SPORTS SECTION ⚫ RECENT HEADLINES

---

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

GRAND BLANC (CCN) — The Class of 2024 has been announced for the Greater Flint Sports Hall of Fame. An induction ceremony will be held in December at the Ascension Genesys Health Club in Grand Blanc Township where a press party event was held to reveal the newest members.

Individuals going into the Greater Flint Sports Hall of Fame include runner Anthony Hamm of Flint Northern, hockey player Shawn Cronin of Flushing, three-sport star Mike Gatz of the old St. Mike's Catholic, softball star Cathy Wylie of Flint Northern and WNBA star Deanna Nolan of Flint Northern.

Teams inducted in the Class of 2024 include Flint Northern's girls' track and field team of 1981 and the Fenton softball teams of 1978, 1979 and 1980.

Also getting a place in the Sports Hall of Fame will be the Flint Olympian and CANUSA Games as well as Distinguished Service Award honorees Lou Giampetroni and Dr. Mark Weber.

Announced as the 2024 Female Athlete of The Year was Katelyn DeWitt of Grand Blanc and Grant Garman of Flint Powers Catholic was named as the 2024 Male Athlete of the Year.

Dewitt led Grand Blanc's softball team to a 35-5-1 record in 2023 when the Lady Bobcats reached the Division 1 state semifinals before losing to Woodhaven.

Garman led Flint Powers Catholic to the state championship in Division 2 baseball in 2023 as one of the best pitchers in Michigan.

It will be a second Hall of Fame induction for Hamm and Wylie.

Hamm was inducted into the Michigan State Spartans Hall of Fame in 2021 for his running career there and Wylie is in the Hall of Fame at Central Michigan University as one of the best power hitters in CMU softaball history.

Hamm was a six-time six-time All-American who ran for MSU from 1987 until 1992 in both cross country and track. 

Cronin didn't play on Flushing's high school hockey team but used the travel hockey route to make it to the National Hockey League where he played for the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks.

Cronin played for the Redford Jets in Juniors and won a scholarship to the University of Illinois-Chicago where he played four years before a 12-year pro career. He scored only three career goals in the NHL but was best known for his rugged style which led to 877 career penalty minutes.

His 271 penaly 

MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) —  Fenton added a classic to one of the most intense rivalries in local prep sports by winning a football showdown at Linden for the Metro League's Stripes Division lead. In other local leagues, Goodrich won a battle of Metro League Stars Division unbeatens, Grand Blanc went to 3-0 in the Saginaw Valley Conference's South Division where Davison is 2-0

METRO LEAGUE ROUNDUP:

Fenton beat Linden for the 14th straight time with a 24-21 victory in front of an enemy crowd at Linden. Both teams brought 3-0 Metro League records into the contest.

Fenton can clinch the division title next week at Flushing to wrap up a spot in the Metro League's championship game in a cross-over battle on Oct. 18. Flushing went to 3-1 in Metro League action Friday night by whipping Swartz Creek 42-14.

Linden had gone to 3-0 in Metro League play by winning big at Swartz Creek (49-0) last week after edging Holly 14-7 and nipping Flushing 14-13 to spoil homecoming night for the Raiders who have rebounded strong. They rolled 60-0 at Holly in a bounce-back romp after losing to Linden.

Flushing can now create a three-way tie atop the standings by beating Fenton if Linden can rebound to beat Flint Kearsley which nipped Holly 15-14 this week.

Corunna, state finalists in Division 5 a year ago after beating Fenton 57-7 in the 2023 Metro League championship game, was no match for the Martians at Goodrich in a battle of 3-0 teams in Stars Division action. Coach Tom Alward's club, which made it to the state semifinals a year ago after reaching the Division 4 state finals for the first time in school history a year earlier, flexed its muscles for the fourth week in a row since losing its opener at Frankenmuth. The Martians rolled to a 42-7 obliteration of the previously undefeated Corunna club that brought a perfect 5-0 overall record into Goodrich

Goodrich has reeled off consecutive romps of 47-7

at Linden, 62-0 over Lake Fenton at home, 64-8 at Clio and 48-6 at home over Owosso before surprising Corunna in what most local prep football observers figured to be a close one.

Coach Alward's Martians, ranked No. 9 in the latest Division 4 rankings by the Michigan Football Coaches Association, are now positioned to qualify for the state playoffs for the seventh time in the last nine seasons. One more victory would guarantee another trip to the playoffs.

Goodrich now goes to Ortonville Brandon next week to try to punch its ticket to the Metro League cross-over against either Fenton or Flushing.

Flushing won big for the second week in a row after Linden spoiled its homecoming to wreck an undefeated season. The Raiders are now 5-1 overall and they have a home field advantage when hosting Fenton for a chance to share the title this week.

