Thursday, July 17, 2008
Poll: Saginaw Valley League Champs
The first poll of the year up, so let's hear who you expect to win the always-competitive Saginaw Valley League in 2008. After last year's logjam, it's anybody's guess as to who will take the title this year!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
2008 Sports and Fitness Expo
The 2008 Sports and Fitness Expo will be held September 5-7 at the Birch Run Expo Center. The event will mark the first of its kind to ever be held in the state of Michigan. There will be competitions, professional athlete appearences, demonstrations of sports (including skydiving, martial arts, and BMX stunt biking!), prizes, and sports and fitness businesses from around the state showing off their services and products.
If you own a sports-related business and would like more information on getting a booth to exhibit your business at the Expo, check out the website and contact STEVE CRONK at Steve@HighImpactMe.com.
If you own a sports-related business and would like more information on getting a booth to exhibit your business at the Expo, check out the website and contact STEVE CRONK at Steve@HighImpactMe.com.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Nouvel over St. Charles in OT thriller
In a tale of two halves, it was the third one that made the difference in Nouvel Catholic Central’s overtime victory over the St. Charles Bulldogs.
In the first half, the Bulldogs could do no wrong. Senior Ryan Humpert put the Bulldogs on the board early with an 80 yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed; this would become an unfortunate habit for the ‘Dogs.
On the ensuing drive, Nouvel runningback Christian Miller fumbled the ball and St. Charles found themselves with quality field position. They ran an efficient drive downfield and Humpert capped it with an 14 yard scoring run.
Early in the second quarter, the Bulldog defense came up big again, this time on an interception by sophomore Dugan Roosa, his second of the game. On the very next play, Humpert scurried 14 yards to paydirt to give his team a big 18-0 advantage.
The Panthers came roaring back as time began to run low on the first half. Quarterback David Kazmierski led his team downfield, and his long run gave Nouvel 1st and goal. The St. Charles defense made a valient goal line stand. On 4th down, Bo Themm’s field goal attempt went wide right with less than a minute in the half. The score as the teams entered the locker rooms was St. Charles 18, Nouvel 0.
The Panthers entered the field for the 2nd half invigorated, and it didn’t take long for them to get started on the comeback. Miller took a run to the 1 yard line, and Kazmierski followed it up with a touchdown dive on the very next play.
On the Bulldogs’ next drive, Halas dropped back to pass but was sacked and stripped of the ball by a host of blue pass rushers. The Panthers failed to convert the turnover into points, but the message was clear; this would be a different ball game in the 2nd half.
Early in the 4th quarter, the Bulldog faithful finally found a reason to be nervous. Nouvel first converted a 3rd and 17, then pulled a trick out of their hat with a halfback pass to Tony Awrey from Kyle Barankski for a touchdown. After a successful PAT kick by Themm, the Panthers were only down by 3 points.
With time becoming a factor, the Nouvel offense didn’t lose their composure. Kazmierski completed a long pass to give his squad 1st and goal from the St. Charles 8 yard line. Pushed to the edge, the Bulldog defense stepped up in a big way, but still permitted Themm to kick a short field goal to tie the game with less than 4 minutes remaining.
With the clock running low, St. Charles began to drive down the field for a potentially game-winning score. They came close, but a penalty and a stingy Panther defense kept the Bulldogs from winning the game.
And so to overtime we go.
St. Charles won the coin toss and chose to defend first. On the very first play from scrimmage, Christian Miller scored his first touchdown of the game with a 10 yard scamper.
That left the Bulldogs with a lot of pressure. A Nouvel defensive linemen blew through the St. Charles blockers and put the ‘Dawgs in a precarious position; 2nd down, 14 yards from the end zone, and having to score to keep their season alive. Unfortunately for them, Halas’ pass attempt on 3rd down fell short. On 4th down, they attempted a swing pass to Ryan Humpert, but he was eaten up before sniffing the goal line.
The Nouvel faithful flooded the field as their players celebrated wildly; the final score was Nouvel Catholic Central 24, St. Charles 18.
The key to the game was Nouvel’s resilience. They entered the 2nd half with a large deficit to overcome, but they were able to leave with a victory. Also worth mentioning was their ability to stop St. Charles on extra point attempts. The Bulldogs attempted three two-point conversions, all of which were stuffed by the Panthers. Had Nouvel allowed even one of those, perhaps they would have left Bulldog Stadium with a different taste in their mouths.
