weekly choice - section b - december 19, 2013

8/13/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - December 19, 2013

1/12

By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD The Grayling

football team had a high-

octane, high-scoring offense

once again this season and

record-breaking senior wide

receiver Tyler T-Mac

McClanahan, one of the

super-charged engines that

gave the Vikings their revving

power, has been named the

2013 Top Choice Player of the

Year in football.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound

McClanahan, a senior,

departs from the Viking pro-

gram with his cleat marks all

over the school record books.

In 2013, he re-set the single-

season receptions mark that

he broke as a junior while

helping his team post an

excellent 9-2 overall record,

repeat as undefeated Lake

Michigan Conference cham-

pions, and advance to the

Division 5 district title game

for the third time in four

years.

Tim Sanchez, the man who

oversees the aggressive,

innovative, up-tempo Vikingprogram, is the Top Choice

Coach of the Year, an honor

he has received for the third

time in four years. Sanchez,

architect of the ever-danger-

ous Sanchez Spread offen-

sive assault, guided Grayling

to nine wins for the third sea-

son in a row.

Other major award win-

ners this season include:

Cheboygan senior Colton

Hudak as Defensive Player of

the Year and Lineman of the

Year; elusive Inland Lakes

junior Daniel Flowers as the

Special Teams Player of theYear; and trench-tou gh

Cheboygan junior linebacker

Trent Jarman as the Langley

Award winner.

The fleet-footed

McClanahan, who is just as

dangerous after he catches

the ball with his slippery

moves and set-apart speed,

graduates as one of the most

electrifying and productive

athletes Grayling has ever

produced. In 2013, he was on

the receiving end of an

incredible 80 passes from

teammate Jake Swander for a

school-record 1,211 yards

and 18 TDs.

Last year as a junior, T-Mac

caught a then-record 60

passes, breaking the old

mark of 58 set by Eli VanNuck

in 2005. Not coincidentally,

McClanahan is the first

Grayling athlete to earn

Player of the Year recognition

since VanNuck following the

05 season. McClanahan also

edged out VanNuck for

receiving yards in a season,

beating Elis record mark of

1,185 set that same 05 sea-

son.

T-Mac, a three-year varsity

two-way starter who has also

shined in the Viking second-ary, averaged a whopping

15.1 yards each time he

caught the ball, making him

not just a potent weapon in

the Viking arsenal. He caused

continual problems for

opposing defenses that had

to account for covering him

and also try to keep the

Viking s other explosiv e

weapons under wraps at the

same time. In the thrilling 42-

25 playoff victory at home

over Kingsford, the biggest

win of the season, T-Mac

pulled in 10 strikes from

Swander for 191 yards andhad TDs of 9, 50 and 11 yards

in the first half.

Since 2010, Sanchez has

led Grayling to an outstand-

ing 35-8 record overall,

including three playoff victo-

ries. It is the schools best

four-year stretch ever. The

record is especially impres-

sive considering Graylings

rugged schedule each sea-

son, including dates with

Traverse City St. Francis,

Boyne City and Elk Rapids,

and also competing each

year in the absolute toughest

region in all of Division 5 fea-

turing perennial western U.P.

powers Menominee and

Kingsford. The Vikings have

dominated play in the con-

ference, posting a 25-2 record

the past four seasons. They

are the two-time defending

league champs and will bring

a 12-game league winning

record into the 2014 season.

Hudak, the Defensive

Player of the Year and

Lineman of the Year, was a

fearsome force on both sides

of the line for the Chiefs of

Hall of Fame Coach Jack

Coon this season. Hudak, an

honorable mention All-Statepick, not only helped the

run-oriented Chief offense

grind out more than 2,300

yards of real estate but he

also made a remarkable 57

tackles as an interior lineman

for the defense with two

caused fumbles, a fumble

recovery and six sacks. And

that doesnt include the plays

he diverted with his bull-like

penetration.

The fluid Flowers was a

dangerous returner for the

Bulldogs of Coach Stan

Schramm this season,

returning a punt and a kick-

off for touchdowns in addi-

tion to the many times his

returns enabled I-Lakes to

set up shop in excellent field

position. Flowers, an honor-

able mention All-State pick,

is also a Top Choice running

back after slashing, slipping

and speeding his way to

1,031 yards rushing on 82

carries, averaging a healthy

12.6 yards per carry and scor-

ing 12 times for the Bulldogs,

who returned to the playoffs

for the first time since 2009.

The Langley Award

named for former Inland

Lakes gritty two-way starter

Jeff Langley is given annual-

ly to a player who may not be

the tallest or fastest on the

field but is a relentless, blue-

collar battler who makes an

impact at his position. This

year, the award goes to the 5-

9, 155-pound Jarman, who

was the leading tackler for

Cheboygan this season. T-

Jar, whos about as tough as

raw steak, generated 89 tack-

les with two fumble recover-

ies and a sack and he was

also a team captain as a jun-ior.

Johannesburg-Lewiston

nose guard Nathan Fox and

Gaylord nose guard Marcus

ORourke are also Langley

honorees this season.

THE 2013 Top Choice ros-

ter is overloaded with talent

at all the skill positions, espe-

cially behind center. There

are five QBs on the first- or

second-team roster and all

three of the second-team sig-

nal-callers were worthy of

first-team consideration.

The two first-team QBs

both achieved first-team All-

State honors, a rare feat.

Graylings Swander, the 6-

foot-, 200-pound lefty

Gunslinger with the surgeon-

crisp passes, was picked first-team All-State by the

Associated Press after hitting

on 179-of-308 missile strikes

for 2,373 yards and 28 TDs.

The Gunslinger guided

Grayling to lopsided league

wins over contender s Elk

Rapids, Kalkaska and Boyne

City in a four-week stretch

and threw for 263 yards and

four TDs in the 41-25 playoff

victory over Kingsford.

Gaylord St. Marys electric

senior QB Nick Harrington,

also known as the Human

Hurricane, was a first-team

All-State choice in Division 8

by the Detroit Free Press. The

speedy, shifty Harrington

was an explosion waiting to

happen on any given play,

frequently turning ordinary-looking option reads into

highlight-reel journeys to the

end zone.

Harrington amassed 1,428

yards rushing in spite of

being at full strength for just

six of St. Marys nine games.

He scored 21 times and aver-

aged an amazing 13.9 yards

every time he ran with the

ball. He also had another 506

yards throwing the ball with

five air strikes for scores and

he returned two intercep-

tions for TDs also as well as a

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FOR WEEK OF DEC. 8 - 14

BRANDONDINGMAN

MANCELONA HIGH SCHOOL

The sharpshooting

junior guard of theIronmen tamed thetwine for a game-high 28 pointsThursday in the upset

win at Lake City andscored 38 in the OTloss to East Jordan onTuesday.

S SECTION B

CALL - (989) 732-8160 FAX (888) 854-7441

OR EMAIL:

MIKE DUNN - [email protected]

ANDY SNEDDON - [email protected]

SPORTS

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Continued on page 3

A!!-A%ea F##'ba!!

photo by MiKe Dunn

See full Top Choice All-AreaFootball Team roster on page 2

*INSIDE

McCLANAHAN ISPLAYER OF YEARGrayling senior flier helped fuel Vikesprolific scoring attack; Graylings

Sanchez repeats as Coach of Year

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PLAYER OF YEARTyler McClanahan

Grayling

DEFENSIVE PLAYERColton Hudak

Cheboygan

SPECIAL TEAMSDaniel Flowers

Inland Lakes

LANGLEY AWARDTrent Jarman

Cheboygan


2/12

Page 2-B Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice December 19, 2013

LOCAL SPORTSOn-line at www.weeklychoice.com

TOP CHOICE 2013

ALL-AREA FOOTBALL

Tyler McClanahanGrayling

Tim SanchezGrayling

Colton Hudak (12)Cheboygan

Daniel Flowers (11)Inland Lakes

Trent Jarman (11)Cheboygan

Playerof the Year Coachof the Year Defensive Playerof the Year Special TeamsPlayer of Year Langley AwardWinner

