Tuscola County Sports

North Branch advances and Marlette falls. North Branch (75-5-2) beat Cadillac 25-14, 25-26, 25-16, and 25-19 to advance to tomorrow's championship versus Delton Kellogg (59-6-2). Click here for the box score of the match. Congratulations to the Lady Broncos and Coach Jim Fish. Good luck tomorrow. Marlette finished their season losing to Ravenna in three straight games 25-13, 25-11, and 25-7. Click here for the box score.

North Branch Volleyball This picture could very well represent North Branch this eveing as they venture to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep high school to take on the former Class B powerhouse Marysville. The Broncos which are the number one ranked team in Class B will take on ninth ranked Marysville at 7:00 p.m. Marysville won the Class B state title from 1997-2004 and again in 2006. This North Branch team is fun to watch, and dare I say may be a better all-around team then last year's semi-finalist. Coach Jim Fish's team set a state record this year for their third consecutive year with 70+ wins. They are led by setter Jordan Fish and libero Catherine Bruise. Both girls are juniors, and will be back for more next year. Millington Football The Cardinal's will face another state-ranked team this Saturday taking on the fourth ranked Clare Pioneers. During this playoff season Millington has disposed of eigth ranked Carrollton and third ranked Ovid-Elsie. Clare has never faced and Tri...

for a PDF version of this post, click the title above. Click here for a PDF of the Tale of the Tape This game will take place on Saturday November 21 at 1 pm at Midland High School. #4 Clare Pioneers Result Points For Points Against Opponent Opponent Wins Opponent Losses Class Conference Won 21 14 Freeland 6 4 B Tri-Valley Central Won 28 7 Beal City 11 1 D Highland Won 32 7 Gladwin 3 6 B Jack Pine Won 28 14 Sanford Meridian 9 2 C Jack Pine Won 55 0 Beaverton 0 9 C Jack Pine Won 42 8 Harrison 4 5 B Jack Pine Won 24 0 Houghton Lake 6 4 B Jack Pine Won 35 ...

Millington's Justin Stutler ready to make a name for himself against third-ranked Ovid-Elsie Greg Tunnicliff | The Flint Journal , November 11, 2009 5:23 p.m. Carrollton sophomore Charlie Williams, left, tackles Millington senior Justin Stutler during their football game Friday night at Millington High School. Millington won the game 53-21. - (Jeffrey LaMonde | The Saginaw News) FLINT, Michigan — Chris Robinson, understandably, has gotten a lot of hype this season. The Ovid-Elsie superstar running back led the Marauders to the Division 5 state football finals in 2008. This season, he has rushed for a whopping 2,486 yards and 33 scores on 281 carries while leading Ovid-Elsie, ranked No. 3, to an 11-0 record. It’s a safe bet that Justin Stutler hasn’t been on the same amount of radar screens as Robinson, but the Millington senior has been just as impressive. Stut...

Rushing Thumb Rushing Leaders Name School Att. Yards Avg. TD Justin Stutler Millington 175 1,521 8.7 16 Mike Daniel Caro 216 1,228 5.7 14 Clinton Northrop Sandusky 207 1,128 5.4 15 Tyler Masse USA 158 1,126 7.1 12 Justin Cleary Ubly 140 1,112 7.9 10 John Schramski North Huron 186 1,074 5.8 7 Keif Vickers Vassar 163 1,034 6.3 11 Dillon Newell Bad Axe 122 1,003 8.2 8 Austin Osentoski Cass City 181 1,001 5.5 12 Chris Rowe Laker 137 989 7.2 8 Receiving Thumb Receiving Leaders Name School Rec. Yards A...

Vassar-Millington When it boils right down to it, what an ugly game. This game featured 20 penalties and a player ejection. The worst part of the 20 penalties was the 7 personal fouls. This is just inexcusable. After the first personal foul, both coaches should have warned their teams about extra curricular activity. This game seemed to boil down to each team trying to smack each other around instead of trying to win the district championship. With that being said, I was impressed with the Vassar squad. The intensity on that sideline was something I have never seen in a Vassar football team. They came to play and to hit. Jason Kiss has this program on the right track, and if he stays 20-30 years, he will have the same success that his counterpart on Friday night has had. Millington is just a better team, and they will move on to the regionals. The Cardinals will face Ovid-Elise on Friday night November 13th at 7:00 p.m. The game will be heard locally on Mix 92.1. Reese-St. Ch...

