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By Ryan Vaughn, on March 11th, 2010
I received this write up from Michael Kanoza, stepfather of Wayland’s Travis Rader, after the Wildcats’ district semifinal win over Ottawa Hills on Wednesday. It’s a pretty awesome look into a side of high school basketball we don’t often get to see. Thanks, Michael!
Wayland dodges the statistics and Ottawa Hills
By: Michael Kanoza
Meeting for the third time this season, Wayland and Ottawa Hills duked it out for the class-A district semifinals on Wednesday. Like Wayland’s previous victory over Caledonia (also a third occurrence) the outcome was not decided until the last two minutes of the game.
Sports fans say it’s statically difficult to beat a team 3 times in a row during one season. The Mathematicians say there is no statistical advantage. Wayland has now done it twice this week, and I can tell you that it certainly wasn’t easy. Caledonia and Ottawa Hills were well coached and prepared, and played as hard as they could to win. The fact that Wayland has advanced speaks to the character of the team, and their own, unshakable will to win.
Continue reading Congrats and insight from a Wayland superfan
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 11th, 2010
 Noah Veach drives the ball to the hoop | DavidChandlerPhoto.com High quality, professional action prints from the game available from David Chandler Photography.
A defensive team through and through, Grand Haven sure does have a knack for starting out on fire. After giving up the game’s first basket against Reeths-Puffer, the Bucs answered with four three-pointers in rapid succession before the first quarter had ended. Playing with a lead from that point forward, Grand Haven never looked back. The Bucs repelled the Rockets obligatory second-half flurry and went on to log a 62-54 victory. Grand Haven will meet Muskegon in the district championship on Friday.
Continue reading Grand Haven suffocates Reeths-Puffer
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 11th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- East Grand Rapids upsets GR Union in district semifinals — Grand Rapids Press
- Allendale moves into district finals, thx to Venturini — Grand Rapids Press
- Parchment beats schoolcraft (upset?) in districts — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Otsego sneaks past Comstock in districts — Kalamazoo Gazette
- South Haven’s Walker went off in overtime to get a win — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Whoa, Muskegon Heights is baaaack — Muskegon Chronicle
- Wayland holds off Ottawa Hills to remain undefeated — Grand Rapids Press
- Holland takes out Hudsonville in district semifinal action — Grand Rapids Press
- Calvin Christian surges past Covenant Christian — Grand Rapids Press
- Lowell gymnast rides skills to state finals — Grand Rapids Press
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 10th, 2010
 Chris Anderson's athleticism on display Reeths-Puffer has been a tough team to figure out this season. On the one hand, they have done some remarkable things against some of the area’s best teams when they play at their peak. But, on the other hand, they have had difficulty with their fair share of average-to-good teams as well, going winless against both Holland and Forest Hills Central.
It’s tough to tell what to expect from the Rockets heading into tonight’s district semifinal matchup with the defensive powerhouse Grand Haven Buccaneers. Luckily for us, Reeths-Puffer senior Chris Anderson was gracious enough to make time to chat with WMA about the matchup before boarding the bus to the game.
The Toledo-bound Anderson is a heck of a player, and a great young man. Full transcripts of the interview after the jump (edited for readability).
Continue reading WMA Interview with Reeths-Puffer’s Chris Anderson
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 10th, 2010
This week’s Create-a-Caption photo comes from Wayland Union’s narrow victory over Caledonia in the district quarterfinals matchup. It depicts an athletic-looking Chase Burgess making a heck of a play, and alludes to a good amount of future pain. But hey, Wayland players are tough. That’s why they’re undefeated.
Get to captionizing, folks! Funniest, cleverest and generally most awesome caption for this photo wins.
 Chase Burgess dives for the ball | DavidChandlerPhoto.com Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 10th, 2010
 Each week, West Michigan Allstar takes our blogging circus over hill and dale to a high school gymnasium around West Michigan. Although the WMA Game of the Week might not be getting primetime media coverage, it’s traditionally one of the biggest games in the area (we like to watch that stuff, too).