QB Jake Swander(12), Grayling

RB ChaseLedingham (12),

Petoskey

RB Daniel Flowers(11), Inland Lakes

RB Ben Pearson(12), Cheboygan

WR Tyler

McClanahan (12),Grayling

TE Colton McGregor

(12), Mio

L James Gazarato

(11), Petoskey

L Tristen Fleet (12),Mancelona

L Chase Bunker(12), Inland Lakes

L Emmett Helsel(11), Grayling

L Garrett Derrer(12), Mancelona

L Kalin Leonard(12), Johannesburg-

Lewiston

K Kevin Harris(12), Grayling

QB Nick Harrington(12), Gaylord St. Mary

FIRST TEAM

DL Colton Hudak(12), Cheboygan

DL Nick Parker(12), Gaylord

DL Tristan Waters(12), Mancelona

DL Brad Kussrow(12), Johannesburg-

Lewiston

DL Nathan Fox

(10), Johannesburg-Lewiston

LB Bryson Devers

(12), Mio

LB Shea Whitmore

(12), Petoskey

LB Luke Smigielski(12), Mancelona

LB Michael Branch(12), Grayling

DB Seth Thomey(12), Mio

DB Coalton Huff(12), Johannesburg-

Lewiston

DB Carlos Bautista(11), Onaway

DB Justin Spires(12), Mancelona

DL Jameson Knolton(12), Cheboygan

SECOND TEAMOffense

QB Brad Rhoads (12), MioQB Matt Tollini (12), OnawayQB Todd Athey (12), Inland LakesRB Shane Foster (10), GaylordRB Dillon Cushman (12),

Johannesburg-Lewiston

FB Logan Borst (12), MancelonaWR Brandon Latusek (12), GraylingWR Jack Lochinski (11), Gaylord St. MaryTE Chris Cleaver (12), OnawayL William Romain (12), GraylingL Forest Madagame (10), GaylordL Jacob Lentz (10), MioL Brendon Nowicki (12), Gaylord St. MaryL Nick Parker (12), Inland Lakes

DefenseDL Aaron Georgieff (12), MioDL Zach Tibbits (12), PetoskeyDL Justice Junttila (12), GraylingDL Nick Balhorn (12), MancelonaDL Dan Nieman (11),

Johannesburg-LewistonLB Chaun Obermiller (12), MioLB Andrew Gross (11),

Johannesburg-LewistonLB Nate Stempky (11), CheboyganLB Nick Swiercz (12), GraylingLB Trent Jarman (11), CheboyganLB Tristan Gregory (11), GaylordDB Gunner Lundteigen (12), PetoskeyDB Steve Snider (12), PetoskeyDB Conner Kilpatrick (12), Pellston

HONORABLE MENTIONCheboygan: Nik BevierGaylord: Collin Watters, Leland HueyGaylord St. Mary: Charles Strehl,

Willy CanfieldGrayling: Tyler WymanInland Lakes: Christian Wallace,

C.J. Ogden, Trevor MalloryJohannesburg-Lewiston: Trevor Pickelmann,

Ethan May, Nick MayMancelona: Cody Derrer, Chase WilcoxMio: Zack PatulloOnaway: Tommy Auger, Cody Whitsitt,

Frankie RamosPellston: Zack KellerPetoskey: Kurt Boucher, Connor Reed

TOP CHOICE PLAYERSOF THE YEAR2005 Eli VanNuck, Grayling2006 Patrick Kelly, Roscommon2007 Adam Duerksen, Mancelona2008 Gerrit Mortensen, St. Ignace2009 Darren Dobbyn,

Johannesburg-Lewiston2010 Taylor Borst, Mancelona2011 Joe Robbins, Petoskey2012 Wyatt Derrer, Mancelona2013 Tyler McClanahan, Grayling

COACHES OF THE YEAR2005 Don McKindles, Roscommon2006 Dan Derrer, Mancelona

2007 Jack Coon, Cheboygan2008 Bob Cherwinski, Gaylord St. Mary2009 Fred Davis, Johannesburg-Lewiston2010 Tim Sanchez, Grayling2011 Kerry VanOrman, Petoskey2012 Tim Sanchez, Grayling2013 Tim Sanchez, Grayling

DEFENSIVE PLAYERSOF THE YEAR2006 Nathan Schott, Cheboygan2007 Nathan Schott, Cheboygan2008 Myles Brown, Cheboygan2009 Vince DeAgostino, Petoskey2010 Kelsey Heinrich, Petoskey2011 Blake Huff, Johannesburg-Lewiston2012 Dalton Sulz, Mancelona2013 Colton Hudak, Cheboygan

LINEMAN OF THE YEAR2010 Griffin Dean, Grayling2011 Griffin Dean, Grayling

2012 Josh McDill, Cheboygan2013 Colton Hudak, Cheboygan

LANGLEY AWARD WINNERS2007 Kenny Wekwert, Cheboygan2008 Curtis VanDoren,

Johannesburg-Lewiston2009 Justin Malczyk,

Gaylord St. Mary2010 Sam McMurry, Pellston2011 Keagan Schoenith, Petoskey2012 Cotton Neff, Gaylord2013 Trent Jarman, Cheboygan

FIRST TEAM

PAST WINNERS...

Offense Defense

OTHER AWARDS...LANGLEY AWARD This award is given to those who may not be the biggest, fastest or tallestplayers on the field, but who possess a double-barrel toughness that enables them to be impact players. It isnamed for Inland Lakes 2007 graduate Jeff Langley, who epitomized the award. Jeff walked on at Trine

University in the fall of 2007 and not only made the team, but started all four years and was the teams lead-

ing rusher two seasons in a row! The 2013 honorees are:

1. Trent Jarman, Cheboygan2. Nathan Fox, Johannesburg-Lewiston3. Marcus ORourke, GaylordLINEMAN OF THE YEAR Colton Hudak, Cheboygan

FIGHTING FRESHMAN Noah Kolka, GraylingSUPER SOPHOMORES Nick May, Johannesburg-Lewiston; Jacob Lentz, MioIRONMAN AWARD Luke Smigielski, MancelonaVERSATILITY AWARD I Bryson Devers, MioVERSATILITY AWARD II Ben Pearson, CheboyganSOFT HANDS AWARD Tyler McClanahan, GraylingHARD HAT AWARD I Tristen Fleet, MancelonaHARD HAT AWARD II Stanley Schramm, Inland LakesHARD HAT AWARD III Brad Kussrow, Johannesburg-LewistonCOACHING STAFF Tim Sanchez, Grayling; Joe Smokevitch,

Johannesburg-Lewiston; Jack Coon, Cheboygan


3/12

December 19, 2013 Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice Page 3-B

LAKE CITY The Mancelona

boys varsity basketball team is

in the win column, having ral-

lied to top Lake City, 57-54, on

the road Thursday, Dec. 12.

The visiting Ironmen (1-1

overall) trailed Lake City (2-1

overall) for much of the game,

as the host Trojans battled

their way to a 29-22 lead at

halftime.

I figured itd be a tough

game, said Mancelona head

coach Rick Duerksen. Theyre

big, physical and athletic.

We struggled to stay with

them in the first quarter.

Mancelona didnt give up

the fight and managed to knot

the score at 42-42 at the end of

the third quarter. The Ironmen

completed the comeback by

outscoring Lake City, 15-12, in

the final stanza.

Duerksen said one key was a

defensive switch to a 2-3 zone,

which helped slow down the

Trojans attack.

Our kids kept battling, he

said. They didnt give up.

It was a good win for us.Another factor is Lake City

couldnt fuel its fast break with

Mancelona miscues, as the

Ironmen committed just six

turnovers in the win.

That was definitely a big

part of it, Duerksen added.

We did a nice job of taking

care of the ball.

Junior Brandon Dingman

had another huge game for the

Ironmen with 28 points, 3

rebounds and 1 steal. Senior

Justin Spires was the only

other Mancelona cager in dou-

ble figures, tallying 14 points

and grabbing 5 boards.

Other contributors for the

Ironmen included: Jake

Winstead with 5 points and 2

assists; Griffin Borst with 4

points, 3 rebounds and 2

assists; Logan Borst with 3

points, 3 assists, 2 boards and 2

steals; and Tristen Fleet with 3

points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

East Jordan 85,

Mancelona 71 (OT)Mancelona seemingly just

ran out of gas in an 85-71 over-

time loss to non-conference

foe East Jordan in the

Ironmens season-opener at

home Tuesday, Dec. 10.

The Ironmen trailed by just

two points, 35-33, at intermis-

sion and staying within strik-

ing distance, 60-54, after three

quarters in the book.

And, Mancelona seemed

poised to win the game in reg-

ulation, having a two-basket

lead in the last couple minutes

of the fourth quarter. East

Jordan, however, had other

ideas and put Ironmen players

on the free-throw line, where

they hit just 3-of-9 shots in the

final moments.

We had several chances to

seal it, Duerksen said. We

just didnt come through.

That allowed the visiting

Red Devils to rally and tie the

score at 70-70, forcing over-

time. East Jordan made sure

there wasnt a second extra

period, outgunning

Mancelona by a 15-1 margin to

end the game.

Its almost like we stopped

playing at the end of regula-

tion, Duerksen said.

Still, there was plenty for

Mancelona to cheer about,

especially a stunning perform-ance by Dingman that includ-

ed 36 points, 7 rebounds and 4

steals. Griffin Borst also had a

solid game with 19 points, 6

assists and 5 boards.

