Jaida Schulte, Elk Rapids
Lauren Borsenik, Hemlock
Mariah Thompson, Houghton Lake
Lola Korpi, Ishpeming
Alexis Ewing, Jonesville
Adilyn Anne Ruggles, Marlette
Sara Dammann, New Lothrop
Brooke Spitzley, Pewamo-Westphalia
Claire Neumann, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
BOYS CLASS C
Carter Upper, Alcona
Payton Butkovich, Beal City
Jamisen Latham, Beal City
Tristan B. Harbaugh, Gobles
Niko Burgoon, Iron Mountain
Kannon Duffing, Manchester
Brad H. McNeill, Montrose
Jack Lantz, New Buffalo
Ryin Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Benjamin March, St. Louis
Julian Ahluwalia, Traverse City St. Francis
Landen Muska, Vassar
GIRLS CLASS D
Makenzee Grimm, Battle Creek St. Philip
Alivia Salenbien, Britton Deerfield
Alayna Salenbien, Britton Deerfield
Caroline Beggs, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Rachel Case, Kimball New Life Christian
Mallory Lowe, Leland
Bonnie Kiger, Marion
Hazel Hysell, St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic
BOYS CLASS D
Samuel Wallace Lutz, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Jürgen Griswold, Ellsworth
Christian Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek
Trenton Taratuta, Hillman
Ridley Fast, Hillsdale Academy
Ben McCaw, Lawrence
Nathan Mihills, Marcellus
Clayton Shoup, Mason County Eastern
PHOTO Scholar-Athlete Award medals are ready for presentation during the 2023 ceremony at Breslin Center.