And even though it is the district playoffs, this week is no exception. Of course, we do this to save the liberated fans of the world the trouble of deciding which game to go to that week.
We also live tweet updates from the game (which you can get sent to your phone), to make sure that the hardcore fans can keep up with the latest action and analysis, even if they can’t make it to the game.
Tonight is a special district semifinal edition of the Game of the Week, in which one of the most athletically gifted teams in West Michigan, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, hosts the O-K Red co-champions, Grand Haven.
Continue reading WMA Game of the Week: Reeths-Puffer vs. Grand Haven
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 10th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- Final boys basketball rankings — Associated Press
- Photo gallery of boys basketball district action — Grand Rapids Press
- Tuesday’s district stars in boys basketball — HSBB
- Late 15-0 rally lifts Marquette over Grand Haven in girls bball — Muskegon Chronicle
- Bangor is too fast for Mendon in girls bball — Kalamazoo Gazette
- All it takes is one shot to sink a season. Schoolcraft can attest — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Ravenna football coach resigns — Muskegon Chronicle
- Hudsonville looks to continue hockey success in quarterfinals — Grand Rapids Press
- EGR hockey fans, check out the live bloggin of your game — Flint Journal
- This is one scary wrestling family — Muskegon Chronicle
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By David Chandler, on March 9th, 2010
 Grand Rapids Christian's Jay Staten lays it up | DavidChandlerPhoto.com High quality, professional action prints from the game available from David Chandler Photography.
The district semifinal matchup between Grand Rapids Christian and East Kentwood on Monday night was decided with aggressive defense. It was determined with Grand Rapids Christian execution, but a relentless East Kentwood attack on the boards almost changed all that. When it was all said and done Grand Rapids Christian came out with a 50-42 victory. The Eagles will meet Forest Hills Central on Wednesday.
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead, taking advantage of sloppy play on both sides of the court. It wasn’t pretty early on, and could have swung either way. Grand Rapids Christian built as much as a seven point lead through three quarters, but a flurry of East Kentwood activity saw them close the Eagles lead to 34-32, early into the fourth quarter.
Continue reading Grand Rapids Christian holds off aggressive East Kentwood in district semifinal
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 9th, 2010
 Caledonia's Luke Wiest steals the ball in the fourth | DavidChandlerPhoto.com High quality, professional action prints from the game available from David Chandler Photography.
In the process of winning 20-consecutive ballgames, some funny things can tend to happen to a team’s sense of itself. Whether you describe it as ego, confidence, swagger or anything else, the team can often view itself through a lens of invincibility. This lens is almost never accurate. An unfortunate byproduct of a team winning 20-consecutive contests can at times be a letdown in intensity — a waning of the fire that brought them to that pinnacle.
Ask Wayland. That momentary lapse in focus almost cost them their season.
Up as much as 14-points near the end of the third quarter, the undefeated Wildcats allowed Caledonia to claw back with an 11-0 run to tie the game with less than 2:00 left. After a heated timeout, Wayland refocused on defense and hit their free throws, willing themselves to a narrow 61-57 victory in the district semifinals at East Kentwood.
Continue reading Wayland refocuses, survives scare from Caledonia
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 9th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- March 8 boys district basketball scores — Associated Press
- Yes, this score is legit. Grand Haven is good defense — Multiple Sources
- Allegan snags its first playoff win in a decade — Grand Rapids Press
- Hackett’s Rider drops 43-points in district win — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Muskegon area district basketball roundup — Muskegon Chronicle
- Western Michigan Christian means business — Muskegon Chronicle
- Loy-Norrix escapes from Mattawan’s clutches — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Climax-Scotts holds on against Colon — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Zeeland West turns it on late to beat Thornapple Kellogg — Grand Rapids Press
- Niles holds off the upset bid by Portage Central — Kalamazoo Gazette
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 8th, 2010
 One last time, we here at West Michigan Allstar have done the dirty work, combing the far reaches of the Internet for nuggets of pertinent basketball info until our beards grew dark and the coffee was gone, all to rank the Top-10 basketball teams in West Michigan. You’ll find the results below.
