GOLD DIVISION Reed City 7-0 (Coach: Monty Price) Newaygo 5-2 Big Rapids 4-3 Chippewa Hills 4-3 Tri County 4-3 Grant 3-4 Fremont 1-6 Central Montcalm 0-7 ALL CONFERENCE: Michael Johnson (12) Reed City Koronte Lowery (11) Chippewa Hills Anthony Pelton (12) Reed City Mitchell Kuzma (12) Chippewa Hills Phillip Jones-Price (12) Reed City Chayton Wiggins (11) Chippewa Hills Jackson Price (12) Reed City Colby Roosa (10) Chippewa Hills Zack Wirgau (12) Reed City Carl Whipple (10) Chippewa Hills Stephen Shewan (12) Reed City Trevor Swix(12) Chippewa Hills Brandon Major (12) Reed City Tanner Ching (12) Tri County Mason Bush (12) Reed City Bryce Hallman (12) Tri County Connor Swinehart (12) Newaygo Bryce Dube (12) Tri County Zach Rodriguez (12) Newaygo Cam Friend (10) Tri County Michael LaFontsee (12) Newaygo Hunter Dewey (11) Tri County Noah Graff (12) Newaygo Nick Braunsynder (11) Tri County Andrew Goodin (12) Newaygo Billy Ostyn (11) Grant Carlos Magana (11) Newaygo Kyle Williams (12) Grant Braden Benjamin (11) Newaygo Tye Solis (12) Grant Jayden Mason (12) Big Rapids Austin Kukal (12) Fremont Jackob Martinson (12) Big Rapids Kane Widing (12) Fremont Isaac Lobert (12) Big Rapids Teague Stander (11) Central Montcalm Elliott Blair (12) Big Rapids Adam Bollman (12) Big Rapids Jace Gray (12) Big Rapids HONORABLE MENTION: Cody S. Kailing (12) Reed City Kade Bhuyan (12) Newaygo Tom Lobert (12) Big Rapids Michael Kowallic (12) Chippewa Hills Henry Docter (12) Tri County Chase Lowry (12) Grant Chris Redder (12) Fremont Andrew Johnson (11) Central Montcalm SILVER DIVISIOn 5-0 Kent City (Coach: Bill Crane) 4-1 Morley Stanwood 3-2 Holton 2-3 Lakeview 1-4 Hesperia 0-5 White Cloud ALL CONFERENCE: Gio Weeks (12) Kent City Derek Pouch (12) Holton John Meek (12) Kent City Aaron Herron (12) Holton Brenden Geers (12) Kent City Colby Younts (12) Holton Evan Jones (12) Kent City Draven Wyant (12) Holton Nick Coalter (12) Kent City Addison Mitchell (12) Lakeview Jared Coates (12) Kent City Andrew Nummer (12) Lakeview Jason Bialik (11) Morley Stanwood Andrew Heady (12) Lakeview Gage Wright (12) Morley Stanwood Johnny Segura (12) Hesperia Xavier Raven (12) Morley Stanwood Logan Balkema (11) Hesperia Alek Jensen (12) Morley Stanwood Tucker Kooman (12) White Cloud Callen Dillree (12) Morley Stanwood HONORABLE MENTION:\ Rylan Kerwin (12) Kent City Trevor Underhill (12) Morley Stanwood Garrett Lulofs (12) Holton Hayden Rentschler (11) Lakeview Cameron Follett (12) Hesperia Alek Degen (12) White Cloud
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Girls team impresses, finishes 10th Six sophomores and a freshman made up the Packer boys team that ran to a second place finish at the State Championships. Chelsea who graduated three runners from last year’s state championship squad took the title again with three Bulldogs finishing in the top 15. The Pack was led by sophomore Nathan Walker who finished 5th overall and earned all-state honors. His teammate and classmate Ben Paige was also named all state finishing 25th. From Coach Clifton Somers: Both teams capped off a great season in style at the State Finals. The boys finished as State Runner-Up while the girls finished 10th. The weather was