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Extra points: Football district semifinals

Three of mid-Michigan's four undefeated teams fell for the first time, and the next chapters in some great area rivalries were written. Come inside for some thoughts on all 15 of Friday's area playoff games. 

Three Pointer

1. Fulton 7, Fowler 6 -- Write this one into the rivalry's history for sure -- 5-4 Fulton eliminated the No. 1-ranked team in Division 8.

2. DeWitt 27, East Lansing 23 -- The Trojans led 23-21 late, but the Panthers' explosive offense found one more score when it counted.

3. Williamston 58, Lansing Catholic 24 -- The Cougars got the league title this year and will be a force in 2011. But Williamston's seniors gave themselves a chance to make a playoff statement.

Game ball: Take your pick. DeWitt QB Caleb Higbie had a 75-yard TD run in the first quarter and a 50-yard TD run for the go-ahead score in the fourth. Williamston's Dylan Monette had four carries, 151 yards, two 65-yard rushing TDs. A 90-yard kickoff return TD. An interception. A couple great punts. And a big bunch of help from quarterback Dylan Schultz, who ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns and made 12 tackles. Or Fulton's defense, which gave up 34 to Fowler the first time they played this season. 

Upset alert: Outside of Fowler/Fulton? Definitely Olivet, which knocked off No. 3 Buchanan 38-28 in Division 5. The Eagles have been surprising all season, so maybe we shouldn't be stunned. 

WOW factor: Big numbers haven't been rare for Mason running back Saylor LaVallii. But mid-Michigan's leading rusher added 246 yards and four TDs to his total in a 56-13 win over Fowlerville. 

And many more: 

1. Holt 41, Hartland 16 -- Another must-win for the Rams, another 300-yard rushing night. 

2. Lowell 35, Grand Ledge 24 -- This really should've been a Division 2 state semifinal instead of a district opener. The Comets led in the second half for a bit and kept it close to the end. 

3. St. Johns 27, Ada Forest Hills Eastern 24 -- The Redwings' string of impressive wins continues, this one over a better-than-typical 5-4 team.  

4. Sexton 48, Vicksburg 0 -- Onaje Miller and Dominique Hoyle ran for three TDs apiece. But even more impressive, the Big Reds gave up only 90 yards. 

5. Comstock Park 35, Alma 13 -- Tough end for the Panthers, but plenty to celebrate from their first winning season in three. 

6. Stockbridge 42, Onsted 7 -- Make that two straight playoff wins over Onsted for the Panthers, and 314 total yards and three TDs for Stockbridge QB Jeff O'Brien. 

7. Portland 41, Central Montcalm 14 -- The Raiders opened with 41 unanswered points, and Alex Newman ran for a season's worth of scores, five TDs in all. 

8. Ithaca 35, Laingsburg 14 -- The first of what could be five postseason wins for the Yellowjackets, but the Wolfpack can finish knowing it gave Ithaca its closest game so far. 

9. Merrill 36, Saranac 21 -- The Redskins' first playoff appearance since 1978 didn't last long. But it's surely something to build on as the program continues to rise. 

10. New Lothrop 33, Ashley 6 -- The Bears ended another solid season, and can take some comfort knowing they fell to the potential Division 8 state champ. 

Tonight's TWEETS

Remember to follow us on Twitter @lsj_hssports. We'll have in-game updates from DeWitt/East Lansing, Williamston/Lansing Catholic, Mason/Fowlerville, and I'm expecting many more. Don't have Twitter? No problem. Keep refreshing this blog, and follow the posts on the lower right side of this page. 

Football -- Blitz Picks video -- District semifinals

We're into the second season, the high school football playoffs, with 22 mid-Michigan teams playing first-round games this weekend. Geoff Kimmerly and WILX's Jeremy Sampson tell us about five of the biggest games and make their picks on the winners.

 

Top games this week:

Laingsburg (6-3) at Ithaca (9-0)

Fowlerville (6-3) at Mason (8-1)

Lowell (7-2) at Grand Ledge (9-0)

DeWitt (8-1) at East Lansing (7-2)

Williamston (8-1) at Lansing Catholic (9-0)

Warrior Wisdom

Former Waverly cross country runner James Clyde inspired teammates for four seasons as he competed despite the challenges of cerebral palsy. And he'll be at the race that bears his name Wednesday afternoon to pass on that inspiration to more than 200 junior varsity runners. 

The JV invitational has been held since 1990. In 2008, Clyde's fellow senior teammates voted to add his name to the event, which will be run at 3:45 at Grand Woods Park in Delta Township. 

The best part of this year's race is Clyde -- now a sophomore at Aquinas College majoring in Spanish and religion -- will speak to the runners. His teammates cited Clyde's positive attitude, leadership and personal courage in naming the race after him, and no doubt those will be among the things he passes on to these competitors.