Also contributi ng for

Mancelona were: Fleet with 5

points, 3 rebounds and 1

assist; Spires with 4 points and

4 boards; Chris Schepperly

with 4 points and 1 rebound;

and Logan Borst with 4 assists

and 2 rebounds.

Report by Buckland News

Service.

Mancelona cagers rally totop Trojans, 57-54


Player of the YearContinued...

kickoff.

The rest of the Top Choice

first-team offense includes

Chase Ledingham of

Petoskey, Ben Petroleum

Pearson of Cheboygan and

Flowers at running back,

explosive Colton McGregor

of Mio at tight end, linemen

James Gazarato of Petoskey,

Tristen Fleet and Garrett

Derrer of Mancelona, Chase

Bunker of Inland Lakes,Emmett Helsel of Grayling

and Kalin Leonard of

Johannesburg-Lewiston, and

kicker Kevin Harris of

Grayling.

The first-team defense fea-

tures Cheboygan teammates

Hudak and Jameson Knolton

on the line along with

Spiderman Nick Parker of

Gaylord, Tristan Waters of

Mancelona, and Brad

Kussrow and Fox of

Johannesburg-L ewiston;

linebackers Bryson Devers of

Mio, Shea Whitmore of

Petoskey, Luke Smash

Mouth Smigielski of

Mancelona and MichaelBranch of Grayling; and

defensive backs Seth Thomey

of Mio, Coalton Huff of J-L,

Carlos Bautista of Onaway

and Justin Spires of

Mancelona.

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BOYNE CITY TheGaylord freshmen girls of

coach Jessi Matelski turned

on the juice big time at thecourt of Boyne City on

Monday, assaulting the

enemy iron en route to a 55-

17 victory.The net-storming duo of

Skyler Wickert and KendylJarski were the top point

producers for Gaylord on abalanced scoring night, each

connecting for 14. Molly

Hamilla made the twine spinfor 10 points while Jaz

Krajniak and Katelyn

Putman each put six on the

board.Skyler also showed up big

inside, taking down eightrebounds, and Jarski gener-

ated seven.Hamilla and Putnam

served up some sweet deliv-

eries for their teammates asthey each earned four

assists.

It was a great team

effort, Matelski reported.The way these girls play

together makes coaching soenjoyable!

Gaylord played atOgemaw Heights in a Big

North clash on Tuesday, Dec.

17. On Friday, Dec. 20, theBlue Devils host Traverse

City Central to close out the

year. On Jan. 7, they play at

Alpena.m

Gaylord outscores hostBoyne City, 55-17

F&e'h"e# Gi&!'


4/12



By Mike Dunn

JOHANNESBURG This

one was fiercely competitive

right up to the playing of the

National Anthem. Then

things started going downhill

pretty quickly for the visiting

Forest Area team.

The super-charged

Johannesburg-Lewiston girls

of coach Heather Huffpushed their record to 4-0

and 2-0 in the Ski Valley with

a 69-13 victory Friday that

wasnt quite as close as the

final score indicates. The

Warriors were willing enough

but just couldnt match J-Ls

superior firepower, speed or

depth.

There was snow outside of

the J-L gym during the con-

test and thunder showers

inside. The meteorological

disturbances on the floor

were generated at times by

super sophomore Maddie

Showerman, who helped fuel

the thunder of the J-L

onslaught by raining down

shots on the Warrior iron to

the beat of a game-high 16

points. Maddie also muscled

down five rebounds and

made five steals.

Senior Brittany

Cherwinski, reliable as the

sunrise, churned the nets for

13 points to join Showerman

in double digits. Maddie

Ewing waxed the twine for 10

points and covered the floor

like dew on grass, making

five steals.Long-armed senior center

Hailey Weaver hit for six

points and dominated play

inside, grabbing nine boards.

Emily Aisthorpe and Kelsey

Cherwinski injected energy

off the bench and scored six

each. Sydney McKenney was

McGenerous on offense with

the ball, distributing four

assists, and was McStingy on

defense, making four steals.

Julia Nieman also recorded

four steals and rangy Ashley

May went high to reject two

shots.

The J-L JV didnt have play

that night because Forest

Area doesnt have a JV squad

this season. The young, hun-

gry Cardinals of coach Brett

McVannel have won their

first three games so far and

have unofficially pushed

their winning streak to 70 in a

row. They havent lost since

sometime during the 2009-10

campaign.

On Monday, Dec. 9, the

young Cardinals had a p retty

competitive battle with East

Jordan and prevailed 39-35.

Steady sophomore SarahKorff put some of the sock

into the attack, scoring 13

points to lead the way, and

she also hauled in five

rebounds.

Ninth-grader Kaitlyn Huff

connected for eight points

with 10 boards and Haley

McVannel hit for seven and

was big into piracy, recording

six steals.

J-L renewed its annual

rivalry with St. Mary on

Wednesday, Dec. 18, in a

huge Ski Valley clash played

at the court of the Snowbirds.

The Cardinals resume play

on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at

home against Bellaire.

Lady Cards

cruise to 4-0 startShowerman helps fuel offensive thunder asdefending SVC champ J-L pushes to 2-0

J#ha""e&b(%g-Le*i&'#" 69, F#%e&' A%ea 13Maci"a* Ci' 56, E!!&*#%'h 16

LAKE CITY Sometimes

good is not quite goodenough, especially when

youre playing a solid team

like the undefeated Lake City

Trojans.

That was the problem for

the Mancelona girls varsity

basketball team, which

turned out to be the Trojans

latest victim, as Lake City

topped Mancelona, 58-31, in

a non-conference hoops

clash Monday, Dec. 16.

We did not play our best

game but we did play well,

said Mancelona head coach

Ben Tarbutton. They are

returning four starters from

last year, and we are return-

ing two and had two fresh-man start.

Lake City (4-0 overall) took

control of the game early,

leading 30-12 at the half and

then continued to dominate

the Lady Ironmen (1-1 over-

all) after intermission. The

host Trojans doubled up

Mancelona, 16-8, in the third

quarter to build a 46-20

advantage going into the

final stanza.

We did OK on their press,

but we turned the ball over

too many times in the half-

court game and missing too

many free throws, Tarbutton

said.

Still, there were some posi-tives for the young Ironmen

squad. Last year, Mancelona

lost, 51-17, to Lake City. And,

Tarbutton said you could see

how his team has improved

in comparison.

We did have a lot of

improvement, especially

with missing so many free

throws, he said. They are a

good 4-0 team and it was

nice to see where we are at.

I think this only being our

second game, last weeks was

canceled, and having a snow

day didn't help us this year

when last year it was gameNo. 5 for us, the coach

added. We make big

improvements in the full-

court press and did a lot of

things well. We just need to

fix a few small mistakes and

we will come together nice-

ly.

Mancelona didnt have a

player to hit for double fig-

ures. But, a trio of Ironmen

hoopsters managed a half

dozen points against Lake

City, including seniors Tyra

Oetting and Emily Nixon, as

well as freshma n Eileene

Naniseni.

And, all three posted solidall-round efforts. Naniseni

tallied 6 rebounds, 4 blocked

shots and 1 assist against the

Trojans, while Nixon grabbed

a team-best 12 rebounds to

go with 3 blocked shots and 1

assist. Oetting chipped in 2

boards, a team-high 7 steals

and 1 assist.

Other contributors for

Mancelona included: Tori

Reichelderfer with 4 points, 7

rebounds and 2 steals; Jill

Smigielski with 4 points, 2

rebounds and 1 assist; Ashley

Joseph with 4 points, 1

rebound and 2 steals; Sara

Hittle with 2 points, 3

rebounds and 3 steals; andMegan Morris with 1

rebound.


Service.

Lady Ironmen improving, but fall toundefeated Lake City

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Silky-smooth sophomore turns in strongtwo-way performance as Stefanskis Comets

soar to 5-0 startBy Mike Dunn

MACKINAW CITY Make

that five in a row.

The Mackinaw City girls

of coach Adam Stefanski

have gotten the 2013-14

hoops campaign off to very

promising start, winning

their first five games in

impressive fashion includ-

ing three against Northern

Lakes Conference foes.

The cruising Comets won

their fifth game on Friday,

Dec. 13, with a thoroughly

impressive 56-16 perform-

ance against visiting

Northern Lakes Conference

foe Ellsworth.

The Comets used heavy

doses of C-2 once again to

do in the perennially tough

Lancers. Silky-smooth

sophomore Chelsey C-2

Closs was a fearsome force

at both ends of the floor,

generating a game-high 26

points, including 16 in the

first quarter as Mack City

blazed to a 20-0 start, and

pulling down eight

rebounds. On the defensive

side, the Blonde Bomber

covered the floor like wet on

water, recording eight

steals.

