LSJ Blogs: Get Prepped

Reader poll: Has school started yet?

Dumb question, but also somewhat of a sarcastic one. With classes finally getting going Tuesday, but sports already going for nearly a month, do athletes already feel like they've been in school most of August? And what's lost, if anything, by playing up to a quarter of a season before the first homework is assigned?

Weekend's best

Take a look at five strong non-football performances from the weekend's action.

Extra Points -- Week 1

And just like that, opening night 2010 is behind us (well, except for Ashley's game Saturday). Lots of lessons were learned, and already there will likely be some shaking up in rankings and league predictions. 

THREE-POINTER

1. Sexton 35, Holt 9 -- Wow. For a variety of reasons I'll discuss below, the Big Reds showed why this might just be that special season. 

2. East Lansing 21, Haslett 13 -- Another slugfest between rivals who this season both returned a ton of starters. 

3. Fowler 26, Laingsburg 13 -- Could this be the start of the Eagles' return to CMAC contender status? Sure seems like it. 

Game Ball -- Sexton's offensive line. In 2009, Onaje Miller ran for 27 yards against Holt. On Friday, he ran for 143 and three touchdowns. Special recognition goes to tackle DaMarco Bisbee, who played with a broken right fibula. It's not a weight-bearing bone, but he did get carted off when all was said and done -- and after showing tons of heart. 

WOW Factor -- DeWitt 56, Eastern 34. This game was 28-21 DeWitt in the second half before the big plays really started going off. Panthers quarterback Caleb Higbie is indeed the next QB star on DeWitt's block. But Eastern hung tough for a while, and could be part of some exciting shootouts over the next eight weeks. Honorable mention to Ithaca scoring 69 points and Stockbridge putting up 75. 

Upset Alert -- Highland Park 7, Everett 6. Nope, the Vikings didn't get the upset. But I have a feeling no one outside Lansing considered Everett might keep this one this close against a playoff team from last year. It was a big performance, even in a loss. 

Three more that caught my eye:

1. Grand Ledge 41, Grandville 7 -- The Comets avenged an opening-night loss from last season, and really look good in the Blue. 

2. Portland 35, Ovid-Elsie 21 -- The Raiders now own a one-game edge in an opening-night rivalry going back more than four decades. 

3. Okemos 22, Waverly 20 -- The Warriors almost got all the way back after trailing bigger early, but the Chieftains got a much-needed bit of momentum. 

Final Five on the game I covered: Sexton 35, Holt 9

1. The Big Reds showed a tremendous amount of heart. They felt slighted by all the talk of Holt being the favorite and reminders of last year's loss. And then they came out and beat a team with twice as many players, from a school nearly three times as big, with a beloved assistant coach not with them for the first time in decades and a player battling with a broken bone in his leg. And on a night known for sloppy games as teams dust off the cob webs, the Big Reds looked polished in a lot of areas. 

2. I'm glad we put Greg Scott on the preseason all-area team. He had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown, and just looks like a college player out there. But he's not alone. I remembered Kyren Kemp from last season. I think a lot of people will become familiar with the junior linebacker this fall. 

3. Onaje Miller is Onaje Miller. He's fast, he's strong, and he's a threat to hit the home run any time he touches the ball. We knew all of this. But the one thing I noticed tonight was how he kept emerging from piles at the line. He'll be one of those backs who gains a lot of yards after first contact. 

4. The Holt player who really stuck out to me most was senior defensive end Justin Madar. He's 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, and he was a factor. He looks good for a big season. Senior Curtis Nick also was solid running the ball. 

5. We knew Holt's Evan Fischer was one of the area's best kickers. But add Sexton senior Nick Spearman to that list. He drilled extra points, and his kickoffs were blasting out of the back of the end zone on the fly. He also dropped a 54-yard punt. 

