Tuscola County Sports

A photo shoot was held last evening in Sandusky for members of the first team of the TSA's All-Thumb Girls Basketbal Team. It was our first venture into doing something of this magnitude and it was a huge success. Thanks to Al DeMott for all his help in making this a reality. While it is now obvious who the first team is, to find out who is on the second team and who received honorable mentions, as well as who won the individual awards, you'll have to check out the Wednesday, April 1st edition of your local newspaper, as well as this blog, where photos that did not make the paper will be posted.

These pictures are from Saturday, March 21, 2009. My nephew, Jakob Selich, plays for the St. Paul 'B' boys team in a tournament in Richville against St. Michaels.

The Tuscola County Area only had one female athlete garner any all-state honors, but the Thumb was well represented. In Class B, Millington's Kayla Doshier capped off her record setting career by being selected to Honorable Mention All-State . Doshier holds the single game, single season, and career scoring records at Millington. In Class C, Ubly's Alicia Leipprandt capped off her great season by being named 1 st Team All-State . Leipprandt, a 5-9 senior, finished the season with a 27.9 scoring average. Also, in Class C Marissa DeMott of Sandusky and Kristin Greene of Brown City were selected as Honorable Mention. Both girls are juniors and will be able to top these selections next year. Cindy Burton, Brown City's coach, was chosen as honorable mention coach. Congratulations to all coaches and athletes.

Brandon Bitzer scored a game-high 19 points to lead the USA Patriots to the regional semi-final with a 68-56 win over Brown City. Jake Holland scored 15, while Scott Fletcher added 14 points. USA used a 27-7 third quarter to power their victory. USA will play Flint Beecher on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on Mix 92.1. The Buccaneers reached the finals by defeating Saginaw Buena Vista 70-62.

In North Branch, Vassar defeated Millington 37-27. Yes, 37-27. Yes, 37-27. Tyler Reinert had a game-high 11 points for the Cardinals. Troy Hecht had eight points and seven rebounds to lead the Vulcans. Vassar moves on to play Croswell-Lexington in the finals on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Millington finishes the season at 3-18. Croswell-Lexington beat North Branch 59-51. The Broncos finish the season with an 11-10 record. In Bay City, Bridgeport beat Frankenmuth 78-55. In Sandusky, Burton Bentley defeated Marlette 62-36. In Reese, Saginaw Buena Vista beat Reese 67-56. Josh Pickell led the Rockets with 19 points, while Ethan Stockmeyer scored 11 points. Reese finishes the season at 13-9. At Cass City High School, USA avenged an earlier season loss to Ubly winning this time 41-37. Cass City beat Bad Axe 75-33. Cass City and USA will square off for the second year in a row in the district final. The game will be Friday at 7:00 p.m and heard locally on Mix 92.1. At Carsonville-Port Sani...

In North Branch, Vassar defeated Yale 56-49. Zach Germain led the Vulcans with 14 points, while Keif Vickers and Ryan Amend each scored 11 points. Vassar moves to the semi-final of District Number 57 to play Millington on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Millington received a bye in the first round. North Branch beat Caro 53-47. Justin Calvert led the Broncos with 12 points, while Luc Bonner (12) and Deane Baker (10) contributed to the win as well. R.J. Fritz led the Tigers with a game-high 17 points, while Jared Vinson scored 13 points. North Branch advances to play Croswell-Lexington on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Caro finishes with a 10-11 record in their first season under Ty Stevenson. In Bay City, Frankenmuth beat host Bangor John Glenn 50-34. Tyler Gray led Frankenmuth with 21 points, while Matt Cramer scored 19. The Eagles advance to play Bridgeport on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. In Sandusky, Marlette defeated New Haven 64-53. The Red Raiders will move on to play Burton Bentley on Wednes...

