The Cougars and Pioneers took the court on Wednesday night to much fanfare.  Both teams knew what was at stake– win, and play in Friday night’s District title game.  As play began, one thing was clear– the offenses came ready to put on a show early on.  East Grand Rapids and Catholic Central traded blows back-and-forth over much of the first quarter, with Catholic Central managing to cling to a slim four point lead as the horn blew, 18-14.  The game continued to be shot-for-shot in the early stages of the second, but the Cougars started to find their stride and pull away from East.  The Pioneers had trouble converting anything on offense, and Catholic Central went on a 13-2 run to end the half, to bring a comfortable 31-20 lead into the break. Victory, it would seem, was all but sealed up for the Cougars.

Shane Johnson with a jumper early in Wednesday's action.

East Grand Rapids was not about to go without a fight, which they showed almost immediately as play resumed in the third quarter.  The Pioneers opened the quarter trading buckets with the Cougars for the first three minutes of play, but suddenly exploded for an 18-7 run, to actually manage to take a 43-42 lead into the start of the fourth quarter.    Momentum was clearly on East’s side, and Catholic Central appeared to be deflated.  The Cougars tried to fight back and regain the lead they had let slip away, but the Pioneers were able to counter each Catholic Central basket.  East’s lead slowly began to grow, causing Catholic Central to resort to the three ball as a way to stop the bleeding.  The buckets would not fall for the Cougars, and East Grand Rapids had a hard-fought 58-52 victory when all was said and done.

Matt Alt charges the basket hard.

Catholic Central took the floor tonight as what many would consider slight underdogs.  The Cougars are a young team, and Forest Hills Eastern fields a team with key senior leadership.  None of this seemed to matter, however, once the ball was tipped, as Catholic Central generally had their way with the Hawks, winning what was at times a very sloppy game, 51-42.

Tonight’s game got started off rather slowly, as both teams seemed to feel one another out.  Catholic Central was called for a charge on their first offensive possession, and fouls would plague the Cougars most of the first half.  At the conclusion of the first eight minutes of play, the Catholic Central had a narrow lead, up 9-6.  Catholic Central seemed to be the must more aggressive team in quarters one and two, but the aggressiveness was almost too much, as Forest Hills Eastern found itself in the double-bonus with over three minutes left in the second quarter.  The Hawks were not able to fully take advantage of Catholic Central’s foul trouble, though, as sloppy ball handling cut short quite a few offensive possessions.  As both teams broke for halftime, the Cougars had manage to extend their lead, taking a 23-11 margin into the locker room.

The Forest Hills Eastern team that came out in the second half was a stark difference from the one that left the court after sixteen minutes of play.  Passes were crisp and on the money.  Players seemed more energetic, and confident.  The Falcons started to climb their way back into the game, and for the first time all night, the Quest Center gym started to come to life.  Catholic Central raced ahead to an impressive 30-15 lead over the first half of the third quarter, but Forest Hills Eastern came storming back, ending the quarter on a strong 11-2 run, to pull within six points, ending the quarter at a 32-26 score.  Forest Hills Eastern continued their surge, at one point pulling within four points in the fourth, but the Hawks ran out of steam about halfway through the quarter, eventually falling to the 51-42 final.

With tonight’s victory, Catholic Central lives to play another day.  The Cougars will face off against East Grand Rapids on Wednesday night at the Quest Center.  Tip of Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.  Be sure to check back following the game, as we here at West Michigan All Star will be proud to provide coverage of all the action!

Matt Philpott Photography was happy to cover tonight’s game.  Please be sure to visit his website to learn more about the photographic services he offers!

What a week of Hockey this past week as teams continued to fight for the top spot in the state. We were unable to make it out to the big game between South Christian and Catholic Central yesterday, but we were able to get a first hand account of the game from the players themselves in order to see the game through their eyes. The game was a tough one for South Christian, but it was nothing short of perfect for the Cougars who rolled to a win in the Regional Conference final against the young Sailors. The win will propel the Cougars forward to face Flint Powers Catholic on Wednesday.

The Sailors who had to wave their season goodbye had this to say about the game;

“We got killed 8-0…We had no goals and flat out lost to a better team. They had a deep bench of solid players that could put the puck in the net….We only had 7 shot the entire game and shooting is something we could have done better.”