As Coach Adam Stefanski

noted, it was Closss ratch-

eted-up defensive pressure

that set the tone for her

point totals.

She was far from alone,

however. Hustling Blaine

Yoder blistered the nets for

eight points and Katherine

Watchorn had her shooting

eye on target as well, deliv-

ering eight points also.

Brooke Yoder distributed

the wealth with precision

passes, recording five

assists.

For Ellsworth, Katelyn

Sowers and Kaitlyn Lambert

each scored four points.

This Friday, Dec. 20, the

Comets face a good test on

the road against DeTour.

After Christmas break, they

open at home on Monday,

Jan. 6, against another qual-

ity non-league foe in

Pickford.

Closs leads Comets

to another win

Standings as of Dec. 121. The Leftovers 14-12. Hit Faced 12-33. Just Four Fun 10-53. DYANMIC PT 10-55. Organized Chaos 7-8

6. One Hit Wonders 6-97. J2D2 5-107. OLIVER CHIROPRAC 5-109. Quatro Stinko 3-129. Balls Out 3-12

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weeklychoice.com

By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD The St. Mary

boys of coach Ken Blust

opened the new hoops sea-

son on a positive note on

Tuesday, Dec. 10, earning a

hard-fought 39-27 decision

over scrappy Harbor Light

Christian on the Snowbirds

home floor.

The hardworkingSnowbirds fell behind early

but turned the game in their

favor with a 25-5 run that

took up half of the first quar-

ter and all of the second

quarter. After trailing 5-0 to

start out, St. Mary owned a

commanding 25-10 lead at

halftime.

Rangy senior forward

Charles Strehl helped lead

the way, stroking the twine

for a team-high 14 points to

pace the Snowbirds. He also

did some sweet Windex

work, pulling down 10

boards for a double-double.

Cam Juneac added some

juice to the attack as well,

scoring 12, with eight of thepoints coming during the

game-turning run. Juneac

also covered the floor like a

coat of wax, recording eight

steals to fuel the aggressive

defense of the Snowbirds,

and he recorded four assists

and four rebounds.

Strong-armed Brandon

Nowicki brought down a

team-high 11 boards and tal-

lied seven. Orion Beningo

also helped the cause, pre-

senting a powerful presence

under the glass for St. Mary.

Harbor Lights Lucas

Matthews led all scorers with

15 points.

St. Mary opened Ski Valley

play at home on Tuesday,Dec. 17, against Central

Lake. On Thursday, the

Snowbirds continue league

play at Onaway and then

open play in the new year on

Tuesday, Jan. 7, at

Johannesburg-Lewiston.

Snowbirds open

season with winSecond-quarter surge is difference asBlusts Boys sink visiting Swordsmen

Ga!#%d S'. Ma% 39, Ha%b#% Ligh' 27


5/12

GAYLORD The St. Mary

girls of coach Dan Smith

pushed their record to 3-0 in

the young season with a

workmanlike 49-26 victory

y, Dec. 13.

The Snowbirds sweet-

shooting senior Kari

Borowiak blistered the netsfor a game-high 23 points,

including three connections

from beyond the arc in the

second quarter to help break

open what had been a close

game.

St. Mary went on to take a

31-14 lead by halftime.

Long-armed sophomore

Bekah Myler provided a nice

complement to Borowiak

inside as she generated 12

points and cast a long shad-

ow under the glass, pulling

in nine rebounds.

Coach Smith also noted

the high-energy, aggressivedefense of Caylee Lawnichak

and Jacquelyn Harbin.

The Snowbirds renewed

their annual rivalry with

perennial cross-county rival

Johannesburg-Lewiston on

Wednesday of this week. On

Friday, Dec. 20, St. Mary

plays its final game before

Christmas break with a date

at Pellston and then on

Friday, Jan. 3, the Snowbirds

have another stern test when

non-league rival Mount

Pleasant Sacred Heart comes

to Gaylord.


Ba&e'ba!!

By Mike Dunn

STANDISH It was a split

decision for the Gaylord boys

basketball team of coach Tim

ORourke in its first two

games of the 2013-14 cam-

paign. The Blue Devils

showed plenty of spark and

teamwork in a 56-47 victory

over visiting Charlevoix in

the opener on Tuesday, Dec.

10, and showed lots of grit

and determination in com-

ing back to stay with host

Standish-Sterling point-for-

point in the second half of a

65-46 defeat on Friday, Dec.

13.

The game with Charlevoix

was tied at 28 at the half

before the hustling, scrappy

Blue Devils ratcheted up the

volume on the pressure

defense to outscore the visi-

tors 14-8 in the decisive third

quarter.

Junior Collin Watters

helped pour on the pressure

with his leech-like defense

and he wasnt the only one.

Steven Fitzek, Zach

Pasternak, Leland Huey and

Marcus ORourke were flying

all over the floor like hungry

predators with the scent of

dinner in their nostrils.

Blayne Baker, Sam Rinke,

Michael Dipzinski and Josh

DeGraw fueled the fire with

their play off the bench.All in all, it was a nice team

effort.

Watters had the faucet

running down low, as he

delivered shot after shot in

close, often after gaining

offensive rebounds. The fluid

junior finished with a team-

high 14 points while hard-

working junior Marcus

ORourke, who plays with

pitbull-like intensity, tallied

11 including a pair of key

early triples. Pasternak pro-

duced 10 to join in double

digits in the balanced scoring

ledger and Fitzek fired in

nine. Huey drained a key trey

early in the fourth quarter to

spark a run that pretty much

put the game out of reach.

The Gaylord JV also won in

a real nail-biter, 81-58. The

cool hand of Jack Korte led

the way for the young Blue

Devils as he connected for 28

points. Jacob King corralled

16 points through the iron

and silky-smooth Jakovan

McCovery struck for 10. Point

guard Jacob Freeman was a

formidable floor general on

the floor and also drained a

pair of treys. Brandt

Kierczynski and Lane Jeakle

also made the twine dance

from beyond the arc.

ON FRIDAY in the loss to

talented Standish-Sterling,

the Blue Devils fell into an

early hole and were never

able to extricate themselves,

even with a strong showing

in the second half. The host

Panthers led 29-15 at half-

time and there was simply

too much of a deficit to make

up against a quality oppo-

nent.

Fitzek found the range for

a team-high 12 points.

Watters and Pasternak each

tallied nine and Double-B

Baker and DeGraw each

came off the bench to put

five on the board.

The Gaylord JV won again

in impressive fashion, forg-

ing a 50-40 decision over the

Panthers.

Korte tamed the twine for

14 to lead a balanced scoring

attack. Freeman fired home

12 and McCovery made 11.

Gaylord opened Big North

play on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at

home against Ogemaw

Heights.

Blue Devils split first two gamesGaylord outscores Charlevoix in opener, plays strong

second half in loss at Standish-Sterling

photomichigan.com

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December 19, 2013 Tell our adver tisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice Page 5-B

Sa* R&+(" # Ga)!

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By Mike Dunn

CHARLEVOIX The

Gaylord girls of coach Frank

Hamilla jumped to an early

lead against host Charlevoix

on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and

maintained the lead the rest

of the way while securing a

workmanli ke 50-42 victor y

over the Rayders.

Gaylord led 17-10 after one

quarter and 25-12 at half-

time. The Rayders trimmed

the lead to 33-25 in the third

quarter but the Blue Devils

kept the home team at arms

length the rest of the way.

Im very happy to get a

victory on the road and very

proud of my teams, Hamilla

said. We played pretty good

at times but we need to keep

working on being more con-

sistent.

We had some kids under

the weather and they played

through it, he added. Joslyn

(Rider) gave us some good

minutes off the bench with

eight points. My girls contin-

ue to work hard and thats all

you can ask for.

Senior Maddie Hamilla

made the twine dance to the

tune of 15 points to pace a

balanced scoring ledger forthe Blue Devils. Maddie also

pulled down five boards,

secured five steals and

recorded three assists.

Rider rang up eight and

brought lots of vibrant ener-

gy off the bench. Lauren

Hintz, Sydney Kassuba and

Brandi Wagner each waxed

the nets for seven points.Versatile Lindsey Zaremba

added some serious oomph

to the task of patrolling the

paint, pulling down a team-

high eight rebounds to go

with five steals and three

assists. Lauren Hintz grabbed

five boards and covered the

floor like wall-to-wall carpet-

ing defensively, generating

eight steals.

Gaylord won the JV contest

58-16 in a game that was

extremely close right up to

the tip-off. Mallory Marshall

was the big muscle under the

boards for the young Blue

Devils, making 12 rebounds.