Boys District Week Schedule District No. 57B - North Branch Monday, March 9 Vassar vs. Yale - 6:00 p.m. Caro vs. North Branch - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 Millington vs. Vassar/Yale - 6:00 p.m. Cros-Lex vs.Caro/North Branch - 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 13 Championship - 7:00 p.m. District No. 58B- Bangor John Glenn Monday, March 9 Garber vs. Freeland - 6:00 p.m. Frankenmuth vs. John Glenn - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 Pinconning vs. Garber/Freeland - 6:00 p.m. Bridgeport vs.Frankenmuth/John Glenn - 7:45 p.m. Friday, March 13 Championship - 7:00 p.m. District No. 81C - Sandusky Monday, March 9 Sandusky vs. Brown City - 4:30 p.m. Marlette vs. New Haven - 6:00 p.m. Burton Bentley vs. Dryden - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 Memphis vs. Sandusky/Brown City - 6:00 p.m. Burton/Dryden vs. Marlette/New Haven - 7:45 p.m. Friday, March 13 Championship - 7:00 p.m. District No. 89C - Reese Monday, March 9 Mayville vs. Reese - 6:00 p.m. Saginaw Nouvel vs. Saginaw Valley Lutheran - 7:30 p.m. Wed...

North Branch and Caro will square off for the third time this year in the Class B District Final taking place at Croswell-Lexington. The game which will be heard on Mix 92.1 will be the rubber match in this years series. North Branch (10-12) won the first meeting of the season in Caro (5-16) by a score of 42-35. Kelsey Roloson led the Lady Broncos with nine points, six rebounds, and seven steals. Despite shooting just 19-42 from the free-throw line, it was the ten point advantage from the charity stripe that gave the Broncos the edge. Amanda Ellis and Vanessa Taylor each scored 11 points. In the second game of the season, Amanda Ellis scored a game-high 21 points as Caro beat the host 45-37. Lydia Koehler contributed with 17 points and six rebounds. North Branch was led by Morgan Vauter and Taylor Kaiser's eight points. After receiving a bye in the first round, Caro advanced to the finals with a 64-52 win over Millington. North Branch beat Croswell-Lexington in the first round 53-4...

At Croswell-Lexington, Amanda Ellis scored 11 of her career-high 32 points in a decisive third quarter to help her Caro Tigers defeat Millington 64-52. Lydia Koehler had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Kayla Doshier led Millington with 23 points. The Cardinals finish the season with an 10-12 record. Caro will play North Branch in the finals on Friday at 7:00 p.m. In the second game of the evening, North Branch beat Vassar in a low-scoring affair 31-27. Rayenne Kaiser led the Broncos with a game-high 13 points. The Lady Vulcans were led by Kayla Verbeek's 12 points. Vassar finishes the season at 13-8. In Bad Axe, USA dropped their semi-final matchup to Ubly 53-47. Jillian Williamson scored 17 points to lead the Patriots. The co-GTC-West champs finish the season with a 16-5 record. At Essexville-Garber, Frankenmuth beat the host Dukes 64-43. Kelsey Ritter scored 19 points for the Eagles, while Heather Schultz scored 17 points. Frankenmuth moves on to ...

KINGSTON - Deckerville led 21-14 at the half, but Kingston brought the game within three points early in the third on a pair of three's from Emily Chambers. It was then that the Cardinals fallout came, and it started with guard Megan James going down with an ankle injury, minutes into the third quarter. Deckerville then went on a 10-0 run to close out the period, giving them a 33-20 lead heading into the final stanza. "They could of easily ran the other way when things got tough, but they did not do that. We have been talking lately about when adversity hits, you have to fight," Kingston head coach Dave Lester said. "I am so proud of them for staying tough. They have gone through a lot of things that I don't think any team should have to go through, but they did, and they will be better for it." Deckerville: Nicol 1 3-5 - 5, Sampson 3 1-4 - 7, Salowitz 1-2 - 1, Oswald 2-2 -2, Kramer 2 - 4, McVittie 2-2 -2, Stolicker 5 4-4 - 14, Smith 1-2, Kritzman 3 2-5 - 8:...

Millington won their first district game 58-42 over the Yale Bulldogs. Jamie Frahm paced the Cardinals with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Kayla Doshier had 18 points and 10 assists. Millington will move on to play Caro on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Millington has won both contests this year by scores of 48-33 on January 19 and 45-42 on February 10. North Branch beat host Croswell-Lexington 53-44. Kayla Snoblen had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists in the victory. Morgan Vauter also contribure with 12 points. The Broncos will play Vassar on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. This will be the first time North Branch and Vassar will play this year. Saginaw Nouvel beat Mayville 79-45. Chelsea Roehl led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points. Mayville finishes Coach Tom Elenbaum's first season at 6-15. Marlette beat Dryden 58-45. Amara Wilson led the charge with 23 points. The Red Raiders will play Burton Bentley on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Memphis. Carrollton defeated Reese 80-46. The Lady Rocke...