Flushing also needs to win one of its three remaining games to guarantee itself a spot in the state playoffs under new Coach Austin Cook.  It would be the first time for the Raiders to make the Division 2 playoffs since 2020 when completing a run of four appearances in a row and a fifth trip to the post-season in the last seven seasons.

Cook bleeds Raiders orange and black, too. He not only has been a teacher in the district for 13 years but he's also the varsity lacrosse coach and was an assistant in the football program before taking the varsity head coach job  in addition to being a 2003 graduate of Flushing High School. Cook took over this season when Marcus Endicott resigned after two years at the helm. This year's turnaround to an impressive 5-1 record overall follows Endicott's two teams posting 4-5 and 3-6 records.

Fenton, ranked No. 8 in Division 3 in the latest poll by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, wrapped up its 16th appearance in the last 17 years by beating arch rival Linden .

Ortonville Brandon and Lake Fenton are on the bubble to qualify with 4-2 records.

Elsewhere around the Metro League on Friday night, Ortonville Brandon may have been caught looking ahead to Goodrich by surviving a 54-47 score from Owosso and Lake Fenton rolled 

tp a 56-0 romp over visiting Clio to rebound strong from last week's  41-19 loss at Corunna.

SAGINAW VALLEY CONFERENCE

Grand Blanc won 35-21 Friday night at Lapeer which lost its second in a row in the Valley after bowing 10-7 to Saginaw Heritage last week for its first conference loss.

Lapeer is now 2-2 in Valley play and has lost two non-conference battles in a row before trying to play spoiler in its Valley finale in the season-ending game in Lapeer against Davison.

Davison, 2-0 in Valley play, moved to 5-1 overall by beating visiting East Lansing 35-10 Friday night in a non-conference tilt. The Cardinals have not lost since a season-opening 21-3 loss to Warren De La Salle in the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University in Detroit. De La Salle was rated No. 1 in Division 2 by the Michigan High School Coaches Association before losing 41-7 to Toledo Catholic Central on Sept. 20.

Davison is now No. 7 in Division 1 in the latest state rankings released on Thursday (Oct. 3, 2024). The Cardinals get back to Valley play to close out the season with three in a row against Flint Carman-Ainsworth, G rand Blanc and Lapeer. The showdown with Grand Blanc is at home while the other two are on the road.

Next opponent Flint Carman-Ainsworth will host the Cardinals this week in search of its first victory of the season. The Cavaliers were trounced 49-16 by Saginaw Heritage on Friday night in a disappointing homecoming game.

GENESEE AREA CONFERNCE

 Burton Atherton clinched at least a share of its first league championship since the 1961 Wolverines won the old Genesee County B title by collecting a forfeit victory over Flint Beecher Friday night.

The Wolverines are 4-0 atop the Genesee Area Conference (GAC). They play last-place Flint International Academy next week before heading into their GAC finale Oct. 18 at Bentley. The Bulldogs are 3-1 in GAC play and need to beat Flint Elite next week and then win Burton's city championship to share the GAC crown with Atherton. Both schools beat Bendle by identical 27-0 scores.

Bentley beat Genesee 26-12 Friday night to set up the GAC title game at home on Oct. 18 if they can win next week against Flint Elite at Madison Academy. Bentley is 3-3 and must win out to guarantee itself of a state playoff spot again in Division 8 under new Coach James Stabile. He took over for Dan Hewitt who departed for the head coach job at Flint Kearsley after leading last year's Bulldogs to a 7-2 regular season record and their first trip to the state playoffs since 2008.

Atherton is 5-1 and one victory away from being assured of its first state playoff appearance since 2014. The wolverines are in Division 7.

Randy Young has brought the program back to life since taking the job as Atherton's leader in 2021. The biggest hurdle was getting back to 11-man football this season after being relegated to the 8-man game for five seasons because of low numbers. Young's first two teams were 3-6 and 2-7 but the 2023 Wolverines went 4-4. They've now won five straight since losing the non-conference opener to Vassar. 

Next week's opponent, Flint Elite, is a combined team of players from Flint's New Standard Academy and Burton's Madison Academy. The Warriors are 2-2 in GAC play and 2-4 overall after whipping Flint International Academy 64-14 on Friday night.

Bendle lost 30-6 at Flint Hamady Friday in a non-conference game since the Hawks left the GAC this year for the independent route. They had won six of the last seven GAC crowns. 

MID-MICHIGAN ACTIVITIES CONFERENCE

Chesaning won 50-0 over visiting Montrose to go to 6-0 overall and 5-0 atop the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference (MMAC) with Ovid-Elsie.

