By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
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The University of Michigan isn't the only team in the southeast corner of Michigan, and particularly in the Ann Arbor area, that is having enormous success this season.
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The Saline Hornets are 6-0 in the football ranks and scored a stirring 37-28 over neighboring rival Chelsea Sept. 30 in a battle of undefeated teams with state championship aspirations.
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Leading the way for coach Mike Glennie's team is 243-pound fullback Vincent Helmuth, who has already verbally committed to the University of Michigan.
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But the Hornets have many other weapons with the likes of halfback Austin Trott and quarterback Kyle Brown, who directs a devastating Wing T. Casey Dishman is a superb split end and Saline has one of the best offensive lines in the state with the likes of Joey Everett, Charlie Moeller, and Rob Rasor.
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Defensively, Saline is also powerful with the likes of Helmuth, Mike Adler, and Bryce Rajabla at linebacker and Luke O'Brien at defensive back.
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Helmuth praised his teammates after the victory over Chelsea.
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"Everyone on the team played very well. This game in particular has been on our minds," Helmuth said. "It was one of the games we had talked about."
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Saline has also been facing one of the toughest schedules in the state, and that's okay with Helmuth.
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"The coaches are keeping our heads on straight," Helmuth said. "We haven't looked ahead. All week, we face an opponent that we care about. Everyone we play wants to upset us. We know that we'll get their best game."
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Helmuth said the final three opponents on his team's regular season schedule will be very difficult.
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"Adrian has some pretty good power athletes," Helmuth said. "Dexter upset us 45-41 last year while South Lyons, in the final week, will be very tough."
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Saline was 5-4 last season and Helmuth is fueling the Hornets' state title hopes.
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"I don't think I've lived up to my expectations," he said. "My expectations are always big. But all I want to do is help this team. That's basically what I care about. I have to improve on my technique. If i want to play a lot at the college level, I need to be a good blocking back."
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Michigan would like to put Helmuth's blocking skills to good use.
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"I like Michigan's coaches and I live real close to the school. They're doing all of the right things. It's always been my dream to play in the Rose Bowl and be involved in something huge."
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Cross Countryÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
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Carson City-Crystal, located 40 miles northwest of Lansing, completed its 32nd season with a cross country invitational, which now ranks as the largest in the state, Sept. 30.
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It attracts more than 100 high school teams and more than 3,500 runners, with middle school athletes involved.
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CC-C athletic director Devin Pringle enjoyed having temperatures in the high 50s.
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"Not having a hot day makes a difference," said Pringle, pointing out that many runners had personal records. "We have the whole community help out with this. It takes about 100 people to help us put this on. I would say overall, we have between 5,000 to 6,000 people at this event. We've just tripled our town's population."
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Rockford, a perennial Class A cross country power for the boys, was at the CC-C meet and hopes to be a contender for the state title when Michigan has its championships in early November.
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Andrew Hawks leads the Rockford effort and was third overall at CC-C and first on his team.
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"We figure Ann Arbor Pioneer will also be tough," Hawks said. "But it's tough to gauge that right now. We just want to run well as a team. We want to have good runs, win our conference, win our regional and then get ready for the state finals."
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Hawks figures his team should be among the top three Class A teams in the state.
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"Pinckney is also really good this year," he said. "And we can't overlook Williamston (near the Lansing area.)."
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Girls Basketball
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In Michigan's Thumb area, Al DeMott is coaching a Sandusky team that has gotten off to a 9-0 start and figures on being a contender for the state's Class C title this year.
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Class A is the state's division with the largest-sized schools while Class D has the smallest-sized schools.
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"Weÿ have some very good freshmen," DeMott said. "We played 13 girls. We played a lot of kids. We have a lot of returning players this year."
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Sandusky is fueled by eight seniors on this year's team. But junior post player Casey VanConant leads the team with 12 points and 6. 5 rebounds per game.
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The coach's daughter, freshman Marissa DeMott, is also averaging 12 points a game.
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Sandusky had an 18-6 record last year, and its 9-0 record this season is the school's best start since 1999.
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"We've had some tough games," DeMott said. "We have some good senior leadership. Last year was a learning experience for us. This year, we're more patient and more comfortable."