I had a discussion lately with some area folks about the toughest gymnasium to play a basketball game. The area is full of great venues past and present, so please share your thoughts here. I have two, one from personal experience and another from having the pleasure to announce high school basketball on the radio. First, the gymnasium in Sebewaing has to be a very intimidating place for opponents to enter. The bleachers are tall, so the crowd seems to be right on top of you. The banners for championships are aplenty, and the place is always packed and loud. Very tough for an opponent. Secondly, from my own experience, Vassar was the toughest place for me to play when I was in high school. Vassar is an older gym with the student section of bleachers right behind one of the baskets. When the place is packed it is almost impossible, to have a coherent thought on that side of the court as an opponent of the Vulcans. Great place! Past or present, I am looking for your thoughts. I know ther...

In boy's action tonight, Kingston lost to CPS 48-47. Jordan Pennington had a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds. Raydar Williams had 11 points as well for the Cardinals. The loss drops Kingston to 9-9 overall and 9-7 in the NCTL-South. Owendale-Gagetown failed in their attempt to give Kinde-North Huron their first loss of the season as they fell 77-67 to the Warriors. Brent Reil scored a game-high 23 points for the Bulldogs as Nick Zaleski contributed 12 points. The loss drops Owendale-Gagetown to 9-6 overall and 8-6 in the NCTL-North. Caseville defeated Akron-Fairgrove 61-55. Josh Repkie led the Vikings with 17 points, while Austin Rodriguez had 14 and Trevor Winnie had 12. The loss dops the Vikings record to 1-15 overall and 1-14 in the NCTL-North. On the girl's court, Arenac-Eastern defeated Akron-Fairgrove 62-23. Cass City held a five point half-time lead, but could not hold on as USA beat Cass City 46-36. Dani Gremel led the Patriots with 16 points, while Jillian ...

In a match-up of the two best teams in the GTC-West, USA defeated #10 Reese 53-49. The win pulls USA into a tie with Reese for first place. Each team has a 9-1 record in the conference. Brittany Gruehn scored 14 points in the victory, while Jillian Williamson scored 13. Jade Ackerman had a game-high 20 points for the Lady Rockets, while Sarah Spiekerman had nine points and 10 rebounds. Vassar used Kayla Verbeek's double-double to defeat Cass City 42-28. Verbeek ended with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Aleigh Kappen led the Red Hawks with a game-high 14 points. The win improves the Vulcans record 11-7 overall and 5-5 in the GTC-West. Cass City falls to 5-12 and 2-8 in league play. Deckerville beat Mayville 60-53. In boy's action, Peck defeated Akron-Fairgrove 52-31. Trevor Winnie led the Vikings with eight points. The loss drops Akron-Fairgrove to 1-13 overall and 1-12 in the NCTL-North. Bad Axe beat Mayville 58-35. Josh Franks led the Wildcats with eight points. Dryden ...

USA beat Essexville-Garber 91-57. Jake Holland led the charge with 23 points, while Brandon Bitzer scored 14. The win improves USA's record to 13-2. Reese lost a Greater Thumb cross-over game to Brown City by a score of 65-61. Josh Pickell scored 24 points in defeat. The Rockets drop to 11-4 with the defeat.

Number ten Reese beat Pinconning 81-53. Jade Ackerman led the way with 17 points for the Rockets. Amber Gotham and Kalee Karwat each scored 12. The Rockets improve to 15-2 overall. USA lost to Essexville-Garber 61-46. Jillian Williamson scored 19 points for the Patriots. The loss drops USA to 13-4. Vassar used 20 points from Kayla Verbeek to defeat Kingston 48-18. The Vulcans improve to 10-7 on the year, while the Cardinals fall to 10-8. The Cardinals of Millington lost to the Cardinals of Michigan Lutheran Seminary 57-37. Jamie Frahm paced Millington with 16 points, while Kayla Doshier scored 12. Millington falls to 8-9 on the season. Caro beat Otisville-Lakeville 50-34. Lydia Koehler led the Tigers with 16 points. Amanda Ellis contributed 14. Caro improves to 4-14. Akron-Fairgrove failed to get their first win of the season as they lost to Owendale-Gagetown 56-42. The Bulldogs improve to 3-14 on the season. In boy's action, Millington lost the Michigan Lutheran Semina...