Coach Mark Walter's Indians now go this week for a MMAC title showdown at Ovid-Elsie which is also 6-0 overall. Ovid-Elsie beat Birch Run 30-14 Friday to do its part to set up the big battle.

Montrose lost 42-7 last week to Ovid-Elsie.

In other MMAC play Friday night, New Lothrop whipped Otisville LakeVille 41-7 and Durand won a 53-23 shootout at Mt. Morris.

While Chesaning and Ovid-Elsie are in the state playoffs now for sure by reaching the magic six-victory plateau, every other MMAC team except LakeVille is thinking playoffs down the stretch. Durand is 4-2 and needs to win two of its last three to assure getting in while New Lothrop and Montrose need to win out at 3-3 overall. Teams with five victories can qualify, too, but the odds are against getting in that way. Birch Run and Mt. Morris are only 2-4 overall but playing much better football of late.

Chesaning is also ranked No. 3 in Division 6 in the latest rankings out by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

OAKLAND ACTIVIES ASSOCIATION 

Clarkston had the week off from Oakland Activities Association play where they're the co-leaders in the Red Division. They beat Troy Athens 36-7 in non-league play on Friday night to move to 4-2 overall this fall. The Wolves are 2-1 to co-lead the OAA-Red with Oxford.

The Wolves won 35-20 over West Bloomfield last week after beating Oxford 23-15. They lost 28-10 to Rochester Adams for their only loss in OAA-Red play. They close out OAA-Red action against Lake Orion and Bloomfield Hills. Both are 1-2 in league play but Lake Orion is 4-2 overall, Bloomfield Hills 3-3. Oxford and Rochester Adams are also 4-2 overall to make the OAA-Red one of the few leagues in the state with every team going into Week 7 next week with state playoff aspirations.  

BIG THUMB CONFERENCE

 Millington had a week off after winning a battle of 2-0 teams two weeks ago at Cass City to go atop the Big Thumb Conference's White Division. The Cardinals are 4-0 while Cass City is 3-1. Next week's opponent is Elkton-Pigeo-Bayport which brings a 2-1 Big Thumb record to town along with a 4-2 overall record and hopes of making the state playoffs. Millington is 5-0 and likely already in because of its 8-game schedule this fall.

 Millington was also ranked No. 2 in the state in Division 7 in last week's poll by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

Vassar, the only other local school in the Big Thumb Conference, lost 34-24 to Unionville-Sebewaing on Friday night to fall to 0-4 in the Black Division. It was Vassar's fifth straight loss since opening the season with a non-conference victory at Burton Atherton which has not lost since that 31-7 triumph by Vassar.

KENSINGTON LAKES ACTIVITIES

ASSOCIATION

 Hartland went to Howell Friday night to try to play spoiler in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association's West Division and put up a tough fight before falling 44-30

Howell went to 5-0 in the KLAA where tied for first place in the West Division with Novi.  

Hartland is 2-3 in KLAA play, 2-4 overall.

CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE

Clarkston Everest Collegiate beat Marine City Cardinal Mooney 43-0 on Friday night to move to 6-0 overall on the season.

It was also the fourth lopsided victory in a row for the Mountaineers in Catholic High School League play where they've reeled off victories of 35-0 over Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, 45-0 over Allen Park Cabrini and 63-6 over Madison Heights Bishop Foley before blanking Marine City Cardinal Mooney this week.

Coach Michael Pruchnicki club was ranked No. 6 in this week's rankings by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

TRI-VALLEY CONFERENCE

 Frankenmuth got back to Tri-Valley Conference action this week after sitting out last week when Flint Powers Catholic's injuries forced the Eagles to take a forfeit when low numbers forced the Chargers to cancel their scheduled trip to Frankenmuth for a non-conference battle.

Frankenmuth went to 6-0 overall and 4-0 atop the Tri-Valley's Red Division by trouncing Bay City John Glenn 42-13 on Friday night. Freeland is also 4-0 in the Tri-Valley Red.

Frankenmuth was ranked No. 2 in Division 5 in last week's poll by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

INDEPENDENTS

Flint Powers Catholic rebounded from the worst moment in the football program's history by winning 42-35 on Friday night over Alma at Kettering University's historic Atwood Stadium in Flint. Injuries created low numbers to force Powers to forfeit a week earlier against Frankenmuth.

Flint Hamady returned to action on Friday night, too, after being idle a week ago. The Hawks won on their home turf 30-6 over Burton Bendle.

Flint Southwestern lost 24-6 to Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy on Friday night.

(See related stories about aforementioned games n Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) —  Chase Burnett's four-touchdown game led Goodrich's Martians to their fourth victory in a row Friday night (Sept. 27, 2024) by delighting a huge homecoming crowd to highlight a 48-6 romp over Owosso.