good, but the course was in pretty bad shape. The boys got out to a good looking start. Nathan Walker (So) was in about 10th at the mile, with Ben Paige (So), Conor Somers (Fr), and Adam Ward (So) between 35th and 45th. Colton Best (So) and Josh Zerfas (So) were in the 70s, with Nathan Johnson (So) around 200th. We were in 1st at the mile. Nathan W., a savvy racer, started to slowly pick his way his way through the top ten with Ben also starting to move up. Conor and Adam were holding steady, while Colton was moving up well. Rounding the 2 mile the team was still in 1st and Nathan was still moving up. He was having to really work through the gaps to get from one athlete to another. Ben was battling around 30th, the last All-State position. Adam was still holding steady while Conor was starting to fade. Colton was moving up like crazy, catching Conor then Adam just as they entered the last ¾ of a mile. Josh was fading a little while Nathan J. was moving up. Nathan ran a strong home stretch to finish 5th as the top sophomore in D2. Ben had a great last 120 to move up to 25th. Colton continued his charge to finish 34th. Adam faded a little the last 400 to finish in 61st with Conor in 60th. Josh was 126th and Nathan J. 173rd. We had hope to be moving up as the team the last ¾ of a mile, but Chelsea made their move there while we had a few runners fade there. Chelsea won with 121 to our 134. Spring Lake finished 3rd with 199. The girls, in their first trip to the state finals since 2013 ran great. We were way back at the mile mark and probably got out just a little to conservatively, not a lot but just a little. The girls showed their self confidence to stay focused and start moving up. Hannah Hamilton (Sr) was in 60th at the mile with the rest of the team in the 100s or above. Hannah really moved up into 40th by the 2 mile. Sammy Schmidt (Sr), and Kendra Fowler (Sr) were moving steadily between the 1 and 2 miles. Leah Converse (So) and Claire Whittle (Sr) were moving up also. Erin Norton (So) and Katie Nicholas (Sr) were holding their positions steady. In the final mile Hannah worked her way up to 34th, but the gaps were a little to big for her to bridge up to the to 30. Sammy really charged the last mile to move up to 57th, Kendra moved up to 89th. Leah finished in 112th, with Claire 143rd, Erin 181st, and Katie 203rd. The girls scored 290 to finish 10th. I am so proud of how far both these teams have come over the course of this season. We knew that both teams had potential, but it took a little time to develop. The athletes stayed patient, kept believing and just kept improving every week. To have both teams keep improving all through the season is pretty special. We have some good young athletes coming back next year, but it is going to be tough saying goodbye to the seniors. Coach Hamilton and I would like to thank all of the parents and administration for their support this season. We also would like to thank all you alumni and supporters out there helping us carry on the tradition. Photos By Sarah Besonen Johnson
White Cloud sent three, two from Grant made the trip and Newaygo, Holton and Tri County each sent a single qualifier to Brooklyn for the State Meet.
