Western

Western High School goalie Michael Herrington makes a save during the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 regional final at Novi on Wednesday.  Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports. By Jeff Steers JTV Sports Western High School soccer player Cameron Blakemore said when times get tough, the back line for the Panthers has one another’s back. That came in handy on Wednesday. Western built a big lead against Dearborn Divine Child only to see it shrink to one goal in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 regional semifinal at Novi’s Meadows Stadium. The defense held Divine Child scoreless in the second half for a 5-2 win. With the victory, the Panthers will face Melvindale in the regional final Friday for a chance to play in the Division 2 final four. The final is schedules to start at 7 p.m. at Novi. The Panthers built a 3-0 lead in the first 29 minutes of action. But Divine Child scored twice in the final 10:25 of the first half cutting the lead to 3-2 at halftime. “I think we shocked them a little bit by scoring the first three goals,” WHS Coach Scott Watterson said. Marshall Eva of Western…

Western High School running back Landon Raczkowski, center, breaks through the line during a game Friday at Marshall High School.  Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports. By Jeff Steers JTV Sports The University of Southern California made student body left and student body right running plays famous in the late 1960s and 1970s. Western High School invented Landon Raczkowski left and right on Friday against Marshall. It worked as the Panthers defeated the Redhawks 14-13 in a thriller. With the win, Western earns a Michigan High School Athletic Association playoff spot, a 6-2 overall record, and a 5-2 record in the Interstate-8 Conference – good for third place. Marshall falls to 4-4 overall, 4-3 in the I-8. While Raczkowski was carrying the football 46 times, playing quarterback for the first time, and making tackles all over the field, a fresh-face sophomore ended up the hero as time expired for Western. Junior varsity quarterback Nolan Wheeler – just brought up to the varsity level earlier in the week – threw a touchdown pass to Landon French was no time remaining on the clock. The extra point – not automatic for either of these teams – by Clay Falde gave Western the…

Soccer players from Western and Mason high schools go high into the air attempting to control the soccer ball during a Division 2 district semifinal at the Panther Bowl at WHS.  Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports. By Jeff Steers JTV Sports More than 30 years of angst ended with a simple header in front of the net Tuesday. Western High School defeated Mason 2-0 in the waning seconds of the second half to advance in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 district tournament at home Tuesday. The Panthers advanced to face Chelsea in the Division 2 district final at home on Thursday beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Winning a district match has been a long time coming against the four-time state champions from Mason. “They have been knocking us out of districts for more than 30 years … going back to when I was in school,” WHS Coach Scott Watterson said. “They have had out number … it means that much.” The two teams were locked in a scoreless battle the first 79 minutes of action. Mason could only muster three shots in the first half while Western could not get a shot on goal in the first…