Burnett rushed for 128 yards on 20 carries to lead the Martians who are 3-0 atop the Stripes Division in Metro League prep football.

Corunna, defending state champs in Division 5, kept pace with Goodrich by whipping Lake Fenton 41-19 to also move to 3-0 in Metro League play.

Corunna is 5-0 overall while Goodrich is 4-1 with the only blemish on its record coming in the non-league opener when losing at Frankenmuth.

In other prep football action around the Metro Flint regional area on Friday night — Davison rolled 57-0 over Saginaw United to tie idle Grand Blanc atop the Saginaw Valley Conference's South Division standings when Lapeer lost 10-7 to Saginaw Heritage that lost Valley contests at Grand Blanc and at Davison; Fenton and Linden both won big (Fenton 41-6 over visiting Flint Kearsley and Linden 49-0 at Swartz Creek) to move to 3-0 atop the Metro League's Stars Division; Montrose lost a battle of unbeatens in Mid-Michigan Activities Conference (MMAC) action at Montrose in a 42-7 loss to Ovid-Elsie while Chesaning kept pace with Ovid-Elsie by moving to 3-0 when edging Birch Run 19-7; Bendle beat Bentley 22-12 in a battle of Burton to knock the Bulldogs from the unbeaten ranks in Genesee Area Conference (GAC) play where Burton's surprising Atherton Wolverines are 3-0 atop the GAC in their return to 11-man football this season; Clarkston won 35-20 over visiting West Bloomfield to join a three-way logjam atop the Red Division in the Oakland Activities Association with Lake Orion and Rochester Adams after Lake Orion beat Rochester Adams 28-25; Millington stayed atop the Big Thumb Conference's White Division by moving to 4-0 in division play and 5-0 overall by blasting Caro 47-6; Hartland's title hopes in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association's West Division ended when Brighton inflicted a second KLAA loss in a 42-7 romp; Clarkston Everest Collegiate stayed atop the Catholic High School League at 3-0 by destroying Madison Heights Bishop Foley 63-6 to go to 5-0 overall; and independents Flint Hamady and Flint Southwestern hooked up on the turf at Hamady where the Hawks stayed perfect in their all-time series by blowing out the Jaguars 48-0 while Flint Powers Catholic was forced to forfeit due to low numbers and injuries preventing the Chargers from going to Frankenmuth.

 (See related stories about aforementioned games n Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) — Davison's Cardinals showed they are the favorites to win the Saginaw Valley Conference's South Division title in 2024 by routing highly-touted Saginaw Heritage 45-22 Friday night (Sept. 20, 2024) in a dominant performance.

Saginaw Heritage was ranked among the Top 10 teams in the state for Division 2 prep football coming into the game. Davison was No. 6 in last week's rankings by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. (See related story in Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

Birch Run pulled off the biggest surprise in Friday night football across the Metro Flint regional area.  (See related story in Preps Section of The Daily Gazette) The Panthers went into New Lothrop and shocked the perennial powerhouse school on Championship Drive by nipping them 21-20. It was the third loss in a row for Coach Clint Galvas' Hornets after an impressive 30-28 victory over Muskegon Catholic Central in the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic. The losses leave New Lothrop out of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title picture at 0-3 while Montrose, Chesaning and Ovid Elsie went to 3-0 by winning Friday night.

Linden provided a big surprise Friday night, too,  by winning 14-13 over previously unbeaten Flushing to spoil homecoming festivities for the Raiders who had a huge crowd on hand. The Eagles lost two non-league games in a row to open the season but are now 2-0 atop the Metro League's Stripes Division standings with Fenton which beat arch rival Holly Friday 24-7.  (See related story in Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

Frankenmuth, Millington and Burton Atherton won again to stay atop their respective leagues. The Eagles of   Frankenmuth won big 51-0 at Essexville Garber to go to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Tri-Valley Conference's Red Division.  Millington went to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the  Big Thumb Conference's White Division by blasting Cass City 34-6. Burton Atherton continued to roll by blanking Flint New Standard Academy 36-0. The Wolverines are 3-0 atop the Gen=esee Area Conference after losing their non-league opener to Vassar.  (See related story in Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

Clarkston lost a battle of 1-0 teams in the Oakland Activities Association Red Division as Rochester Adams went to 4-0 overall by beating the visiting Wolves 28-10.  (See related story in Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

Hartland won 34-27 over Salem to join a three-way logjam behind 3-0 starters Howell and Novi in the Kensington Valley Activities Assoication West Division.  (See related story in Preps Section of The Daily Gazette)

Coach Jake Weingardz's Davison club delighted a big homecoming crowd at Davison.