Casey Korte had the C-Ko

Motion going on her deliver-

ies from the floor once again

as she connected for a game-

high 19 points and she was a

force inside as well, grabbing

eight rebounds. Brianna

Hartley bruised the twine for

nine points with six boards.

Adrienne Edwards added

nine points with five assists.

The girls played well as a

team and shared the ball

well, reported coach Shelly

Curtis.

Gaylords game at Petoskey

that was slated for Thursday,Dec. 12, was a casualty of the

weather. The Blue Devils (2-

1) opened Big North play on

Tuesday, Dec. 17, at Ogemaw

Heights. On Friday, Dec. 20,

Gaylord plays host to

Traverse City Central.

Bl!e De"ilsge "icor$ on

he roadGaylord gets early lead and

maintains it on road againstpretty good Rayder team; Blue

Devil JV wins big

By Andy Sneddon

A split for Cheboygan, a tie

and a disappointing loss for

Petoskey.

Five different Chiefs

scored and Kaleb Wood

posted the shutout as

Cheboygan skated to a 5-0

win over Grosse Ile in theChiefs opening game of the

Division III Challenge at the

Otsego County Sportsplex in

Gaylord.

Cheboygan fell to

Dearborn Divine Child, 7-1,

in its second game in the

challenge.

Meanwhile, Petoskey

squandered a 2-0 lead before

settling for a 3-3 tie with

Gaylord in a Big North

Conference game at Griffin

Arena. Three nights later, the

Northmen dropped a 7-1

non-league decision to FNV,

a co-op team comprising

Freeland, Saginaw Nouvel

Catholic Central and

Saginaw Valley Lutheran

high schools, in Saginaw.

The tie and loss leavePetoskey 0-6-2 heading into

its Petoskey Invitational on

Friday and Saturday, Dec.

20-21, at Griffin Arena.

On Friday, the tourna-

ment gets under way at 5:30

p.m. with Walled Lake

Northern taking on the Bay

Area Thunder, followed by

Petoskey vs. Negaunee.

On Saturday, the consola-

tion game is scheduled to

begin at 11 a.m., followed by

the championship at

approximately 1:30 p.m.

Then Petoskey will take a

break until Saturday, Jan. 4.

The Chiefs, 5-4, will play

host to Walled Lake

Northern on Thursday, Dec.

19, at Ralph Cantile Arena.

Nate Stempky, AdamJeannotte, Chris Demeuse,

Austin Christi e and Zack

Schley scored Cheboygans

goals in its 5-0 win over

Grosse Ile.

Quaid Brooks was in goal

in the Chiefs 7-1 loss to

Divine Child. Christie scored

the goal for Cheboygan with

assists from Schley and

Jeannotte.

Nick Gadowski scored

twice in Petoskeys 3-3 tie

with Gaylord, while Mike

Forton also scored.

Gadowski second goal came

late in the third period to

forge the tie. The teams went

scoreless in the eight-

minute overtime period.

Ben Schwartzfisher fin-

ished with three assists forthe Northmen while

Bryndon Wordon had one.

Junior Michael Whittaker

made 35 saves in goal for the

Northmen.

Mike Forton scored for

Petoskey in its 7-1 loss to

FNV. Tom Crampton drew

the assist. Adam McCain and

Dakota Peavy split the game

in goal for Petoskey.

Chiefs split a pair in DivisionIII Challenge

Northmen tie, lose ahead of Petoskey Invitational

Ga!#%d 50 Cha%!e)#i+ 42

S. Mar$ gals o!score Ona#a$Borowiak blisters nets for 23 as Snowbirds push record

to 3-0 before facing stern test at home againstJohannesburg-Lewiston

Ba&e'ba!!


6/12



By Andy Sneddon

Big North Conferenceopponents were the order ofthe day beginning the weekfor the Petoskey andCheboygan boys basketballteams.

The Northmen split theirtwo games in their season-opening PetoskeyInvitational, both by identi-cal 53-49 scores.

Petoskey opened on Fridaynight with a loss to Brighton,then rebounded to downMilford on Saturday after-noon.

The Northmen werescheduled to open Big NorthConference play on Tuesdayat home against Traverse City

Central, then go toCharlevoix for a non-leaguegame on Friday, Dec. 20.

The Trojans enteredTuesdays game at Petoskey

1-1 overall, 1-0 Big North.They opened league playwith a 64-62 win over Alpenaafter dropping their openerto non-league Big Rapids, 58-45. Charlevoix entered the

week 1-2.Cheboygan is 1-1 overall

and in the Straits AreaConference after opening

with a 71-46 win overNewberry and a 77-37 loss toSault Ste. Marie. Both games

were on the road. The Chiefsplay host to Alpena, a BigNorth Conference member,in a non-league game onTuesday.

The Chiefs are scheduledto return to SAC play on

Friday at home againstRudyard, which ran past SACfoe Newberry, 73-34, in its

season opener a week ago.For the Northmen, open-

ing weekend was a classicexample of a high schoolteam making great stridesbetween games one and two.

Senior Joe LeBlanc scored14 points and grabbed fiverebounds to lead theNorthmen past Milford,

while sophomo res EvanWhitmore and Aron Leeadded 12 and eight points,respectively.

The Northmen committedjust four turnovers againstthe Mavericks after turningthe ball more than 25 timesin their opener againstBrighton.

When you have less than10 turnovers, you have a

great chance to win,Petoskey coach DennisStarkey said.

LeBlanc, who was namedto the all-tournament team,

scored 17 points and ninerebounds in the loss toBrighton on Friday, whileJordan Bur, another sopho-more, added 12 points.Parker Monley chipped in

with 10 points for theNorthmen.

Brighton defeated TraverseCity West, 66-60, on Saturdayto finish 2-0 in the tourna-ment. The Titans downedMilford, 50-45, in Fridaysother opener.

Senior Luke Harringtonscored a career-high 27points as Cheboygan downedNewberry, 71-46, in SteveErnsts debut as the Chiefscoach.

Sophomore Zach Sochaadded 13 points for theChiefs, while senior Ben

Pearson had 11 points, eightsteals and six rebounds.

Cheboygan forced theIndians into 37 turnovers.

Pellston starts 0-2A vast improvement from

the opener to game two, butthe Pellston High Schoolboys basketball team enteredthe second week of the regu-lar season seeking its first

win under first-year coachLarry Cassidy.

The Hornets dropped theirseason-opener to MackinawCity, 81-41, then fell toHarbor Springs, 67-44. both

were non-league games.The Hornets were sched-

uled to open Ski ValleyConference play at home onTuesday against Fife LakeForest Area, then, onThursday, are slated to enter-

tain Inland Lakes in anotherleague contest.

The most glaring exampleof Pellstons improvementfrom the opener to game twocame in the turnover depart-ment. The Hornets cut theirnumber of turnovers to 25against the Rams after com-mitting 41 against Mackinaw.

I told the kids, I dont liketo lose, but Im not looking atmid-December, Cassidysaid. Im looking down theroad and Im very happy withour progress.

Jarrett Anderson scored 15points to lead Pellstonagainst Harbor Springs, while

Austin Hamlin added nine,and Tanner Keller had seven.The Hornets made 13 of their

14 free throw attempts on thenight.

N$&(h"e# '(a&( 1-1, ee Big N$&(h $%e#e&Chiefs look to bounce back in Straits Area

By Mike Dunn

ONAWAY The Onawaygirls of coach Marty Mix ral-lied from a halftime deficit toovertake and finally edge Ski

Valley rival Inland Lakes by a36-31 margin on Friday, Dec.14.

The Cardinals werealready without the servicesof senior sparkplug EmmyEstep in the backcourt withan ankle injury when seniorscoring ace Kallie Rae Shimel

was forced to the bench withflu symptoms in the first

half.Onaway (4-2, 2-2) rallied

from a 16-15 halftime deficit,however, to earn the hard-fought win over theBulldogs, who came in withan unbeaten record. TheCardinals outscored I-Lakes10-4 in the third quarter togain a lead they would notrelinquish.

I'm as proud tonight asI've ever been," Mix saidafterward. "They could'velaid down and lost, but theyfound a way to win."

Junior forward MariahEhrke produced 11 points topace the balanced Cardinalattack and she also did a

Windex number in the paint,cleaning the window for 13boards and a double-double.Mariah really asserted her-self after Kallie Rae left thefloor.

"She seemed to beinvolved in every p lay, offen-sively and defensively," Mixsaid.

Erika Price also helpedOnaway punch the ticket tovictory in the contest, tick-ling the twine for sevenpoints. Strong-armed seniorforward Megan Estepgrabbed 12 boards.

The potent I-Lakes 1-2punch of Sarah Kolb and

Sandy Bischoff led the wayfor the Bulldogs once again,with Sarah splashing home13 points and Sandy sinking11.

