Category: Locker Room | Page 627

Michigan Center girls take aim at second district in a row

March 2, 2018

By Mike Moore Staff Writer Michigan Center — A team on a roll or a team on a mission. Take your pick in trying to describe the Michigan Center girls basketball squad right now. Or just maybe its both. The Cardinals have been white hot of late, haven;t lost in 2018, and after cruising past Jonesville by 18 in the district opener, are riding a 13-game win streak. Now the goal is finding No. 14. “We’re excited and looking forward to it,” coach Joe Lusk said Thursday night about Friday’s Class B district final. The Cardinals (19-2) head to Adrian to take on Onsted (17-5) at 7 p.m. with a ticket to the regional round on the line. “We scrimmaged them earlier in the year, so we know they are pretty big in the middle and solid all around,” Lusk said of Onsted. “But we feel we match up well against them.” Asked what the key to victory might be, Lusk was quick to answer. “Guard play,” he said. “It’s going to come down to how they, or we, handle the pressure. We feel we can get up and down…

Jackson basketball looking for continued success as playoffs approach

March 1, 2018

By Mike Moore Staff Writer Jackson — If timing is indeed everything, well, the timing is certainly right for the Jackson boys basketball team. After a season of ups and downs, and alternating wins and losses, it just may be that the Vikings have found their stride. Just in time. “We’re playing better as a team, and that’s the key,” coach Dan Crowley said Wednesday night. “We’re spreading the floor. We’re sharing the ball. We’re rebounding. We’re doing the things you need to do to win.” And win the Vikings have of late, four times in their past five games, to be exact. Once 7-7 on the year, Jackson is 11-8 entering Thursday’s regular season finale against rival, Lumen Christi. “You always want to be playing better now, and that’s what we’re doing,” Crowley added. “The last loss was just one of those nights where we didn’t have it. But we’re getting contributions from everyone, and that’s really helping.” If the Vikings can beat Lumen for a second time this season on Thursday night, the 12 wins will be the most for the program since the winter of 2012-13. Beyond the…

Concord vs. Grass Lake Girls District Basketball Video Highlights

February 28, 2018

Michigan Center vs. Jonesville Girls District Basketball Video Highlights

February 28, 2018

East Jackson vs. Hanover-Horton Girls District Basketball Video Highlights

February 28, 2018

Northwest vs. Western Girls District Basketball Video Highlights

February 28, 2018

Napoleon’s Weatherspoon eyes state title, undefeated season

February 28, 2018

By Gary Kalahar (Photo by Ryan Kerwin, JTV Sports) Staff Writer Ethan Weatherspoon is asked whether he could realistically break his brother Lelund’s Napoleon High School record for career victories in wrestling. He hesitates, says he isn’t sure, asking how many matches Lelund won. So much for the pressure of following in big brother’s footsteps. The fact that Weatherspoon is unaware of his brother’s school record is perhaps a good indication that he is not concerned about – or at least has come to terms with – living up to the high standards set on the wrestling mat by two of his brothers. “I got over the pressure part,” said Weatherspoon, a junior who acknowledges he might have felt the burden more in previous years. “You have to get past the pressure.” Still, there is one achievement of brothers Lelund and Jason that Ethan would certainly like to match. He has that chance this weekend when he travels to Ford Field in Detroit for the state final meet. Weatherspoon will seek a Division 3 state title at 189…

After 19 wins, Northwest girls shift focus to postseason

February 28, 2018

By Mike Moore (Photo by Ryan Kerwin, JTV Sports) Staff Writer Jackson — This was a team one win away from perfection. Now it’s a team striving for it from now until the end of the girls basketball tournament. The Northwest girls hoops squad will begin the 2018 postseason tonight at Eaton Rapids against Parma Western in a district semifinal. But first, a quick look back at what was the marathon regular season. “It was a pretty special for us, in a number of ways,” coach Ryan Carroll said of a 19-1 finish. “Obviously, the 19 wins is great and something to be proud of. But this can be a grueling sports season, and to take every team’s best punch, and still find ways to win and compete, even when we weren’t at our best, was special.” The Mounties’ first goal was to win a league title, and that was accomplished. “We won a conference championship in a very tough conference with good teams says a lot about this…