Heritage was beaten only 22-21 last week at Grand Blanc. The Bobcats are off to a 2-0 start in Valley South play along with Lapeer whil

 Friday's home contest marked the Valley opener for Davison.

Grand Blanc beat Traverse City West 31-0 in a non-league affair Friday while Lapeer whipped Flint Southwestern 36-8 to go to 2-0 in the Valley. Grand Blanc is also 2-0 Valley play while Davison won its Valley opener Friday night.

The Cardinals rolled 49-14 over Traverse City Central in its home opener last week after being only 10 seconds away from starting their prep football season 0-2 a week earlier at Grandville — something they've done only once since 2013.

That's when new quarterback Jaxson Dosh etched his name into the all-time annals of Davison football history.

Dosh showed poise for a junior with only one varsity start under his belt by calmly stepping up to drill a game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Payton Kokaly with 6 seconds left to pull out dramatic 41-37 victory at Grandville over a highly-regarded potential contender for the state championship this fall in Division 1 football. 

Davison lost 21-3 on opening night to Warren DeLaSalle which is one of the top Division 2 teams in the state. The game was featured on State Champs Network's Game of the Week telecast as the top game in the state.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Davison's junior quarterback Jaxson Dosh who drilled a 23-yard game-winning TD with 6 seconds to go to beat Grandville 41-37 two weeks ago.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

FLINT (CCN) — Flint Powers Catholic junior Kendyl Smith has announced that she will attend Central Michigan University in 2026.

CMU offered her a full ride scholarship before she entered high school after opening some eyes by winning two AAU national championships.

She won another one this past summer while playing for an AAU club in Columbus.

Smith averaged 17 points per game at Powers as a sophomore and led the Lady Chargers to the Division 3 state quarterfinals with sister Amaya. They were contenders in the tough Saginaw Valley League race, too. The Valley is dominated by bigger schools.

Amaya Smith is at CMU this fall on a scholarship.

The Smith sisters were all-Valley a year ago.

Kendyl Smith made the game-winning shot to win the Metro League championship as a freshman while at Lake Fenton High with her sister.

The girls decided with their family to transfer to Powers after playing together on an unbeaten team at Lake Fenton during the 2022-23 campaign. A top incoming freshman also went to Powers and another varsity starter also transferred away to another school.

The Smiths made a move to Flint in order to be eligible right away. The incoming freshman was eligible immediately because she left the Lake Fenton district to start high school at Powers.

Kendyl Smith officially announced her selection of schools by issuing a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter. Her tweet included a photo of her sister Amaya in her CMU jersey.

The tweet said: "First off, I want to thank God. None of this would have been possible without him. Next, I want to thank my family for all the support they've given from the beginning, especially my dad who never failed to show up to coach me early or rebound late. I want to thank the couple of coaches who believed in me, so a HUGE thank you to Coach Ryan Trevithick and Coach Kristi McGregor. I also want to thank all the other people in my life who have helped me through this process. With that being said, I want to announce my academic and athletic commitment to Central Michigan University. Thank you to the whole Central coaching staff for making my decision so easy. I'm super excited for this next journey of my life to start. Fire up Chips!"

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Flint Powers Catholic junior Kendyl Smith who announced she will be attending Central Michigan University in 2026.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

FLUSHING (CCN) — A local coach with 20 years of success on the prep hardwood in girls' basketball is stepping up to the next level with a Division 1 opportunity. Larry Ford Jr. has resigned his position at Flushing High School to accept an assistant coach job at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

Ford met with his Flushing girls today to let them know about his decision.

Ford is considered by many in the local coaching fraternity as the "Phil Jackson of Flint area girls' basketball" in reference to the man many consider the greatest NBA coach of all time.

"It's certainly nice to hear that," said Ford who so many describe simply as a "class act" in addition to being one of the best ever to pace the sidelines in Metro Flint regional area history.

His biggest moment at Flushing came when the Lady Raiders  won a state championship in 2017.

"We were never ranked in the top 10 all year but we had kids who just didn't like to lose," he recalled. "We were a little under the radar, we didn't have a superstar, just players who wanted to win and had a will to win."

Ford's Lady Raiders have almost annually contended for league titles in the old Big Nine Conference and in the Metro League since joining in 2021. In fact, Ford joined a rare group of coaches (boys or girls in our area) to reach the 300-victory plateau during the 2021-22 campaign. His career record as a head coach is 343-106 which makes him a shoo-in to someday be inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan Girls' Basketball Coaches Halls of Fame with an impressive winning percentage at better than a 75% clip.

Ford's girls have won three straight Metro League Stipes Division titles —going 10-0 all three years. That followed a streak of six Metro League titles in a row before the split into two divisions. Ford's Lady Raiders were 14-0, 14-0, 14-0, 15-1, 15-1 and 9-1 in their streak of championship seasons before the Metro League split.

