By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
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Only lightning has been able to stop Saginaw Nouvel so far this season.
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The undefeated Division 6 football power in eastern Michigan entered football action last week with a 4-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in its division, the sixth highest of eight divisions in Michigan in terms of school enrollment.
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But Friday, Nouvel traveled in quest of its fifth victory of the nine-week regular season. Lightning hit the skies, forcing game officials to postpone the action. Nouvel had traveled 2 1/2 hours to the game and school officials decided not to return the following day because of the distance.
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"We're disappointed we didn't have a chance to play," Saginaw Nouvel Coach Mike Boyd said.
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But with four weeks left in the regular season, there are plenty of challenges coming up.
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"We'll be facing three teams coming up who are bound for the playoffs such as Muskegon Heights, Traverse City St. Francis and Detroit Country Day," Boyd said.
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"The kids have played well defensively," Boyd said. "Offensively, Brad Sonntag has done a good job leading us. We have a good group of kids. I have a veteran coaching staff, as well. We have great kids who know what it takes to get the job done."
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Boyd has coached Nouvel, a Catholic school, for seven years. He previously was an assistant for 10 seasons under his dad, legendary high school football coach Smokey Boyd.
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Canton Looking to Stay Unbeaten
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Canton is among the top ranked teams in the state at 5-0.
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Jim Baechler coaches the Detroit-area, Division 1 school. His biggest concern is keeping his team undefeated despite some key injuries.
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"We knew our first five games would be tough," Baechler said.ÿ "We're happy to be 5-0. But we've had some key injuries. We're down to our third-string quarterback. We'll see what happens."
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Baechler is also hoping to get his No. 1 running back DaShan McClendon healthy again. He's been averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
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"Injuries have hurt us offensively," Baechler said. "We're hoping to get our No. 2 quarterback, Steve Paye, back within two to three weeks."
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Besides Canton, there are several other undefeated football teams in Michigan's big-school enrollment division, including Rockford, Macomb Dakota, Lake Orion, Clarkston, Milford, Saline, Warren De La Salle, Bay City Central, and South Lyon.
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Girls Basketball
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One of the top basketball freshmen in the state on the varsity level has already emerged in 6-0 center Taylor Johnson of Belding, a Class B school located 20 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.
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Johnson is averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. She's scored more than 20 points in her last four games. She ran into foul trouble her first game of the season and wound up with just two points.
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In a 74-57 victory, this week against Wyoming Rogers, Johnson scored 27 points.
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"I still have some things I'd like to work on," Johnson said. "Like rebounding and boxing out."
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And staying out of foul trouble is another item Johnson hopes to correct.
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"She has to know how to play with two fouls on her," Belding coach Paul Ballard said. "She obviously spent a lot of time during the offseason working underneath in putting the shot back up."
"She's going to be a tough player," Wyoming Rogers coach Pat Cain said. "She does things very well inside. She uses her body well. She does things well outside and is getting more effective as a player and shooter outside."
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"(Playing varsity) is a blast," Johnson said. "From our first game of the season, against Greenville, we've progressed. We've been coming together."
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Undefeated girls basketball teams in Michigan include Auburn Hills Avondale, Clarkston, Detroit King, Saginaw Arthur Hill, Lansing Waverly, Detroitÿ Pershing, Flushing, Detroit Country Day, DeWitt, Midland Bullock Creek, Ludington, Waren Woods Tower, Detroit Renaissance, Saginaw Nouvel, Houghton, Kent City, Michigan Center, Sandusky, Morley Stanwood, ishpeming Westwood, Allen Park Cabrini, Portland St. Patrick, Beal City, Chassell, and Muskegon West Michigan Catholic.
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Cross Country
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Cedar Spring runner Katie Kramer won a recent home invitational at 20:10 and hopes to emerge as one of the state's top runners.
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"I've been in the 19-minute range," she said. "I'm running pretty well. The better the competition is, the better I run. I'll see a lot of good competition Saturday at the Carson City-Crystal Invitational."
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The CC-C Invitational draws among the highest numbered teams in the state.
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"We're looking very good as a team," Kramer said. "We want to get much better."