In the end, it was a battle between two teams with the passion and dedication that make high school football such an amazing game. The Bulldogs’ season ends at 10-1, but they have nothing to hang their head over; they created a great season and took one of the state’s toughest perennial powerhouses to overtime.
Nouvel will host Sanford-Meridian in a battle between 3-loss teams for the regional championship. Meridian upset Clare (9-2) in their district match-up.
In the first half, the Bulldogs could do no wrong. Senior Ryan Humpert put the Bulldogs on the board early with an 80 yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed; this would become an unfortunate habit for the ‘Dogs.
On the ensuing drive, Nouvel runningback Christian Miller fumbled the ball and St. Charles found themselves with quality field position. They ran an efficient drive downfield and Humpert capped it with an 14 yard scoring run.
Early in the second quarter, the Bulldog defense came up big again, this time on an interception by sophomore Dugan Roosa, his second of the game. On the very next play, Humpert scurried 14 yards to paydirt to give his team a big 18-0 advantage.
The Panthers came roaring back as time began to run low on the first half. Quarterback David Kazmierski led his team downfield, and his long run gave Nouvel 1st and goal. The St. Charles defense made a valient goal line stand. On 4th down, Bo Themm’s field goal attempt went wide right with less than a minute in the half. The score as the teams entered the locker rooms was St. Charles 18, Nouvel 0.
The Panthers entered the field for the 2nd half invigorated, and it didn’t take long for them to get started on the comeback. Miller took a run to the 1 yard line, and Kazmierski followed it up with a touchdown dive on the very next play.
On the Bulldogs’ next drive, Halas dropped back to pass but was sacked and stripped of the ball by a host of blue pass rushers. The Panthers failed to convert the turnover into points, but the message was clear; this would be a different ball game in the 2nd half.
Early in the 4th quarter, the Bulldog faithful finally found a reason to be nervous. Nouvel first converted a 3rd and 17, then pulled a trick out of their hat with a halfback pass to Tony Awrey from Kyle Barankski for a touchdown. After a successful PAT kick by Themm, the Panthers were only down by 3 points.
With time becoming a factor, the Nouvel offense didn’t lose their composure. Kazmierski completed a long pass to give his squad 1st and goal from the St. Charles 8 yard line. Pushed to the edge, the Bulldog defense stepped up in a big way, but still permitted Themm to kick a short field goal to tie the game with less than 4 minutes remaining.
With the clock running low, St. Charles began to drive down the field for a potentially game-winning score. They came close, but a penalty and a stingy Panther defense kept the Bulldogs from winning the game.
And so to overtime we go.
St. Charles won the coin toss and chose to defend first. On the very first play from scrimmage, Christian Miller scored his first touchdown of the game with a 10 yard scamper.
That left the Bulldogs with a lot of pressure. A Nouvel defensive linemen blew through the St. Charles blockers and put the ‘Dawgs in a precarious position; 2nd down, 14 yards from the end zone, and having to score to keep their season alive. Unfortunately for them, Halas’ pass attempt on 3rd down fell short. On 4th down, they attempted a swing pass to Ryan Humpert, but he was eaten up before sniffing the goal line.
The Nouvel faithful flooded the field as their players celebrated wildly; the final score was Nouvel Catholic Central 24, St. Charles 18.
The key to the game was Nouvel’s resilience. They entered the 2nd half with a large deficit to overcome, but they were able to leave with a victory. Also worth mentioning was their ability to stop St. Charles on extra point attempts. The Bulldogs attempted three two-point conversions, all of which were stuffed by the Panthers. Had Nouvel allowed even one of those, perhaps they would have left Bulldog Stadium with a different taste in their mouths.
In the end, it was a battle between two teams with the passion and dedication that make high school football such an amazing game. The Bulldogs’ season ends at 10-1, but they have nothing to hang their head over; they created a great season and took one of the state’s toughest perennial powerhouses to overtime.
Nouvel will host Sanford-Meridian in a battle between 3-loss teams for the regional championship. Meridian upset Clare (9-2) in their district match-up.
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