By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
The Wing T is alive and well in Michigan, especially in Hastings.
The Saxons are 2-0 after defeating another reputable Wing T team, Belding and joining the ranks of Michigan's undefeated squads after two weeks of the nine-week season.
Belding had one of the best records in the state in the 1990s and went a stretch of 53-1 during six straight regular seasons. But in the 2000s, the Redskins have fallen away from state contention.
But an 18-15 win against neighboring rival Greenville, in the 110th battle between the two schools, had Belding fans thinking they could contend for a title.
But Hastings, led by Ryan Burgdorf with 153 yards rushing, posted a 20-14 victory against the Redskins to improve its record to 2-0.
"Our kids finished. We played a complete football game," said Hastings coach Fred Rademacher. "We're a Wing T team. We try to grind it at you. You get enough opportunities and something big will happen."
Wing T or no Wing T, the Hastings defense came to the forefront in the second half when the game was tied 14-14.
"My defensive coordinator made some changes in the second half to take care of their off-tackle play that they had success with," Rademacher said.
Two sports, two kicks
Caleb Young has joined the growing trend of high school soccer players being used by their respective high school football teams. Last week, Young had four goals in his team's 7-3 victory over Wyoming Kelloggsville. Three days later, he kicked a 24-yard field goal in the first attempt of his high school career. It opened the scoring and set the stage in an 18-15 win over Greenville.
"Last year, I knew they didn't go for field goals and didn't have a kicker," Young said. "I thought that I might as well try out, I went to them."
Young said he's capable of kicking a field goal as long as 40 yards.
"It's just a matter of practice, practice, practice," he said.
Girls golf
Lake Orion won the Division 1 state golf title in June, but Coach Meagan Daly and her program didn't have long to celebrate since the season for 2007-08 switched to the fall.
Daly also admitted it's not going to be easy for her team to repeat.
"It was the first time we won a girls state title," Daly said. "I knew we were going to be a special team. But we had to come right back a few months later. We've had some matches this fall and we went from having the top team in the state last spring to a team that took second to last in our first tournament of this season. We're definitely rebuilding for next year. I lost my top three from last year. We've always battled to have numbers for girls golf. That's not unusual. I know a lot of girls programs that have low numbers."
On the switch of girls golf to the fall, "I don't see it as being a big deal," Daly said. "I did gain a player because she used to play soccer in the spring."
Maggie Hughes, a junior, is back for Lake Orion. She averaged 92 strokes for 18 holes last year. "Chelsea Gross, a senior, will definitely need to play well for us," Daly said.
Daly expects Grand Blanc to be the favorite for the state title.
Volleyball
It was a school-record season for wins last year when Grand Rapids South Christian went 74-4 and won the Classs B state championship.
"We thought we had the talent and we could do it," said South Christian Coach Heather Kwantes, who lost six starters from last season. South Christian had all-staters in sisters Jen and Jordyn and Skinner along with Kendra Potgetter, Alicia TerHaar and Kalee VanEngen.
"We worked very well together as a team," Kwantes said. "They were strong in all areas and worked very well together. We do have some talent coming back. I think we'll see some improvement and see progress. There's a lot of room for improvement"
That includes Jordyn Skinner, a junior, whose older sister has graduated. Also back is Danielle Dentartigh. But South Christian, in its quest for another title, expects to get strong competition for a state title from Forest Hills Northern, Fruitport, Plainwell and Holland Christian.
This is the first season Michigan has gone from winter to fall for its volleyball season.
"It hasn't caused any problems so far," Kwnates said. "Things are going smoothly."
Boys soccer
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist will be going for a third straight title in Division 4 soccer this season. The school had previously won a state crown in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 2000 and was runners-up in 2002.
"I thought we had a chance to win it last year," said Coach Mark Kraatz. "We lost solid players to college from the previous year. But we had a lot of talent coming back. We had some injuries. But by the end of the year, we got healthy, jelled and got stronger."
The Detroit-area school is led by Brady Rees, a senior goalie who has been all-state his first three years. Garret Daniel is a standout four-year player. Anthony Sauther is a four-year starter at sweeper.
Will there be a three-peat state champ?
"You always have a chance," Kraatz said. "We have some holes to fill and it will be more difficult. More teams will be interested in taking us down. That makes the challenge that much harder."