Mio 46, Hillman 44

HILLMAN Visiting Mio

rallied from a 15-4 deficit onThursday, Dec. 13, to ulti-mately edge North StarLeague rival Hillman in anail-biter, 46-44.

Shelby Satkowiak starchedthe nets for 16 points andJalen DeFlorio found thebottom of the net for 14 topace the Thunderbolts in thecome-from-behind win.

Morgan Hardies ledHillman with 19 points.

ON TUESDAY, Dec. 11, thehost Thunderbolts edgedvisiting Atlanta 64-11 as theShelby Factor loomed big.

Shelby Boone planted 12points and grabbed 12boards to pace Mio andShelby Satkowiak also struckfor 12 points. DeFlorio firedin 10 points and StephanieMangutz muscled downseven rebounds.

Kayla Durocher connectedfor four points to lead

Atlanta.

Mackinaw City 75Harbor Light 30

MACKINAW CITY Thehost Comets pushed theirperfect record to 6-0 and 3-0in the Northern Lakes

Conference with a work-manlike 75-30 victory overHarbor Light Christian onFriday, Dec. 14.

Sophomore forwardLauren Bell rang up 19points to pace the victorsand she also pulled down 10boards for a double-double.

She was far from alone,though. Senior All-Stateguard Courtney Wallis

wound up with a triple-dou-ble, generating 14 points, 11rebounds and 10 assists witha typically productive effort.Claudia Alexander tallied 15points with 10 rebounds fora double-double and twoother Comets were in doubledigits as well for AdamStefanskis troops, as ChelseyCloss connected for 12 andCassie LaLonde launched11.

For Harbor Light, AnnieFila fired in eight points.

Kendra LaHaie hurled insix points and hauled in 13

boards to lead the Mack CityJV to a 33-8 victory.

Wolverine 30Alanson 28

WOLVERINE TheWolverine and Alanson girlsscrapped and battled hardfor 32 minutes on Friday in aNorthern Lakes Conferencegame where each team waslooking for its first win of the

young season.In the end, the host

Wildcats prevailed in a tenseaffair, 30-28. Gabbie Ogdenled the way for Wolverine,notching 10 points.

Alenna Kilpatrick, who isputting together a nice sea-son for the visiting Vikings,tallied eight. Kilpatricksclutch 3-pointer in the finalseconds brought the visitors

within two points but theycould get no closer.

Wolverine improved to 1-3overall and 1-2 in the league

while Alanson slipped to 0-6and 0-3.

Pellston 54Mancelona 25

PELLSTON Strong-armed senior post EmmaDunham delivered a double-double on Wednesday, Dec.12, to help Pellston earn a54-25 decision over visitingMancelona in Ski Valleyaction.

Dunham made the twinedance to the tune of a team-high 15 points and she alsopulled down 10 boards asPellston (1-2) won its firstgame of the young season.

Tequara Kelly put some ofthe tang into the attack also,racking up nine points and10 rebounds, and tall ToriKirsch came through as well,collecting nine points and

eight boards.Pellston won the JV con-

test 36-22 as Ainsley McLeanlaunched 17 points throughthe hole and Hannah Carterconnected for eight.

Onaway rallies totame tough Bulldogs

Cards go to 4-2 with hard-fought win; Mio edgesHillman; Mack City stays unbeaten; Wolverine and

Pellston win

Gi%!& H##$&

By Mike Dunn

MACKINAW CITY TheMackinaw City boys forcoach Austin Krieg slippedto 1-1 with a narrow 66-60loss at home to talentednon-league foe DeTour onMonday.

The Comets two prolificpoint producers, NoahMorse and Jonah Robbins,combined for 40 points but it

wasnt enough to overcomeDeTours balanced attack.

Morse made the netsdance to the tune of 22points and Robbins rang up18.

ON TUESDAY, Dec. 10, theComets won their seasonopener at Pellston, 81-41, inKriegs debut as coach.

Noah aimed the arc of hisshots perfectly at the iron

while securing a game-high24 points. Jonah also had a

whale of a night for the vic-torious Comets, landing 18points on the board, andZach Smith struck for 13 tohelp the Comet cause.

The Comets play theirfinal game of 2013 onThursday, Dec. 19, at thecourt of Northern Lakes rival

Ellsworth.

Harbor Light 63Alanson 52

HARBOR SPRINGS Lucas Matthews was lightsout for host Harbor LightChristian on Thursday, Dec.12, launching 26 pointsthrough the iron to lead theSwordsmen to a workman-like 63-52 decision overscrappy Alanson in aNorthern Lakes Conferenceclash.

The Swordsmen (1-1) ral-lied from a 16-7 first-quarter

deficit to finally overtake thevisiting Vikings in the thirdquarter.

Alansons Brett Williamswas a beast from the floor,blistering the nets for 22points, including six connec-tions from behind the longblack line.

Harbor Light won the JVgame 28-21 as HoGeon Kimcanned 17.

Boyne City 73Onaway 55

ONAWAY The Onawayboys opened the new seasonat home on Tuesday, Dec. 10,against talented non-leaguefoe Boyne City and suffered a73-55 defeat in a game that

was razor-close for the firstthree quarters before the vis-iting Ramblers pulled away

in the fourth.Onaway coach Eddy

Szkoniak acknowledged thatBoyne Citys pressure gavehis team trouble down thestretch.

We had a lot of troublewith their pressure but I wasextremely happy with theeffort, he said. We out-rebounded them and did

what we wanted to most ofthe game, but we just didntattack enough in the fourthquarter.

Ice-cube cool senior for-ward Joe OBradovich madethe nets jump for 20 pointsto pace the host Cardinals.

Fellow senior Chris Cleaverconnected for 11 and seniorCarlos Bautista put ninethrough the iron.

Brad Fouchia led theRamblers with 19 points,seven assists and sevensteals while Ryan Carson hitfor 16 points with sixrebounds and Zach Napontnailed 10 points.

Onaway played at homeagain on Tuesday, Dec. 17,against Ski Valley rivalJohannesburg-Lewiston.

Pickford 54Inland Lakes 53

PICKFORD The InlandLakes boys battled hard butsuffered a heartbreakingone-point defeat at the courtof non-league foe Pickfordon Tuesday, Dec. 10, in theseason opener. Pickford pre-vailed 54-53 with a latecharge.

I-Lakes coach JoeMahoney liked the way histeam controlled play muchof the time but was disap-pointed with the number ofturnovers caused byPickfords pressure in thefourth quarter.

Were going to learn fromthis and get better,Mahoney said.

Tough Todd Athey tamedthe twine for a team-high 18points to lead the Bulldogs inthe contest and sweet-shooting sophomore RyanHowery, tasting his first var-sity action, also made hispresence felt, canning 15points and pulling downnine rebounds for a neardouble-double.

Duane Vizina made thenets dance to the tune ofnine points to help theBulldog cause and AndrewDufek delivered eight points.

Jared Hatfield drained thenets for 19 to lead Pickford.

Boyne Falls 59Johannesburg-Lewiston 30

JOHANNESBURG Marcus Matelski had a mon-

ster night in Johannesburgfor visiting Boyne Falls in theseason opener on Tuesday,Dec. 10, putting 29 points onthe board and grabbing 10boards to help the Loggerssecure a 59-30 victory overthe Cardinals.

Brendan Matelski added18 for Boyne Falls, which led33-18 at the half and 46-27after three quarters.

Sophomore guard LoganHuff trimmed the twine for13 points to lead J-L on anight when finding openshots against the tallerLoggers was a challenge.

The Cardinals also lost a

very competitive JV battle,36-32.J-L (0-1) played at Onaway

on Tuesday, Dec. 17, and onThursday, Dec. 19, theCardinals are home againstleague foe Forest Area in thefinal game before Christmasbreak.

Comes fall oDeTo!r, 66-60

Morse, Robbins combine for 40 in loss;Williams drains six 3-pointers for Alanson in

loss; Onaway, I-Lakes, Joburg fall in openers

B#& H##$&

H#ce

By Doug Derrer

TRAVERSE CITY Playingat home over the weekendfor the first time this season,the Bay Reps split with a cou-ple of downstate teams. On

Friday night the Repsdropped a 6-2 decision toMidland Dow and onSaturday, the Reps ralliedfrom an early deficit to beat

the Tri-Valley Titans 5-1.The Midland Chargers

came storming out of thegate, scoring four first-periodgoals while limiting the Repsto just three shots on goal.John VanRaalte scored early

in the second period to putsome jolt into the Repsoffense and close the gap to4-1 with a key assist fromTravis Kirk, but Dow would

score two more goals in thesecond to make the score 6-1in its favor heading into thefinal period.