 Flushing and Flint Carman-Ainsworth had 3-loss seasons behind Flint Powers Catholic in Flushing's second year in the Saginaw Valley League South Division after the Lady Raiders were third with three losses in their inaugural Valley season before switching to the Metro League and schools closer to Flushing in size.

Flushing finished Big Nine play with three championships in a row before going to the Valley.

Ford will appear on The Morning Gazette Radio Show at 8 am tomorrow (Sept. 19, 2024) to talk about his decision to make the jump to the college level and how it all came about. He will then do an in-depth interview later in the day on The Daily Gazette Sports Night Show at 6 pm on Metro Flint News/Talk Radio.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Larry Ford Jr. who has resigned after 20 years at Flushing to join Western Michigan University's program as an assistant coach.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) — Davison's Cardinals were 10 seconds away from starting their prep football season 0-2 Friday night at Grandville — something they've done only once since 2013.

That's when new quarterback Jaxson Dosh etched his name into the all-time annals of Davison football history.

Dosh showed poise for a junior with only one varsity start under his belt by calmly stepping up to drill a game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Payton Kokaly with 6 seconds left to pull out dramatic 41-37 victory at Grandville over a highly-regarded potential contender for the state championship this fall in Division 1 football. 

Coming off a perfect 0-9 regular season campaign and a run to the Final Four in Division 1 a year ago, Coach Jake Weingardz heard plenty of pre-season hype about contending again, too, for his Cards who count several Division 1 college prospects and a 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive lineman (Ben Nichols) who was recently featured in Sports Illustrated as the No. 3 top college prospect in Michigan and No. 18 in the entire country for the Class of 2026.

Davison had started on a sour note a week ago when losing 21-3 to a powerful Warren De La Salle club that is considered among the favorites to go far in Division 2 circles. The Pilots went to 2-0 on Friday night (Sept. 6, 2024) by beating Detroit Martin Luther King in an impressive 35-13 rout. De La Salle, Detroit Catholic Central, Oxford St. Mary and Bloomfield HIlls Brother Rice are perennial state powerhouses from the Detroit Catholic League that also counts two members from Ohio.

Grandville lost its opener 53-51 to Ohio's Pickerington North.

That set the stage for a "must win" kind of battle for both perennial state powerhouses hooking up on the turf at Grandville.

Davison raced out to a 28-7 lead by late in the second quarter and appeared ready to cruise to victory. Then the hosts used their hometown crowd edge to wake up, and get going on transforming the contest into a barnburner.

Dosh was Davison's early hero, too. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for the other two as he led his troops to the 28-7 lead.

Dosh finished with 403 total yards — 51 on the ground with 10 quarterback keepers and 352 more through the air lanes on 21-of-34 passing. He had three TD strikes to go with his two TD runs.

Grandville rallied to go ahead 29-28 with just over seven minutes left in the game on a 35-yard field goal kick.

That set the stage for a dramatic finish.

Davison struck back quickly, thanks to running back A.J. Hill who is headed to Ferris State University next fall. Hill had a key 47-yard gain from a fourth-and-10 situation from Davison's own 35-yard line. Coach Weingardz's gamble paid off big when Hill later scored on a 5-yard scamper to make it 34-29.

Grandville immediately struck right back on a 65-yard TD strike and two-point pass to take the lead back at 37-34 with 5:10remaining.

Davison came right back — powered by five straight runs from Hill who picked up 56 yards on them.

He later in the drive picked up a first down on a fourth-and-inches situation as the drive nearly stalled before it was eventually culminated by the dramatic 23-yard TD strike from Dosh to Kokaly to win it.

Davison has its home opener on Friday night ((Sept. 13, 2024) against Traverse City Central. It's a non-league game since the two teams play in opposite divisions of the Saginaw Valley League. The Trojans play in the Blue Division with Traverse City West, Mount Pleasant, MIdland, Midland Down, Bay City Western and Bay City Central. Davison is in the Red Division with Grand Blanc, Flint Carman-Ainsworth, Saginaw Heritage, Saginaw United and Lapeer.

Traverse City Central opened its season by beating Plymouth 22-14 in a non-league affair, then lost 30-20 to Parma West this week in another non-league battle.

The Trojans are coming off a 4-5 regular season campaign where they were able to sneak into the state playoffs for the 10th time in a row. They lost, however, when taking a 62-7 spanking from Saginaw Heritage

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Grand Blanc's new quarterback — Jaxson Dotson. He threw a game-winning touchdown at Grandville with 6 seconds remaining.