- Luke VanLaar

“We were mercied 8-0 by Catholic Central… It was literally intimidation alone that beat our team. South Christian is an extremely young hockey program, and had always been an average tier three team before last year. We won tier three last season and moved up to tier two. We finished .500 this season with only 13 skaters and 1 goalie (me). Last year we were matched up against a solid tier one power house East Grand Rapids team for our first playoff game. They mercied us in two periods no problem, but this year with a far smaller team we played EGR again and beat them 6-2. We played incredibly good, and had our own miracle on ice story, but then we played Catholic… My team had obviously heard of the out standing hockey program, and played timid. Our defense didn’t show up, we didn’t win battles along the boards, and we had single digit shots on goal each period and didn’t hit… We could’ve beat that team. I can almost swear that if we didn’t know who we were gonna play that day, and CC showed up in different jerseys, it would’ve been a whole different story.”

- Dennis Hoekzema

The victorious Catholic Central Cougars, who now have to prepare for their match up with Flint Powers Catholic, had this to say about their decisive win;

“We won 8-0 . We won because all of our players bought into the game plan and played their roles well. We are just starting to peak at the right time of year, and I hope that we can carry this momentum into the next game.”

- Brett Avery

“Tonight we won 8-0 against Grand Rapids South Christian. Donald Sund had three goals ( one of which was the mercy goal), Remmy Woods had one, Zach Schaap had one, Jake Klapko had one, I had one, and Connor Saukus had one. We knew going into the game that we had to shut down their best player Blake deVries (who had recently scored 5 goals against our rivals East Grand Rapids, knocking them out of the playoffs). We also knew that they had a solid goal tender, so we needed to get as many shots on net as we could. We also had to crash the net for rebounds, and we did just that.”

- Brendan Kane

Catholic Central now has an overall record of 18-7-2 with their last two playoff wins coming by way of shutouts.

South Christan on the other hand ended their season with a 10-11-4 overall record.

The East Grand Rapids Pioneers trailed Catholic Central most of the first half in an intense game filled with offense.  Catholic Central was the team to beat during districts at FHN.  EGR played with physical defense that kept the typically sharp shooting CC team off balance just enough in the 4th quarter to open-up a lead that would stick.  The post season in high school sports is simply awesome.  Everything is on the line which makes for high energy and and awesome photo opportunities!

Conor Hogan on the line.. turning a key 3 pt play down the stretch.

East GR went on to take the game 57-50 and now move on to the GR Christian Regional.

Catholic Central proved too much with a strong 4th quarter effort that stretched the lead into double digits.  A high energy game that we love about the post season in High School Basketball.  Well managed offenses and tenacious half court offenses made for an exciting game in the opening round of district tournament.  Catholic Central launched into the lead in the 4th quarter for a nice win 51-35.  The game best described in the photo blog below. Professional sports photos available HERE.

note to self... box-out when told and don't mess with Coach(s).

Northern came-out and played touch. Nate Loree showing it early.

CC #33 Jon Marosi with authority.

CC #14 Brendan Penny with a 3pt from the corner.

both team had plenty to cheer about in the first 3 quarters.

note to self... seriously... don't mess with Coach! getting it done.

#33 Jon Marosi with a nice move to get the shot off.

Catholic Central brought their A game against Forrest Hills Northern.

#34 Andy Bianculli and the FHN team will be back playing tough again next season.

Free throws didn't make the difference but 4th quarter grit did.

This district at Forest Hills Northern is one of the easier Districts to sort through for us at WMA. Comstock Park and Catholic Central are clearly the two best teams here and the bracket allows for them to meet in the finals, with one slight potential hiccup.

Park and Catholic are not only the two best teams in this District but they are honestly two of my favorite teams that I have seen all year long. It’s a shame these two couldn’t face off in Regionals but if this shakes out like it should then West Michigan is in for a whale of a game.

Forest Hills Eastern- the Hawks received the lone bye in this bracket and won’t play until Wednesday, that’s the good news for FHE. The bad news is that they will face the FHN v CC winner and they are 0-3 against those teams, suffering a 30-18 loss to FHN and two double digit losses to CC.

Forest Hills Northern- the Huskies had an up and down year yet find themselves above .500 at the end of the year including a 7-5 record in the OK Blue. Drawing Catholic in the first round will not make Northern fans happy but maybe an influx of FH fans will make the trip and at least make it rowdy for the Cougars. FHN has been led by Dan Michaud all year and he will have to have a big night along with the team defense on Conor Hogan if the Huskies hope to have a chance at moving on.

