By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
Football: Harrison, Herrington Eyeing Lucky No. 13
He's been coaching for 44 years but Farmington Hills Harrison football coach John Herrington is hoping this will be the season his team sets a new Michigan record for state championships.
Herrington is entering his 36th year as head coach at Harrison, located in Farmington Hills, just outside of Detroit.
Harrison has won 12 state titles, which ties Detroit St. Martin dePorres, a school that closed its doors two years ago. So Herrington is confident that this could be the season.
"We made the state semifinals last year," Herrington said. "We should do well this year."
What makes Harrison a strong bet to be a Michigan state titlist is having four college prospects on the team, including split end Mark Dell, being looked at by Nebraska, Purdue, and Michigan State.
Other hot prospects on the Harrison team are offensive/defensive tackle Ben Bojicic (6-5, 275), wide receiver and outside linebacker Calvin Mann, and receiver/safety Dan Siroby, who is currently sitting out with an injury.
"We're trying to get him healthly," Herrington said. "We have a good runnning back, Norman Schuford, who will do very well. We have some outstanding seniors."
Farmington Hills Harrison might be state title contenders but Herrington doesn't expect his team to coast through its nine-game schedule.
"Lake Orion will be very tough," he said. "Clarkston will be pretty good, too. Some schools just don't change much. We're one of the smaller schools in our conference. We've got 1,100 students while a school like Rochester Adams has 1,700."
Farmington Hills Harrison and other schools are in their second full week of practices across the state and will get their first chance for head-to-head competition against other schools in multi-team scrimmages Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. The nine-week regular season starts Aug. 25 or 26.
Some of the best players in the state are gearing up for their senior season. That includes Lowell quarterback Keith Nichol, who has already committed to play at Michigan State University, and linebacker Chris Colasanti of defending Division 2 state champion Birmingham Brother Rice.
Last season, Nichol rushed 168 times for 1,110 yards and 21 touchdowns. He completed 108 of 171 passes for 2,163 yards and 18 touchdowns, falling victim to sacks only five times.
Girls Basketball: Fall Ball
Basketball practices started Monday across Michigan and the season begins Aug. 28. All eyes will be on Southfield Lathrup, the suburban Detroit school that won the state title in Class A, the division for the schools with the largest enrollment.
In last season's title game, Timika Williams scored nine points in the first quarter and had 24 overall for a 48-36 victory over Detroit King. It was the first state championship for the Chargers, 27-1, while King finished as state runners-up for the second-straight year.
Coach Michelle Jackson would like to think her team can repeat as champs, despite graduating most of her starters.
"We'll be relying on six kids who came off our bench," Jackson said. "We'll also have a player who transferred from Detroit St. Martin dePorres. This group of players might be more athletic than last year's. We expect to have a good team. We won't go undefeated, but we'll be tough."
Jackson took her team to a summer camp at Michigan State and was impressed with teams like Saginaw Arthur Hills, a squad she figures will be a state championship contender.
"Not a lot of people would expect a school like Detroit Northwestern to be tough," Jackson said. "But they will be. Detroit Pershing has players at 6-1 and 6-2. We played them last summer and they're very much better this year."
Girls Basketball: Fall Ball II
On Wednesday, the Federal Appeals Court out of Cincinnati upheld a 2001 Federal District Court ruling that the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) discriminates against girls athletes with its current set up of seasons.
The appeals court had previously upheld the ruling but was charged by the U.S Supreme Court to reconsider the ruling and base it on Title IX rather than Civil Rights acts.
The MHSAA is considering going back to the Supreme Court for another appeal.
In 1998, Communities for Equity, based out of Grand Rapids, filed suit against the MHSAA, which has set up a new seasons alignment in case it loses the suit.
If the MHSAA loses, then girls basketball, presently in the fall, and volleyball, presently in the winter, would switch seasons. Girls tennis in the fall and boys tennis in the spring would also switch, as would boys golf in the fall and girls golf in the spring.
Communities for Equity argues the current seasons hurts girls athletes' chances for scholarships to colleges. The MHSAA has cited figures saying it actually helps Michigan athletes get more scholarships and the present season format has resulted in high numbers of female participation in sports.
Cross Country: Defending Champions Hoping For Repeat
Cross country teams have gotten their seasons under way. Defending boys state champions are Pinckney in Division 1, Dexter in Division 2, Williamston in Division 3, and St. Louis in Division 4.
Defending girls state champs are Clarkston in Division 1, Grand Rapids Christian in Division 2, Goodrich in Division 3 and Big Rapids Crossroads Academy in Division 4.
The state finals are held Nov. 4 at the Michigan International Speedway near Jackson.