Apparantly Bill Khan does not recall calling Vassar cupcakes . Qudos to whoever sent him the cupcakes. A package from my 'friends' in Vassar; at least it wasn't ticking By Bill Khan Flint Journal November 03, 2009, 8:34AM Bill Khan The Flint JournalThese goodies were left for Bill Khan after Vassar upset Beecher, contrary to his pick last week. FLINT, Michigan — There was a package waiting for me when I arrived at work Monday morning, compliments of my “friends in Vassar.” I was relieved to find out it wasn’t ticking. Gee, I didn’t know I had any friends in Vassar — or many other places, for that matter. Knowing that I and everyone else on the planet who predicts such things picked Beecher to beat Vassar in the first round of the state football playoffs, I was curious what I wrote that caused a Vulcans supporter to single me out with a package of small black-and-orange cupcakes. Did I say something about Vassar playing a cupcake schedule? That would only seem logical (sor...

VASSAR at MILLINGTON Bill Khan: Vassar sprung one of the biggest upsets in the state last week by going to Buctown and putting a 28-0 whipping on unbeaten Beecher. Vassar adapted better that night to poor field and weather conditions than Beecher. It's too much to believe the Vulcans can pull off two upsets in a row and beat a Millington team that is playoff-tested. Pick: Millington Dan Nilsen: Vassar’s Vulcans came out of outer space to torpedo fifth-ranked Beecher last week. Innovative offensive sets and strong blocking opened lanes for bruising Wildcat back Troy Hecht and warp-speed tailback Keif Vickers. And when the Vulcans are on defense, the shields are up. Eleventh-ranked Millington is the logical choice, but Vassar’s phasers are still set on stun. Pick: Vassar Mark Spezia: Vassar just won its first playoff game last week, although it was a huge upset, knocking off unbeaten Beecher. However, Millington has tremendous edge in postseason experience, qualifying 16 of t...

The Vassar Vulcans (7-3) move into district final play this Friday as they travel seven miles south on M-15 to renew their rivalry with the Millington Cardinals (9-1). Vassar advanced to the final by defeating #5 Flint Beecher 28-0. The shutout was the Vulcans first since beating North Branch 39-0 on October 03, 2003 - the only other year the made the playoffs. Millington advances to distict final play by way of their 53-21 victory over #8 Carrollton. The Vulcans and Cardinals have been playing each other since approximately 1911. Records are not very reliable before 1955. Since 1955, Millington holds a 29-20-4 advantage, including winning 24 of the last 27 games. Last year was the first year the two schools did not play since at least 1955. One of the most memorable games of this long standing rivalry took place in September of 2002. Millington ended up winning this game by a score of 62-39. Each team's score is their most productive output in any game of this series. During this ...

In a battle of the tri-champions, Reese (8-2) will travel to St. Charles to do battle with the Bulldogs (9-1). St. Charles is coached by Brady Lake, who is in his second season as the main "big dog". Lake has an 18-4 record, with two straight trips to the playoffs. The Bulldogs compete in the Tri-Valley Conference West Division. They were Tri-Champs with Carrollton and Ithaca. St. Charles is in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year and the 11th time overall. They won the 1999 Division 6 State Championship. The team's signature moment this season came when they defeated Saginaw Valley Lutheran 84-0. The Bulldogs scored 56 points in the first 12 minutes of the game. The Bulldogs are led by senior Wingback Tyler Nieman and senior Running Back Travis Crane. Nieman has 764 rushing yards on 50 attempts. He has scored 12 touchdowns rushing, three receiving, and has even thrown for a touchdown. Crane has rushed for 549 yards on 74 carries, and has scored four tou...