These will be the last rankings of 2010, as we now enter the state tournament. Along with a team’s record, these rankings take into account quality of wins, talent, synergy, and a handful of more subjective factors, and may be correctly interpreted as an authoritative list of the top basketball teams in West Michigan.
Yeah, ranking teams is a tough business. But somebody’s got to do it.
Continue reading West Michigan Allstar Top-10 Teams: Basketball State Tournament
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 8th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- Class-B boys basketball district from hell — HSBB
- Class-C boys basketball district from hell — HSBB
- Eight WM wrestlers total end up on top — Grand Rapids Press
- Four WM wrestlers claim Division-1 state titles (vid) — Grand Rapids Press
- And a couple more in D-2 & D-3 (vid) — Grand Rapids Press
- Montague girls basketball gets first regional in 13-years — Muskegon Chronicle
- WM rocked the competitive cheer state finals — Grand Rapids Press
- Comstock Park competitive cheer team wins state runner-up — Grand Rapids Press
- Three individual state titles later, finally he shows emotion — Grand Rapids Press
- And finally, Grandville bowler finishes top-16 at states — Grand Rapids Press
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By David Chandler, on March 6th, 2010
 GR Christian's Katie VanderWeide leads the fast break | DavidChandlerPhoto.com High quality, professional prints from the game available from David Chandler Photography
The Quest Center featured the top team in the O-K White against the top team in the O-K Black on Friday night, in a battle for the district championship. Grand Rapids Christian finished the season with an outstanding record of 22-1, their only loss coming to undefeated 23-0 Forest Hills Central in double overtime.
This time, with their entire season riding on the line, Grand Rapids Christian was able to avenge their earlier loss, earning a 37-32 victory over the previously undefeated Rangers. The Class-A district trophy was just gravy.
Continue reading Grand Rapids Christian topples undefeated Forest Hills Central for District Championship
By Ryan Vaughn, on March 5th, 2010
 The polls are now open to vote for the 2010 West Michigan Basketball Allstars.The West Michigan All Stars is a team consisting of the best-of-the-best players from around West Michigan, as determined by you, the voters. This team is only possible with the help from our awesome sponsors, ESPN 96.1FM and Davenport University, so after you’re done voting remember to listen to 96.1FM and play sports for the Panthers.
Unlike the annual newspaper awards and All-Star teams, the players, coaches and fans get a say in which of the many outstanding players around West Michigan make the cut. You decide which players advance from local standout athlete, to West Michigan All Star. And it all starts here.
Compiled from your nominations, here are the nominees for the 2010 West Michigan Basketball Allstars. Please select the five players who would make up your ideal starting lineup, were you drafting a team right now.
The polls will close at midnight on Friday night (March 12). Remember, you can only vote once. So make it count!
Continue reading VOTING OPEN: 2010 West Michigan Basketball Allstars
By Jason Bowers, on March 5th, 2010
 David Chandler Photography In a thirty-two minute game it’s rare for a team to come back from a 40-13 deficit with 23 minutes left, but Reeths-Puffer (11-8) did exactly that last Friday against Grand Rapids Union. Last night the Reeths-Puffer Rockets didn’t need a big comeback against Greenville (13-8) as they lead most of the game, but they did manage to hold off the pesky Yellow Jackets after they came back from an early first quarter 14-2 deficit. The Rockets won in overtime, 61-54.
Reeths-Puffer set the tone early, exploiting Greenville’s 2-3 zone. The Rockets took advantage of the holes in the defense, allowing for open three point shots and two early dunks by Toledo-bound Chris Anderson — a very talented player with great hands and quick ups.
Continue reading Reeths-Puffer holds off Greenville in OT
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