East Grand Rapids- the Pioneers are one of the highest scoring teams in the area with four different players scoring over 200 points this year! Dion Jobe leads all Pioneers with nearly 300 points on the year and Cory Ditmar has made 61 threes this year (Ditmar only has 70 made baskets on the season). Keeping one eye on Ditmar will be key for Comstock Park in their opening game. EGR has played many high level teams close this year including Rockford, GR Christian and Holland it has been finding that W at the end that has proven to be the ender for EGR.

Catholic Central- the Cougars aren’t big, they aren’t long, heck they aren’t as athletic as many top teams in the area. What the Cougars are however is most importantly well coached. Dan Farrell has these kids playing GREAT basketball right now. CC is also very fast, smart, disciplined and can absolutely shoot the lights out! Conor Hogan amazes me every time I see him play, he will hit the big shot just when CC needs it and has an uncanny ability to get to the line (where he doesn’t miss from). The supporting cast is equally great at what they do; Zeke Mojica-Skinner, Brendan Penny, John Haley and sophomore Jon Marosi are the glue to this well built squad.

Comstock Park- the Panthers have had 7 of their games decided by four points or less, the Cardiac Cats have grown accustomed to playing in close games and finding a way to win them. The lone blemish on Parks season is a prime example however, Howard City Tri-County (a 4^th place team in their own conference) came into CP and handed the Panthers their only loss of the year in a 75-73 ball game that could have went either way. It’s good to have a knack for winning close game but I’m sure coach Scott Berry and Panther fans enjoy the convincing wins just a little more. Ty Mason, who is headed to Cornerstone in the fall, has nearly hit the 450 point mark for this season and is a flat out scorer.

Prediction: Catholic should move past both Forest Hills squads and be in the final on Friday. Comstock Park needs to be ready to roll on Wednesday as East can flat out score. I’m taking Park because I think the last thing any team wants to do is get in a scoring battle with Mason. So we are set with a Catholic v Park final. Mason and Hogan tend to spend all game at the line and both rarely miss with a hand in their face let alone from the stripe. This game will go down to the final :30 and whoever has the ball last will take this one. I feel that someone is going to hit a wildly clutch shot, the question is who..

Don’t overlook the CP v EGR game on Wednesday; the Panthers need to get by that hurdle before they think about Catholic. Feel free to discuss below in the comments section and tell us all the reasons why we’re right, as well as why we’re wrong.

1. Grand Haven (20-0)

There’s no doubt about it: the Buccaneers are easily the best team in west Michigan. They finished their regular season undefeated and beat their opponents by an average margin of 23.5 points per game. They have one of the best shots in the area to take home the 2011 state title.

2. Catholic Central (19-1)

Catholic Central put up an almost perfect season with their one loss coming from a strong Inkster squad. The Cougars don’t have to worry about that Class A foe in the playoffs, though, as they look to defend their Class B title.

3. East Grand Rapids (17-2)

The Pioneers chose a great time to start putting up strong performances. They do have home court advantage in their district, but they’ll have to make it past Catholic Central to see any regional action.

4. Forest Hills Central (19-2)

The Rangers had a great season, particularly on the defensive end. They finish the regular season with the lowest points allowed average of any of our top ten teams: 27.2 points per game. They received a first round bye for districts.

5. Byron Center (18-1)

The Bulldogs have a long road ahead of them in the playoffs. Head coach Glenn Davis is unable to coach the team during playoffs after failing to complete a mandatory MHSAA rules meeting, so assistant coach Jen Slot has taken the reins. It will be interesting to see how Byron Center adjusts at the most important time in their season.

6. Grand Rapids Christian (17-2)

The Eagles also received a bye for the first round of playoffs. They’ll have to face the winner of the Wyoming Park vs. South Christian game, though: two teams that have come on strong at the end of the season.

7. Oakridge (17-2)

Oakridge played strong and consistent throughout the season. A 13-point victory over Orchard View last night moves them on into district semifinals against Fruitport.

8. Wayland (16-4)

Wayland dropped a surprising game to South Christian and just squeaked past Hastings last week. They have a tough game against Holland Christian on schedule for their first playoff matchup.

9. Kent City (18-2)

The Eagles have struggled against strong Class C opponents lately, falling to Western Michigan Christian two weeks ago and Calvin Christian last week. They’re in a strong district and could potentially have a rematch with Calvin Christian on Friday.