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Cupca ke Vassar (read link) defeated Flint Beecher 28-0. Keif Vickers scored all four of Vassar's touchdowns. Vickers finished the night with 111 yards rushing on 12 carries. Troy Hecht rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries. Kyle Auernahamer ended the game 2-8 passing with 52 yards. He completed one pass to Kevin Pratt for four yards, and the other pass to Jeremy Schiefer for 48 yards. The Vulcan defense came up big in this game as they held the Bucs to just 60 total yards are offense. Tyler Best led the way with 11 tackles. Joe Harper had eight tackles. Milli ngton beat Carrollton 53-21. Justin Stutler scored four touchdowns, while rushing for 148 yards on 29 carries. Cameron Wilson rushed the ball 10 times for 73 yards and one touchdown. Wilson also had a defensive touchdown. Jesse Stewart had two carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Noah Moore completed both pass attempts to Josh Williams for 37 yards. Matt Harrington scored the Cardinals other touchdown on a 15 yard...

North Branch faces dominating Mount Pleasant The Flint Journal , October 27, 2009 8:27 p.m. Division 3 North Branch at Mount Pleasant When: 7 p.m. Friday Records: North Branch 6-3, Mount Pleasant 9-0 Playoff histories: North Branch 2 nd trip, 1-1; Mount Pleasant 10 th trip, 6-9 Scouting report: Mount Pleasant, ranked 22 nd overall in the state by Maxpreps.com and third in Division 3, has been far more dominant, outscoring foes 347-83 to North Branch’s 221-189 mark. The Oilers have also beaten three playoff teams and two others with winning records and finished 9-0 for the first time since 1992. Mount Pleasant is averaging 212 yards rushing per game and 6.1 yards per carry with 33 touchdowns on the ground. Jon McCann has 948 yards rushing, 8.5 yards per carry with 17 touchdowns. Alex Horton and Mark Lee have combined for 705 yards. McCann is also the top tackler with 95. Quarterback Josh Rathje has passed for 837 yards with 11 touchdowns and only one interception. He has completed 6...

NORTH BRANCH at MT. PLEASANT Bill Khan: North Branch is in for a case of playoff culture shock, leaving the cozy confines of the Tri-Valley Conference to face the unbeaten champion of the Saginaw Valley Conference. Who you’ve played and where you come from matters at this time of year. Pick: Mt. Pleasant Dan Nilsen: North Branch is back in the playoffs after a two-year absence, but the Broncos get a rude welcome-back host. Mount Pleasant manhandled the Valley this year, and we’re not talking the Tri-Valley. Pick: Mt. Pleasant Mark Spezia: Just making the playoffs thanks to an overtime win over Yale means North Branch has had a successful season. The Broncos struggled against the three top teams on their schedule, losing the three games by a combined 105-28 margin. Mt. Pleasant could be better than any of those teams. Pick: Mt. Pleasant Greg Tunnicliff: The Oilers are 9-0 for a reason and North Branch will soon find out why. The Broncos needed a one-point overtime victory ov...

Perennial power Millington faces a rising Carrollton program in the first round of the football playoffs Hugh Bernreuter | The Saginaw News , October 28, 2009 9:14 p.m. They are not strangers, just estranged. Carrollton and Millington take each other on for the first time in 20 years to open the Division 5 football playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at Millington. The schools are original members of the Tri-Valley Conference, although Millington left briefly to join the Thumb B Association. When Millington returned, the TVC split into two divisions, with Millington in the East and Carrollton in the West. They have not played since 1988, but that changes Friday with the first football playoff game between the two schools. "We are similar teams," Carrollton coach Greg Wasmer said. "They may not be as big as they have been in the past, but they take on the personality of their coach (Tim Furno). They're tenacious. They keep coming at you." Both teams are 8-1, with Carrollt...

Vassar (6-3) at #5 Flint Beecher (9-0) In a match up of conference champions, Vassar will travel to Flint to take on the Bucs of Beecher High School. The Bucs are coached by former Michigan State University and Beecher stand-out Courtney Hawkins. This season is Hawkins fourth as coach. He has a 26-11 career record. Beecher just completed their first season in the Genesee Area Conference - Red Division. The Vulcans of the Greater Thumb Conference West Division are coached by Jason Kiss. In his third season at the helm, Kiss holds a 16-11 record. The Bucs went 3-0 this year against playoff teams. They defeated Goodrich 33-13, Lake Fenton 26-0, and Durand 22-16. The Vulcans were 1-2 versus playoff teams in 2009. They defeated Reese 26-17, and lost to Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port 41-21 and Ubly 40-14. Beecher's opponents recorded a 36-45 record this year while Vassar's opponents had a 42-39 record. Beecher finished their championship regular season by scoring 285 points, while only allow...