In D-4 White Cloud’s Jordan Richmond picked up All State honors as he raced to a 10th place finish with a time of 16:45.6. Adrian Rodriguez(17:52.8) placed 53rd in the field of 242 and Ella Bowman ran a 22:26.6 to finish 118th of the 238 runners. Holton sophomore Lily Crowell took 76th place coming in at 21:51.5 In D-2 Grant harrier Colton Covington came in at 16:19.5 landing him in 15th place and an all state selection and fellow Tiger Spencer Cole finished at 17:15.3 to place 108th in the field of 240. Tri County Viking Gabe Goosen took 54th with a 16:54.5 finish. Newaygo senior Ryan Brummell was the lone local representative in Division 3 as he topped off his high school cross career with a 17:36.3 time good enough for 95th place among the 246 competitors. Lion season comes to an end at the lakeshore
Montague 48 Newaygo 14 It was a nice run for the Lions but the Wildcats quick strike offense tore off 4 first quarter touchdowns then followed it up with 3 more in the second to put the game away early. Newaygo score twice in the 4th but by then the game was well in hand. The Lions finish the season 7-4 with a second straight playoff appearance. Montague (9-2) goes on the road to play Schoolcraft (9-2). The Wildcats have played in the post season 17 of the past 18 years with 12 appearances in the regionals. Their Eagle opponents have been to the dance 18 of the past 20 years with 5 visits to the regionals. Holton captures first ever district crown
Holton 34 Decatur 7 When you end your season with three losses and make the playoffs it might seem like you entered the fray through the back door. And then when you move to the next level with a one point win maybe you found a side door to slip in. Well, on Friday the Red Devils crashed their way through the front door main entrance on their way to entering regional play for the first time in school history. Riding a rising tide of confidence this team turned a two touchdown lead at the half into a rout as their crushing line play dominated on both sides of the ball. Coach Jack Nummerdor: “District Champs! What a great thing for these kids. Going from not knowing we are in to District Champs and hosting next week. Our staff could not be more proud for the kids and community. Aaron and Derek did a great job of running hard. The offensive and defensive lines took full control again tonight. Ricky Enders has had a great two weeks. The entire team earned this, from the freshmen we have pulled up through the seniors! The boys had great focus tonight and we are beyond happy to keep playing.” Aaron Herron piled up 158 rushing yards and in the process found the endzone 3 times. Derek Pouch added 128 yards to the ground game with a touchdown and Drew Trygstad also found paydirt for the Devils when he busted one in from short yardage. Enders continued his inspired play with a pair of interceptions a fumble recovery and a half dozen tackles. Johnny Dominish led the team in tackles with 8 while Draven Wyant and Nathan Slowik each forced a fumble with Slowik adding an interception to his defensive stats. Oh, and a word about the Holton community The folks in this area have truly embraced this team. The support shown has been unwavering from the beginning and this coming week they will be rewarded with a chance to see their Red Devils play without making a drive south while following the team bus. As Coach Nummerdor reported, the game is to be a home contest. Hosting the upcoming game was a long shot at the start of the playoffs. Obviously the team had to win a pair to advance but because home games are determined by playoff points accumulated through the season and only two schools in district play had lower totals than the Devils it seemed unlikely at best that football would be played in Holton during November. But one of those schools was Mendon and on Friday night the Hornets stung the team from Athens to continue playing while delivering a home game to the Red Devils and their legion of fans. So, while there might be another sendoff this week the ride to the game will be a short one. The boys are staying home. On Holton. Hesperia 3 White Cloud 1
The Panthers defeated the Indians in the finals Thursday night and delivered on a goal they set for themselves before the season began. The school’s first ever district crown in volleyball. Game 1 went to White Cloud 25-21, as Hesperia worked through some nerves and crowd noise. The Panthers came back strong in game 2 and 3 winning 25-15 and 25-22. Game 4, started off shaky for the Panthers, however they fought hard coming back to win the set and the match 25-23. It was a hard fought battle in front of a large crowd from both schools. Alyssa Miller led the offense with 16 kills. Emily Bayle, Rachel Romero, and Ally Bayle added 12, 11, and 8 kills respectively. Isabelle Rumsey led from the service line with 4 aces, Ally and Emily Bayle each had 2 aces. Emily Bayle led the team defensively with 15 digs and Miller added 11 digs. Rumsey had 2 blocks on the night and E. Bayle added a single block. Kyra Sayer and Aria Thomas had 22 and 18 assists respectively. The Panthers (36-16-2) move on to the regional semi-finals on Tuesday, November 6th at 5:30, in Kent City, against GR Northpointe Christian. Coopersville 3 Grant 0 The state ranked Broncos ended a 7 year run of district titles for the Tigers. Coach Kristen Keelean: We had a very successful season that unfortunately ended too early for us. Our strength rested in a large group of seniors who led this team all year through adversity and triumph. I am so proud of their efforts and so thankful to have coached them. They will leave a lasting legacy with this program. We were looking for a win that would have made this Grant’s 8th district title in a row. The defeat last night came at the hands of the Broncos who are ranked 5th in the state in Division 2. Coopersville made very few errors and they were able to get us out of system and take away some of our offensive power that we rely on in matches. The pride that I felt watching our team fight until the very last point speaks volumes about the athletes in this program. No one gave up, no one backed down, everyone fought for the final point. It is always hard to walk away at the end with a loss, and sometimes hard to remember that the season itself is more than that last match. These girls can stand proud on their accomplishments and on their season as a whole.” Lions and Devils play for District Titles.