What did I miss? Fill us in on your opening-night impressions of any game below. And follow us for in-game updates on Twitter @lsj_hssports. Tonight we had them from Holt/Sexton, Okemos/Waverly, Williamston/Eaton Rapids, Haslett/East Lansing, Fowler/Laingsburg, Potterville/Carson City-Crystal and DeWitt/Eastern, thanks to some great help at those sites. 

TWEETing football scores

I'll be typing as fast as I can tonight with updates from Holt/Sexton, East Lansing/Haslett, DeWitt/Eastern, Okemos/Waverly and Williamston/Eaton Rapids, and any other games for which score updates come my way. Follow the scores on Twitter @lsj_hssports

What's next?

Hopefully you're enjoying your 56-page high school football preview and all of our previews for every sport that have run over the last week. Now, a quick look at what's next.

Coming Thursday: Our weekly prep page is back, complete with Athletes of the Week, the LSJ PowerPoll, and coverage from tonight's Waverly Relays.

Big Friday: The football Blitz Picks are back, with WILX Channel 10's Jeremy Sampson attempting to even our annual series at 2-2. Also check online, and on this blog, for our Blitz Picks video detailing the top four games this week.

Big Friday night: Our high school football coverage will be even better this fall, as again we put up the scores and box scores as we get them. Game reports and photo galleries will follow, and late Friday night I'll post on this blog my thoughts on all the action.

More sports, more of the time: You hopefully have noticed two soccer reports on the cover of our section the last two days. We'll be hitting everything we can with reporters Bill McLeod, Scott Yoshonis and Sean Merriman and others fanning out all over mid-Michigan.

Lansing Christian basketball loses a Champion

Lansing Christian girls basketball coach Norm Randall died early this morning after a stay in the hospital.

Randall coached the Pilgrims girls the past nine seasons and led Lansing Christian to Class D state championships in 2003 and 2004 and a runner-up finish in 2005. Those first two teams included eventual Miss Basketball winner Tiffanie Shives, but the third team did not -- and always seemed to me to prove the Pilgrims' success, while in large part because of a great player, was not only because of that standout.

Randall considered retiring after that 2005 season -- until he heard people saying the Pilgrims' run was done. That just seemed to stoke his fire more, and he's remained as coach since, instead stepping down as athletic director that year.

He was our girls basketball Coach of the Year twice, and total coached area sports for roughly 45 years. 

A comment from former Lansing Christian player Allison Griswold in 2005 sums up a lot: "I loved playing for Coach Randall. He's one of the nicest coaches you'll meet and he's very wise. He's not yell, yell. But you have to listen to him, because he's right. He tells you exactly what's happening."

And he will surely be missed. Thanks for everything, Norm. It was a pleasure.

Fast Football Fact

I apologize that blogging is a little slow over the last week. I'm in full football mode getting our annual section done to appear in your papers Aug. 25. 

But here's an interesting bit I dug up as I was researching today.

Rally around your football players

You've seen or perhaps purchased ads in your local football programs wishing your favorite players luck or telling them you're proud. Now, you can tell everyone in mid-Michigan.

As we continue putting together the football section for Aug. 25, we're also finishing up a first-time campaign to give you an opportunity to send these messages in our section.

Check out a few samples below. You can choose from four sizes, and our advertising writers can help you pick the words if you like. Call LSJ Classifieds at 517-377-1111 or 800-433-6946 by 5 p.m. Friday to give your favorites some additional support.

New Deal

Look through a list of mid-Michigan high schools and what each charges for pay-to-play, and Holt -- and the fact it doesn't charge a fee -- immediately provokes a few reactions. 

First, "Wow." Then, "How do they pull it off?"

'I'm not an ego person.'

And with that, Denzel Valentine summed up what makes him a special superstar at the high school level and an intriguing player when he joins Michigan State in two years.

The 6-foot-5 junior guard verbally committed to the Spartans on Monday after a flash flood of recruiting attention and scholarship offers over the last four months.