10. Holland Christian (15-5)

The Maroons regained some momentum last week, taking down both Zeeland East and West. They took care of OK-Green foe Hamilton last night, but have a tough game against Wayland on deck.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

East Kentwood

Hamilton

West Catholic

Western Michigan Christian

Wyoming Park

Wednesday night’s game at Wayland High School is going to be a great game. South Christian comes to town and a win tonight will go a long way for both teams in deciding the league crown. We have a three team race headed towards the end of conference play and they all play each other with South Christian having the toughest road ahead playing both Wayland Union and Catholic Central.

The OK Gold currently sits this way..

Catholic Central is 15-2 overall 11-2 in the Gold. Losses came to Caledonia and Ottawa Hills on the road. A win over South Christian and a pair over Wayland has the Cougars in the drivers seat. One remaining game with South Christian will end league play for the Cougars on Friday.

Wayland Union is 14-3 overall 9-2 in the Gold. Both league losses came at the hands of Catholic Central. The Wildcats have three league games remaining, Tonight they host South Christian, Friday they travel to Hastings and then play host to Caledonia on March 1st.

South Christian is 13-4 overall 9-3 in the Gold. League losses came at the hands of Wayland, Ottawa Hills and Catholic Central. The Sailors have two league games remaining, at Wayland tonight and playing host to Catholic Central on Friday.

News and Notes.

South Christian had a similar schedule to end January where they played Wayland and Catholic in back-to-back games. Senior point guard Drew Stegehuis had Mono and sat out those two contests (a one point loss to Wayland and a 14 point loss to Catholic).

Catholic Central is here by virtue of home and away wins over Wayland that will hand them the Gold crown if they take care of business Friday night.

Wayland looked all but crushed after a home loss to Catholic on the 11th. Ottawa Hills gave Wayland life however taking down the Cougars the very next game.

Throughout all this madness WMA will be all over it as Drew Sullivan will be out at Wayland tonight and Matt Philpott will have coverage from South Christian on Friday. Gotta love end of the year basketball!

1. Grand Haven (18-0)

The Buccaneers maintained their undefeated status with little trouble last week, defeating Jension 55-37 and West Ottawa 57-31. A game against Hudsonville and a game against Grandville are the only things standing in the way of Grand Haven finishing the regular season perfectly.

2. Catholic Central (16-1)

Catholic Central took down Ottawa Hills easily but had a little more difficulty putting Caledonia away last week. They’ll close out their season with a game against South Christian.

3. East Grand Rapids (14-2)

There’s nothing quite like a double overtime win to boost your confidence. The Pioneers got an emotional boost on Tuesday with their victory over Forest Hills Central and blew Creston on Friday. This is not a bad time in the season to gain steam.

4. Forest Hills Central (16-2)

The Rangers suffered a tough loss at the hands of East Grand Rapids on Tuesday. Friday’s victory over Holland locked up the OK-Black title for Forest Hills Central.

5. Grand Rapids Christian (16-2)

The Eagles did well this week with wins over Union and Greenville. They’ll close out their regular season against Mona Shores and Creston this week.

6. Byron Center (17-1)

It was quite the week for the Bulldogs. After their 11-point loss to Holland Christian, Byron Center just barely beat Unity Christian on Friday, 37-35 but guaranteed themselves at the very least a portion of the OK-Green title.

7. Wayland (15-3)

Three games, three victories. Not too shabby of a week for the Wildcats, who took down Caledonia, Forest Hills Northern and Ottawa Hills in turn last week. South Christian and Hastings are on deck.

8. Kent City (16-1)

Kent City also suffered their first loss of the week at the hands of Western Michigan Christian. They had a close call against Grant as well but managed to come out on top. Tonight’s game against Calvin Christian will be great preparation for next week’s district action.

9. Oakridge (16-2)

Oakridge squeaked past Montague last week, 48-47. They’ve got a tough game against Ravenna tonight and will finish their regular season against Ravenna.

10. Holland Christian (13-5)

These past two weeks have been a rollercoaster for the Maroons. They had two heartbreaker losses against Unity and Wyoming Park, rebounded in a huge fashion and took down one of the top teams in Class A, and then lost again to Hamilton. Holland Christian will need to find some consistency this week before they head into district play.

Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)

East Kentwood

Unity Christian

West Catholic

Western Michigan Christian

Wyoming Park