Weekend's Best Oct. 23-24

The performances just keep getting better the closer we get to the end of the fall. Here are the top five non-football finishes from this past weekend, featuring the best from soccer, volleyball and cross country. 

5. DeWitt soccer -- The Panthers knocked off a tough St. Johns team 2-0 on Saturday to win their district and move on to the Division 2 regionals. 

4. Owosso girls cross country -- Chloe Gilbert became the area's second runner to break 19 minutes this fall, running 18:58 to win the final CAAC Red jamboree. 

3. Perry boys cross country -- For the first time since the formation of the CAAC, the Williamston boys didn't win their league title. Instead, the Ramblers claimed it and junior John Bell gave Perry a sweep of first-place finishes in the three White jamborees.

2. Eaton Rapids soccer -- In perhaps the biggest stunner of the state soccer tournament, below-.500 Eaton Rapids knocked off No. 7 Mason in a Division 2 district final, 2-1 after a shootout. The Greyhounds improved to 11-12-1 with the win. 

1. Lakewood volleyball -- The Vikings had perhaps their most impressive weekend of a season of them. They beat Class A honorable mentions Jenison and Grand Haven, and after a five-set win in the latter knocked off No. 2 Rockford to finish the day. Somehow, Lakewood is ranked just No. 8 in Class B. 

Honorable mention -- It happened Thursday instead, but it's worth mentioning: East Lansing freshman Mado Glew cut 36 seconds from her best time to win the CAAC Blue championship race in 19:19. Her brother Robbie Glew won the boys race. 

Extra points: Week 9

Just when we thought we knew everything about mid-Michigan high school football heading into the playoffs, Week 9 happened. Postseason forecasting got a little tougher after some of these scores came in. 

Three Pointer

1. St. Johns 49, DeWitt 35 -- The Redwings take a 3-2 edge over the last five years of this rivalry, and hand DeWitt its first loss of the season at the same time. 

2. Holt 38, Ann Arbor Pioneer 14 -- The Rams were obviously the better of these two former 5-3 teams. 

3. Laingsburg 42, Saranac 27 -- Good news for Laingsburg, which earned a playoff berth. Bad news for Saranac, which is in the playoffs for the first time since 1978 but has lost two straight. 

Game ball: Holt's offensive line opened up lanes that led to 321 yards rushing. They came through in a pressure-packed road environment at Pioneer.

Upset alert: It's gotta be St. Johns over DeWitt. Although both are league champions, DeWitt is ranked No. 3 in Division 3. Now here's a thought -- what if DeWitt hosts St. Johns in the first game of the playoffs?

WOW factor: Portland 67, Armada 29 -- The Raiders earned a much-deserved playoff berth. And how. 

Three more that caught my eye:

1. Okemos 14, Haslett 7 -- The Chieftains finished 5-4 and might've earned an at-large playoff bid by claiming this year's Meridian Bowl. 

2. Grand Ledge 17, Howell 6 -- Big win for the Comets as they continue to assert themselves as a Division 1 state contender.

3. Fowlerville 27, Corunna 6 -- The Gladiators add to another solid season with a playoff berth. 

Final Five from the game I covered: Sexton 42, Eastern 8

1. Onaje Miller is getting back to full health right on time. Sexton coach Dan Boggan said Miller probably came back one game too early from an ankle injury suffered in Week 3, but Miller is getting closer to 100 percent and showed some of his characteristic burst with TD runs of 34 and 58 yards. 

2. Something that probably doesn't get mentioned enough is the Big Reds' special teams. It seems like every season they have someone who can take a kick or punt all the way back, and in this one it was Anthony Goodman going 92 yards on a kickoff to almost void Eastern's lone touchdown scored just a few seconds before. I don't know if anyone else in the area has as good of a return game. 

3. Eastern running back Tyler Allen is hearing some from Division I college programs, and someone should take a chance. He's arguably the fastest running back in mid-Michigan, and when he did get a crease in this one -- like on a 53-yard scoring run -- he was gone. There's a lot of potential here.

4. The Quakers will graduate a lot from a group that improved the program greatly over the last two seasons. But a name to remember is junior Lydell Trainor. He's listed as a quarterback, and the lone pass he threw in this game was enough to earn notice -- just a 12-yarder, but with lots of zip. He moved to Lansing just this year, and with a year more to get acclimated, he could be something. 

5. Mid-Michigan has the Nos. 2-3-4 ranked teams in Division 4 -- Sexton, Lansing Catholic and Williamston, respectively. Will one of those emerge to challenge Detroit Country Day or someone else for the state title? The toughest part will be surviving each other over the first two weeks, if things fall as I think they could. Tune in Sunday. 