In the Mix 92.1 game of the week, Brandon Bitzer scored a game-high 24 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to give USA the 53-41 win over Bay City All Saints. Bitzer's 24 give him 59 points in his last two games. The win pushes USA's record to 12-2 overall and 7-1 in the GTC-West. The 7-1 mark is good enough for first place all by themselves. Laker High defeated Cass City 47-40. Chris Summersett led the Red Hawks with 20 points, while Austin Babich had 16. The loss drops Cass City to 7-8 overall and 2-6 in the GTC-West. Reese won a non-conference game versus Saginaw Nouvel 64-57. Mike Herbolsheimer led the way with 20 points. Morgan Walter (15) and Josh Pickell (13) contributed in the win as well. Reese has an 11-3 overall record. Bay City Western defeated Millington 55-42. Tyler Reinert led the Cardinals with 23 points and six rebounds. The loss drops Millington's record to 3-12. Luc Bonner's three point basket won the game for North Branch. The Bron...

Owendale-Gagetown beat Memphis in overtime 60-58. Brent Reil led the Bulldogs with 30 points, while Ryan Francis had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kingston beat Caseville 83-51. Jordan Pennington led the way with 29 points and 10 rebounds. In his first game back from injury the Cardinal's Raydar Williams scored 12 points. The Ubly girls beat Mayville 67-47. Rachel Pyles scored 18 points for the Lady Wildcats, while Chelsea LaBair had eight points and 20 rebounds. Laker High beat Cass City 48-32. Vassar defeated Bad Axe 37-32. Kayla Verbeek led the way with 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Amberly Hauger had 11 points and nine rebounds. Reese lost the number five ranked Saginaw Nouvel 55-39. Jade Ackerman led the Rockets with 13 points.

Kayla Doshier's 26 points give her 1,035 in her varsity career, enough to become Millington's all-time leading scorer. Doshier went 16-19 from the free throw line in her team's 51-47 victory over Bay City Western. Rachel Lawe also added 10 points for the Cardinals. On the boy's court, Brandon Bitzer scored a season-high 34 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, to help USA defeat Vassar 61-58. Zach Germain led Vassar with 22 points. Bay City All Saints beat Cass City 59-48. Chris Summersett led the Red Hawks with 16 points, while Ausin Babich had 13. Reese beat Bad Axe 77-35. Josh Pickell led the Rockets with 23 points. Brown City beat Mayville. The Wildcats were led by William Henderson's 19 points, and Josh Franks 10 points. Deckerville beat Marlette 43-40. Mike Armstrong led the Red Raiders with 14. In the Mix 92.1 game of the week tomorrow, USA will be hosting Bay City All Saints in a rematch from January 16. Both teams sit on top of the GTC-West, with BCAS...

A busy night in girl's action. We will start with the Tri-Valley. North Branch bounced back from a 27 point defeat last week, to beat Essexville-Garber 47-44. Kayla Snoblen and Margan Vauter eached scored nine points apiece for the Broncos. North Branch is now 6-10 overall and 3-6 in conference play. Frankenmuth lost it's grip on first place by losing to Birch Run 37-31. The loss moves the Eagles into a tie for first place on top of the TVC-East with the Panthers at 7-1. Frankenmuth is 9-6 overall. Millington hung to to defeat Caro 45-42. Kayla Doshier scored 13 points for the Cardinals, while Rachel Lawe added 10. Amanda Ellis scored a game-high 17 points for the Tigers, while Lydia Koehler added 11. The win improves Millington to 7-8 overall and 5-4 in league play. Caro now has a 3-13 record and are 2-7 in the league. In Greater Thumb play, number ten Reese beat Bad Axe 62-43. Jade Ackerman had 13 points, six rebounds, and five steals for the Rockets. Amber Gotham had 10 poin...