R.J. Deneweth rocketedone home on a power playfor Bay Area in the third, but

that would be the only scor-ing in the period.On Saturday the Titans

invaded the Reps home iceand with 7:20 left in the first

period took a 1-0 lead. Theresilient Reps would scorethe final five goals of thegame, however, for the 5-1

win.Chase Joppich lit the scor-

ing lamp on a power play for

the Reps with 1:41 left in theopening period to tie thescore with assists from

Andrew Dzierwa and GavinUitulugt.

Zach Bargey and Uitulugtassisted on a prettyDeneweth goal in the secondperiod to give the Reps a 2-1lead and 47 seconds into thethird period, Josh Hill gavethe home fans a thrill as he

scored off of an assist fromthe ubiquitous Deneweth.The dangerous Dzierwa

scored with an assist fromlinemate Joppich and then

Joppich scored with an assistfrom Dzierwa to close out thescoring and even the Repsrecord at 2-2 on season.

This weekend the Reps willtravel to Detroit to play a pairof games at the University of

Liggett Tournament.

Re%' +i# $#e, !$'e $#e a( h$"eReps rebound from Friday loss to Midland Dow with an impressive triumph over Tri-Valley on Saturday


7/12



Blue Devils rebound from sluggish showing Friday to give talented EGR a good test on SaturdayBy Mike Dunn

GAYLORD The Gaylordhockey team hosted theannual D-III Shootout at theSportsplex over the weekendand, as usual, there was lotsof great hockey played on thehome ice between the 12 par-ticipants.

Gaylord struggled a bit inits Friday game againstPainesdale Jeffers, losing atwo-goal lead to eventuallydrop a 6-3 decision in a game

where the Blue Devils wereout-shot 37-16, but on

Saturday against perennialD-3 power East GrandRapids, the undermannedBlue Devils turned up thenozzle on the pressure meterand gave the talentedfavorites a tough battle inspite of suffering a 4-1 defeat.

In the game with Jeffers,goals from free-wheelingJackson Deans in the open-ing 90 seconds and GattlingGun Garrett Richardson

later in the first period putGaylord on top 2-0.

The wheels came off a bitin the second period, howev-er, as Jeffers maintained arelentless attack, out-shoot-ing Gaylord 12-2 whileassuming a 4-2 advantage onthe scoreboard. It was moreof the same in the third peri-od, with Jeffers having a 14-5edge in shots.

Richardson rang up twogoals in the contest, an unas-sisted goal in the opening

period and a rocket blast on apower play in the third peri-

od with a pretty setup fromBlake Miller. The latter goal,Richardsons fifth of the

young season, trimmed theJeffers lead to 4-3 but the Jetscame back to finish strongand close out with two moregoals.

On Saturday, the BlueDevils trailed 1-0 after oneperiod and 3-0 after two peri-ods but continued to playhard. EGR made it a 4-0 game

early in the final periodbefore Gattling Gun Garrett

came through again with ascreaming wrister to make it4-1 at the 6:50 mark.

Richardson had a niceweekend, scoring three ofGaylords four goals andassisting on the other one.Deans had a goal and anassist as well. Richardsonand Deans are the top twogoal-producers so far, light-ing the lamp six and fourtimes, respectively. Gage

Andrews has one goal and

four assists for five points to

date.

Gaylord generated many

more scoring opportunities

against EGR, moving the

puck efficiently. The Blue

Devils were still out-shot but

by a much smaller margin:

29-19.

Gaylord goalkeeper Ethan

ODell turned back 25 of 29

shots directed his way in the

contest.

Gaylord vies in annual D-III ShootoutH$ce

By Andy Sneddon

Thanks to Mother Nature,the Petoskey High Schoolgirls basketball team hadmore than a week to adjustand prepare for its Big NorthConference opener.

The Northmen, who went0-2 in their season-openingPetoskey Invitational, wentto Traverse City Central fortheir league opener onTuesday, then played host toCheboygan in a non-leaguegame on Wednesday.

The Northmen werescheduled to open Big Northplay at home against Gaylordon Dec. 12, but that game

was postponed because of

weather. It was rescheduledfor Saturday, Feb. 8.

The Chiefs, meanwhile,

entered the week 0-3 overall

and 0-2 in the Straits AreaConference after a 40-34 lossto Newberry and a 52-33 set-back, in their home opener,to Sault Ste. Marie.

After taking on theNorthmen in Petoskey on

Wednesday, the Chiefs werescheduled to play at Rudyardin a SAC game on Friday, Dec.20.

Weve had our stretchesduring each game where

weve played very well,Cheboygan coach JasonPurcell said. But weve alsohad a couple of stretches

within each game where wehavent played so well. Itsmostly just mental stuff,

turning the ball over at inop-portune times. In each of ourfirst three games, Gaylord,

Newberry, Sault Ste. Marie,

(opponents) just go on a cou-ple of runs, 6-0, 8-0 runs andthats been the difference inthe game in each of thosefirst three games.

We looked at our sched-ule, and we felt that our firstfive games, every game wasgoing to be very competitive.

Were getting there. ByFebruary it pays off. Usuallyby district time were playingour best basketball of the

year and becoming the bestteam we can be. We keep tak-ing positive strides and posi-tive steps and keep gettingbetter as the season pro-gresses.

Brenna James scored 10

points to lead a balancedattack in Sault Ste. Maries

win over the Chiefs. Ann

Diepenhorst added nine

points for the Blue Devils,while Breanna Swan andEmma Roque finished witheight each.

Cheboygan trailed, 26-18,at halftime.

Brooke Hancock finishedwith nine points, seven ofwhich came in the first h alf,to lead the Chiefs, while

Ashley Hempenstal l addedeight points.

Macey Charboneau ledCheboygans rebounders

with six, while she andHannah Hudak dished outfour assists each.

Hancock hit three 3-point-ers en route to a game-high17 points in the Chiefs loss

to Newberry.Hancock hit back-to-back

triples to pull the Chiefs

within one, 29-28, midway

through the fourth quarter,but Cheboygan couldnt drawany closer.

Charboneau ledCheboygan on the boards

with six rebounds, whileAutumn Hudak had five, andBridget Blaskowski made fivesteals.

Second-half surge liftsPellston

Pellston outscored InlandLakes, 33-13, in the secondhalf Friday in downing theBulldogs, 48-34, in a Ski

Valley Conference girls bas-ketball game.

It was the first varsity win

for first-year Pellston coachSteve Kirsch. The Hornetsopened the season with a 50-

36 non-league loss to

Mackinaw City.Pellston was scheduled toplay at Mancelona on

Wednesday, and will enter-tain Gaylord St. Mary onFriday. Both are Ski ValleyConference games.

Sophomore guard HanahCarter scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the secondhalf to lead Pellston past theBulldogs.

Carter made nine of her 12free throw attempts on thenight. Kelly Lewis added 14points for the Hornets, while

Ainsley MacLean finish edwith nine.

Alli Furst scored 12 pointsto lead Inland Lakes.

Northmen, Chiefs seek first victories

KINGSLEY The visitingGrayling boys varsity basket-

ball team needed a big finish

to top Kingsley, 67-60, onSaturday, Dec. 14.

The Vikings scored onlyseven points in the first

quarter, yet still managed toforge a 19-17 lead at half-

time. But, the host Stags (0-1

overall) more than erasedGraylings advantage,

outscoring the Vikes, 25-16,

and taking a 42-35 lead into

the fourth quarter.Grayling, however,

returned the favor, as the

Vikings rallied to score 32points in the final eight min-

utes to secure the comeback

win.

"Our kids showed a lot ofheart and character to come

back and win this game,

said Grayling head coachRich Moffit. We struggled

throughout the first three

quarters at the offensive endof the court. We turned the

ball over and our offensive

spacing left a lot to be

desired.In the last quarter, we

were able to get to the rim

and created someturnovers.

Senior Tyler McClanahan

paced the victorious Vikes

with 18 points, 6 assists, 6steals and 3 rebounds.

Justice Junttila, also a senior,

was the only other Graylinghoopster to hit for double

figures with 13 points, 6boards and 2 steals.

T-Mac played solid at

both ends of the court,

Moffit said of McClanahansperformance. (And) J.J.

played well in the second

half, despite a lingering

shoulder injury.Other contributors for

Grayling (2-0 overall) includ-

ed: Geoff Wilson with 8points, 4 rebounds and 2

steals; Scout Tobin with 8points, 1 rebound, 2 assists

and 3 steals; Matt Burrellwith 6 points, 2 boards, 1

assist and 1 steal; Carson

Burmeister with 5 points, 5rebounds, 3 assists and 5

steals; Michael Branch with

3 points, 6 rebounds and 1

steal; Peyton Zigila with 3points, 2 boards, 1 assist and

1 steal; Emmett Helsel with 2

points, a team-high 8rebounds and 1 steal; and

Scott Wakeley with 1 point, 3

rebounds and 1 steal.Burmeister was solid

defensively and was a very

good floor general, Moffit

added. Wilson and Tobinsparked us down the stretch

with their energy at both

ends of the court. Helselgave us a big lift with his

work on the glass."