State Journal rankings after Week 9

Class A-B

1. Grand Ledge (9-0)

2. Lansing Catholic (9-0)

3. Williamston (8-1)

4. Mason (8-1)

5. Sexton (8-1)

6. St. Johns (7-2)

7. DeWitt (8-1)

8. East Lansing (7-2)

9. Holt (6-3)

10.  Portland (6-3)

Honorable mention: Fowlerville (6-3), Olivet (7-2), Stockbridge (7-2), Okemos (5-4), Alma (6-3)

Class C-D

1. Ithaca (9-0)

2. Fowler (9-0)

3. Ashley (8-1)

4. Pewamo-Westphalia (6-2, plays Saturday)

5. Leslie (6-3)

6. Laingsburg (6-3)

7. Fulton (5-4)

8. Saranac (6-3)

9. Bath (5-4)

10. Potterville (3-6)

DeWitt/St. Johns and tonight's TWITTER

Tonight's DeWitt/St. Johns game at Central Michigan is indeed at 7 p.m. tonight -- to clarify a bit of confusion in today's edition. Also, make sure to follow us on Twitter @lsj_hssports for updates during that game, Eastern/Sexton, Haslett/Okemos and many more. Don't have Twitter? No problem. Stay tuned to this blog and watch the Twitter updates pop up down the right side of the page. 

Football -- Blitz Picks video -- Week 9

We've reached the end of the regular season. Check out how Geoff Kimmerly and WILX's Jeremy Sampson see the final week of games and their predictions for the most intriguing five.

 

Holt (5-3) at Ann Arbor Pioneer (5-3)

Saranac (7-1) at Laingsburg (5-3)

Eastern (3-5) at Sexton (7-1)

Haslett (4-4) at Okemos (4-4)

DeWitt (8-0) vs. St. Johns (6-2) at Central Michigan

Diving in

Significant classes of mid-Michigan girls swimmers have graduated the last two springs. But even a quick glance at this fall's current area Honor Roll seems to indicate great things to come over the next four years. 

A number of strong seniors still anchor the area, including Okemos' Madison Batchelor, Kylie Holden, and Laura Kruger. They are part of a group of 22 seniors among the 76 athletes listed on the honor roll either individually or on relays. 

But what might stick out most are the 29 underclassmen on the list, including 11 freshmen dominating the individual events.

Chieftains freshman Katherine Dudley is tops in four events and freshman teammate Grace Kao is first in one. But this isn't all Okemos. Haslett freshman Claire Beckett, DeWitt freshman Rosalie Yockey and Holt freshman Abby Cleary all make the top 10 in three individual events. Alma sophomore Ashton Wentworth makes the list for all but one individual race.

The bright future continues with diving. Only two of the top 10 this week are seniors. Five are sophomores, including top two scorers Carly Schaefer of Okemos and Brittany Penn of Williamston/Lansing Christian. Holt freshman Samantha Sarata gives the divers list representatives from all four classes. 

St. Johns, DeWitt, Alma, Grand Ledge, Haslett, Williamston/Lansing Christian and Holt all have large representations of athletes who are expected to return for next season and more. 

Mid-Michigan has had some excellent individuals over the last decade, and solid state-placing teams too. But it will be interesting to see how this year's group elevates the sport during the next few seasons. 

Weekend's best 10/15-16

Lansing Catholic had an incredible weekend, so there's a definite Cougars majority on this list of the best non-football finishes from Oct. 15-16. So to break things up, this week I'll give you six instead of five top performances.

6. Lakewood volleyball -- The Vikings have put up great finishes against elite west Michigan-area teams all fall, so winning the Owosso Invitational wasn't much of a surprise. But Lakewood put some area perspective on things, beating mid-Michigan's second-best team, DeWitt, 25-22, 25-20 in the final.

5. Holt golf -- Senior Mariah Massa went out with one more super performance, finishing second individually at the Division 1 state tournament after reaching a playoff.

4. East Lansing cross country -- East Lansing's Robbie Glew has been among the area's top runners all fall. But he finished as the area's top runner Saturday in winning the boys half of the Greater Lansing Invitational at Ledge Meadows.

3. Lansing Catholic cross country -- It's not the end yet, but senior Megan Heeder added one of the crowning achievements of her outstanding high school career by winning the girls race at the Greater Lansing Invitational.

2. Lansing Catholic tennis -- Younger brother Paul Heeder emerged from an incredible group of CAAC White singles players to claim the Division 4 state title at No. 1 singles.

1. Lansing Catholic golf -- In a rarity I'm still investigating, the Cougars placed all five golfers among the top eight individuals to win easily at the Division 4 state tournament and cap a season that saw them win every match and tournament they played.