2019 and 2020 they won it all after also making it to the state finals in 2014 and 2018.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) — Three out of four local schools staged victory celebrations in the annual Vehicle City Gridiron Classic.

The event had a new twist by shifting Thursday's doubleheader from the traditional Flint site at Kettering University's Atwood Stadium to the new Grand Blanc stadium with artificial turf that was built as part of a $37 million complex that includes a new training building.

New Lothrop and Grand Blanc faced highly regarded Muskegon opponents, and both local schools were locked in close battles. New Lothrop beat Muskegon Catholic Central 30-29 while the host Bobcats lost a 28-26 affair to Muskegon Mona Shores. 

Burton Bendle beat Otisville LakeVille 34-18 in the opener at Atwood to spoil the varsity coaching debut of new Falcons' boss Anthony Bauer.

Both coaches (Chrishaun Verdun of the Flint Jaguars and Jimmy Stablie of Burton Bentley) were making their varsity debuts in the nightcap which went into overtime. The Flint Jaguars won it 22-14 to end a 12-game losing streak.

All the first-week local scores are presented at right if you are reading on a laptop, home computer or office PC, or scroll down if you  are reading on a mobile device.

Game details are in today's Preps Section.

 (See Related Stories in Preps Section)

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) — Metro Flint News/Talk Radio will broadcast every Ferris State Bulldogs football game on Saturdays this fall.

The Bulldogs feature a dozen stars from around the Metro Flint regional area and they are led by legendary former Montrose Rams Coach Tony Annese. His coaching staff also includes his son Steve and two nephews. Steve Annese is the wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator.

Annese led Ferris State to the 2018 national championship game, then his Bulldogs won it all in 2021 and 2022 when also featuring a roster filled with Metro Flint area talent.

Metro Flint News/Talk Radio had great success when broadcasting Ferris State's games in the national semifinals and national championship.

The Bulldogs kick off the season on Saturday (Aug. 31, 2024) at Pittsburgh State. Game time is 8 pm and the pre-game show begins at 6 pm. 

The local talent parade on the 2024 Ferris State Bulldogs'  roster for Coach Anesse is led by a senior pair — Flint Southwestern's Deron Irvin-Bey and Davison's Caleb Smith. Irvin-Bey is a massive 6-foot-5, 349-pound defensive lineman. Smith is a 6-foot, 212-pound defensive back who played on Davison's 2019 state championship team.

Other local stars with state championship pedigree include the Bower twins who led last year's Corunna club to the state title and New Lothrop's Cam Orr. The Bowers are incoming freshmen and Orr is a junior. Wayatt Bower is a 6-2, 195-pounder and wide receiver brother Tarick Bower is a 6-2, 183-pound target. Orr is a 6-3, 237-pound tight end.

Joining the Bower twins as incoming freshmen from the Metro Flint regional area are wide receivers Dakari Neeley of Flint Kearsley, Tae Boyd of Grand Blanc and Flint pair Jaylin Townsend and Timothy Ormond; defensive back Anthony Perdue of Grand Blanc; and linebacker Michael Bush of Linden. Joining the local trio of Irvin-Bey, Smith and Orr among the local veterans for the Bulldogs is offensive lineman A.J. Polley of Brich Run who goes 6-3 and 302 pounds in the trenches.

 Annese is trying to get Ferris State back to Division 2 national glory after an early exit in the playoffs last year to Grand Valley State in an 8-3 campaign. The Bulldogs also finished No. 2 in the GLIAC (the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) to Grand Valley State last fall.

Before a national runner-up finish in 2018 and back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022, Annese won national championships in 2009 and 211 during a three-year stint at Grand Rapids Community College to land the Ferris State job in 2012. Annese was inducted into the  ichigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the spring of 2011. His prep career was highlighted by a 61-game regular season winning streak at Montrose when his Rams won seven Genesee Eight Conference titles in a row, including six straight 9-0 regular season records while compiling an impressive 71-11 record from 1987 until 1994.

Annese was 195-41 in 22 seasons as a prep head coach at Montrose High, Ann Arbor Pioneer High, Jenison High and Muskegon High  

His last stop as a high school head coach was at Muskegon High where he spent a year as an assistant before taking the Montrose head coaching job. Annese led the Big Reds to a 92-15 record in nine seasons and won three Division II state titles over his last five seasons in 2004, 2006 and 2008. All three teams were unbeaten at 14-0 with his last club ranked fourth in the country to earn him the top job at Grand Rapids CC in 2009.

His instant success in the junior college ranks came after Grand Rapids CC was 7-11 during back-to-back losing seasons before he took over.