Grayling 52,Roscommon 34

The Vikings needed a

strong second-half perform-ance to top non-conference

rival Roscommon (0-2 over-

all) in their season-opener

Tuesday, Dec. 10.The first half proved to be

a see-saw affair, with the two

teams ending up in a 19-19

stalemate at intermission. Itdidnt help that Grayling is

withou t all-sta te hoopste rJake Swander, whos out with

an ankle injury, according to

his coach.

But, the second half wasall Grayling. The Vikings

dominated the third quarter,

19-6, and then but the gameout of reason with a 14-9

fourth quarter.

Roscommon has a veter-an group of players and is

picked to finish at or nearthe top of the Jack Pine

Conference, Moffit said.I was pleased with the

effort and energy that our

kids played with in thisgame, he added. I thought

that we got stronger at both

ends of the court as the

game went on.

Junttila provided the

Vikings with a spark, both onthe scoreboard on the glass,

with a team-high 20 points

and 13 rebounds. The seniorcager also recorded 3 steals

and 1 blocked shot.

Moffit said McClanahan

provided leadership on thefloor and was solid defen-

sively, while tallying 13

points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists,5 steals and 1 blocked shot.

And, Burrell gave Graying a

trio of players in double fig-

ures with 10 points, 6 boardsand 2 steals.

Also contributing in the

win for Grayling were:Wilson with 2 points, 6

rebounds and 2 steals; Zigila

with 2 points, 5 rebounds

and 2 steals; Burmeister with2 points, 3 boards, 2 assists

and 2 steals; Branch with 2

points, 2 rebounds, 1 assistand 1 steal; Wakeley and

Helsel with 3 rebounds each;and Tobin with 2 boards, 1assist and 1 steal.

Our bench gave us a

boost with their energy,

Moffit said.

Report by Buckland NewsService.

FAIRVIEW A quartet ofThunderbolts scored in dou-ble-digits and help lead theundefeated Mio boys basket-ball to the teams second con-secutive win, 63-22, as Miocrushed rival Fairview onThursday, Dec. 12.

Mio (2-0 overall) simpledominated the Eagles, whosehighest output was eight

points in the second quarter.But, by then, theThunderbolts already head acommanding 31-10 lead.

The Thunderbolts wereconsistent in their perform-

ance, scoring 16 points in thefirst, third and fourth quar-ters, as well as 15 points inthe second quarter.

Senior Seth Thomey ledthe way with 17 points, 7steals, 5 rebounds and 3assists.

Sophomore Ben Lubitzand junior Charles Auten

werent far behind. Lubitz

chipped in 16 points and 4boards, as well as handingout a team-high 9 assists,

while Auten added 15 pointsand 3 boards.

Senior Bryce Degrammont

completed the quartet by tal-lying 11 points, a team-best 8rebounds, 1 assist and 1 stealin the win.

Other contributors for Mioincluded: Bryson Devers with2 points, 5 rebounds, 3assists, 2 steals and 1 blockedshot; Trent Vaughn with 2points and 1 rebound; andJosh Fox with 3 rebounds, 1

assist and 1 steal.

Mio 62, AuGres-Sims 27The host AuGres-Sims

Wolverines looked like theydbe a tough test for Mio, at

least in the first quarter of theThunderbolts season-openeron the road Monday, Dec. 9.

The Wolverines trailed byjust five points, 15-10, afterthe first eight minutes of playin the North Star League con-test. But, thats as close astheyd get.

Mio doubled up, eventripled up, the host team the

rest of the way. That includedoutscoring AuGres-Sims, 12-5, in the second stanza for a27-15 lead at intermission.

The Thunderbolts put thegame away for good in the

third period by dominatingthe Wolverines, 20-6.

Lubitz had a great all-round performance with adouble-double that included21 points, 10 rebounds, 4assists, 2 blocked shots and 1steal.

Thomey and senior AaronGeorgieff each hit for 11points in the win. Thomey

also handed out a team-high7 assists to go with 3rebounds and 3 steals, whileGeorgieff tallied 9 rebounds,1 assist and 1 blocked shotagainst the Wolverines.

Also contributing for theThunderbolts were: Devers

with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1assist and 1 blocked shot;Degrammont with 6 points, 3rebounds and 2 assists;

Auten with 3 points and 2boards; and Vaughn andDrake Thornton, each with 1rebound.


Service.

Vie' 'hae $ff '!$+ '(a&(($ c&$+# Ki#g'!e, 67-60

Th!nderbols srike Fair"ie# for 63-22 #in

By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD The Gaylordfreshmen boys of coachJeremiah Young pushed theirrecord to 2-2 in the youngseason with a 44-34 decisionover non-league foe BoyneCity on Monday.

The Blue Devils rebound-ed from a sluggish start atthe court of the Ramblers toovertake the home team inthe second half.

Boyne took a nine-pointlead into halftime, but wecame out strong in the sec-ond half with great defensiveintensity, Young reported.

Gaylord actually held theRambles scoreless in thethird quarter and ultimatelyoutscored them 29-10 in thesecond half.

Shane Duncan had thenets shaking with his on-tar-get shooting, making ateam-high 16 points forGaylord to help fuel the big-time comeback. Levi Irishalso helped the cause of the

young Blue Devils, launch-ing 12 points on the night.Lucas DeForge fired in sixand Logan Mahn made five.

ON FRIDAY, Dec. 13, theBlue Devils traveled to

Standish-Sterling and lost43-35 in a hard-fought bat-tle.

Gaylord led at the end ofthe first three quarters butcouldnt quite pull it out inthe fourth. The Panthers

were 10-of-19 from the char-ity stripe and Gaylord was

just 6-of-15.Too many turnovers and

missed opportunities cost usin the fourth quarter, Youngsaid.

Duncan drained the netsfor 13 points and LoganMahn had the Lo-Mo flow-ing, hitting for 10. DeForgeand Irish each added four.

ON TUESDAY, Dec. 10,Gaylord nosed past visitingCharlevoix 62-33 in a realnail-biter. The young BlueDevils led 15-9, 32-16 and45-26 at the quarter breaks.

Logan Mahn had the Lo-Mo flowing once again,notching a game-high 17points. Cameron Pearsonproduced 10 points whileDuncan and Irish each

struck for eight.One thing that pleased

coach Young was theGaylord reserves putting 21points on the board. Eight ofthe Blue Devils 10 playersscored in the contest.

We had tremendous con-tributions off of the bench,

Young reported . TravisHough had several spectacu-lar assists, Elijah Needhamand Brad Ames providedsome key rebounds, andCameron Pearson andDaniel Goodale provided aspark on the offensive end as

well. It was a great team vic-tory.

Joe McCraney ledCharlevoix with nine points.

Devils rally tooutscore Boyne CityDuncan and Irish deliver for Gaylord

freshmen for 2-2 start to season

Ga!#%d F%#&h


8/12

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Real EstateThings Not to

Do Before

Purchasing aHome

Complimentsof Ed Wohlfiel

No Major Purchase of Any

Kind

Dont Buy a Car or any

major purchase that would

create debt of any kind. This

includes furniture, appli-

ances, electronic equipment,

jewelry, vacations, expensive

weddings, etc.

Dont Move Money Around

When a lender reviews

your loan packag e for

approval, one of the things

they are concerned about is

the source of funds for your

down payment and closing

costs. Most likely, you will be

asked to provide statements

for the last two or three

months on any of your liquid

assets. This includes check-

ing accounts, savings

accounts, money market

funds, certificates of deposit,

stock statements, mutualfunds, and even your com-

pany 401K and retirement

accounts.

If you have been moving

money between accounts

during that time, there may

be large deposits and with-

drawals in some of them.

The mortgage underwriter

(the person who actually

approves your loan) will

probably require a complete

paper trail of all the with-

drawals and deposits. You

may be required to produce

cancelled checks, depositreceipts, and other seeming-

ly inconsequential data,

which could get quite

tedious.

Perhaps you become exas-

perated at your lender, but

they are only doing their job

correctly. To ensure quality

control and eliminate poten-

tial fraud, it is a requirement

on most loans to completely

document the source of all

funds. Moving your money

around, even if you are con-

solidating your funds to

make it easier, could make it

more difficult for the lender

to properly document.

So leave your money

where it is until you talk to a

loan officer. In addition, this

would be a bad time to

change banks.


12/12

weekly choice - section b - december 19, 2013

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