By Ken DeLaat While Tri County was ousted by the offensive steamroller known as Saginaw Swan Valley last Friday two of our area teams survived to fight on with district titles on the line. Newaygo is playing Saturday afternoon in the not so friendly confines of Montague's home field and Holton once again hops on a southbound bus to play at Decatur Friday night. Here’s a bit of a preview. Newaygo (7-3) At Montague (8-2) Saturday 1pm From 1950-1953 the two teams played 4 times with Newaygo winning each of those contests.Their next matchup came 38 years later, a game won by the Wildcats and 2 years later the Lions returned the favor when they knocked off a Montague team that was on their way to reaching the semi-finals that season. Now fast forward 25 years and the two will do battle to see who grabs a district title enroute to a week 12 game. Montague has lost 2 games both of them to undefeated teams from upper divisions who are still playing. And both on the road as well. On the Montague football field the ‘Cats are in their element and the offense has averaged 56 points a game on home turf. They are one of three teams from the WMAC still playing and a fourth (North Muskegon) took a powerhouse Lake City team to the edge before losing by just 2 points last week. While cruising to many of their victories they also put together an improbable comeback win over Oakridge erasing a 14 point deficit in just over 3 minutes. They’re a good team. A solid team. A team with a playoff legacy that includes a pair of state titles. Newaygo has clawed their way through the season. Nothing has come easy and they have shown a lot of grit along the way. To move on they will need an outstanding game from their skill positions and limit turnovers because the Wildcat defense thrives on forcing mistakes. Few teams have impressed me more than this year’s Lion squad. After the week two debacle against Chip Hills that left the season in shambles at 0-2 these players could have cashed it in emotionally. They rose to the occasion and slammed 6 of the next 7 games into the win column. Then they bested their cross conference foe Mohawks to earn Saturday’s ride west. The Lions have earned this spot and won’t come in merely happy to be here. They are a quality football team going up against another quality program and on a good day with a few breaks they just might grab this one, but fall behind early and the Wildcats will pounce. And should the Lions get in front, remember, no lead is safe here. Just ask the Eagles. TV Note: If you’re a Sparty follower they start at noon and the Wolves take on Penn State at 3:45pm but this one is set for kickoff at 1pm and if you want to see true student athletes rather than athlete students play….. Holton (6-4) At Decatur (6-4) Friday 7pm The Red Devils will take on the Raiders in a game between two teams with somewhat similar seasons. Both teams won the games they should have won, and struggled against the better teams in their conference. Both have 4 losses and both have had games when the offene shows up late. 4 of the Raiders 5 wins came against teams with a combined record of 5-31. They have defeated just one team with a winning record and it was not the Climax Scotts team they played last week. The Panthers came into the game 4-4 and were playing their final 11 player version of the game having decided to go 8 player next season. I like this Holton team a lot. They shook off the three losses at the end of the season to survive a one point contest against Martin on the Clipper home field. They are confident and ready to bring it. The line play elevated them to victory last week and chances are they will need to stand tall again if the Devils are to advance. A quick start wouldn’t hurt here. Should they come out on top it will be the first district crown for Holton and will send the team into uncharted playoff territory. Clare at Reed City Friday 7pm Reed City is the only other CSAA team still playing and they will be hosting a rematch with the Pioneers of Clare. The Coyotes have ousted their old rivals from the U.S. 10 and North Central B leagues twice in playoff action including last year’s 34-7 game a loss the Pioneers would like to atone for. Reed City is on a collision course with Swan Valley for their own shot at redemption next week but they won’t be looking past this one. |
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