Winning it all two out of three years there led to the opportunity at Ferris State. He took over in 2011 when his debut season included beating Grand Valley State for the first time since 1999 and breaking a 10-year losing streak to Michigan Tech and beating defending national finalist Wayne State for the first time in five years.

His second team went 8-3 and his third team in 2014 posted one of Ferris State's most historic seasons when reaching the Division II playoffs for the first time since 1996 after the school's first unbeaten 11-0 regular seasons in 106 years of Ferris state football. A GLIAC title was the school's first since 1999 and his 2015 club won a second straight GLIAC championship with another perfect 11-0 regular season record.

Ferris State's 2015 ballclub got the school's first national playoff victory in 19 years after running the regular season winning streak to 25 straight victories. Annese was GLIAC Coach of the Year both seasons.

The 2016 team then reached the Division II national semifinals for only the second time in Ferris State history after breaking the school record for most consecutive victories with 28. The 2017 Bulldogs made it to the Division II national quarterfinals before Annese took the 2018 club to the national finals for the first time in school history but lost that season before later leading his 2021 and 2022 Ferris State teams to the national championship. The Bulldogs also made it to the national semifinals in 2019.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) — The Vehicle City Gridiron Classic will have a new twist when kicking off the high school football season on Thursday (Aug. 29, 2024).

There's a full slate of games around the Metro Flint regional area on Thursday and Friday with openers set for every local school. (See Related Story in Preps Section)

The action in the annual season kick-off Vehicle City Gridiron Classic event has always been on the turf at Kettering University's historic Atwood Stadium, but the first-day doubleheader will shift this fall to the new stadium at Grand Blanc High School that was completed last summer as part of a $37 million project that also included a new athletic complex. The surface on Grand Blanc's new football stadium in artificial turf.

Dr. Trevor Alward, Superintendent of Grand Blanc Community Schools, is elated to show off his district's beautiful new stadium. He said:  “We’re honored to co-host what has become an important tradition for our football community. We look forward to welcoming the teams, their fans, and other sports enthusiasts to our newly renovated stadium for a day of competition and camaraderie.”

The New Lothrop Hornets and hometown Grand Blanc Bobcats will be featured there as they begin their respective quests to get back to their state championship contending ways when taking on perennial state powerhouse teams from the Muskegon area. New Lothrop faces Muskegon Catholic at 4 pm while the Bobcats host Muskegon Mona Shores at 7 pm. 

New Lothrop's season ended against Ithica in the district round last season as Coach Clint Galvas settled for a 9-2 year after the Hornets turned in a run of 10 straight seasons of 8-1 or 9-0 reglar season finishes all but once (going 7-2 in 2016) before going 6-3 and 7-2 in 2021 and 2022. They won it all in 2018 and 2020, and lost in the Division 7 state semifinals in 2015 and 2022.

Grand Blanc had enough points from a strong schedule to slip into the playoffs despite 4-5 and 5-4 finishes in their first two seasons under new Coach Caleb Forr who took over after Clint Alexander departed for family reasons following Grand Blanc's 12-1 season in 2021 that ended in the Division 1 state semifinals.

Burton teams will be featured on Friday when the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic shifts back to Atwood Stadium. Burton's Bendle Tigers, gunning for their fourth state playoff appearance in five years, face LakeVIlle in Friday's 1 pm game. Burton's Bentley Bulldogs face the Flint Jaguars from Southwestern      Academy in the 4 pm contest.

The 4 o'clock kickoff will mark the varsity coaching debuts for Chrishaun Verdun of the Jaguars and Jimmy Stablie of the Bulldogs.

Verdun takes over for Andre Weathers who resigned to take the head coaching job at Mt. Morris, and Verdun inherits a 12-game losing streak. Stablie takes over for Dan Hewitt who took the top job at Flint Kearsley after a four-year stint at Bentley ended with last season's team qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2008 with a 7-2 regular season finish. It was also the first winning season for the Bulldogs since 2008. Hewitt's first team in 2021 had four victories which was also the most since 2008.

A third new face in local prep football will be on the sidelines at Atwood Friday when Anthony Bauer makes his head coach debut for the Falcons in the early game. He inherits a program that won only one game three times in the last four years after back-to-back 0-9 campaigns. In between the one-victory years was a three-victory team.  

 “The Vehicle City Gridiron Classic brings together some of our region’s most competitive football programs and gives their players an opportunity to compete at two of the finest sports fields in our state,” said Judge Duncan Beagle, President of the Vehicle City Sports Committee. “The event allows the athletes to showcase their skills not only to fans and community members, but also to college scouts from throughout the state,” he added.

Tim Herman, CEO of the Flint & Genesee Group, added: “Flint & Genesee has always been a sports community. Events like the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic underscore that, building upon an athletic legacy that is nearly a century in the making.”