Also the first time, four Grand Rapids-area schools won the cross country state title. The Forest Hills Northern and Calvin Christian boys teams and Grand Haven and Grand Rapids Christian girls teams were winners.

Read the full story with The Grand Rapids Press: “Grand Rapids-area soccer, cross country teams…”

West Catholic trounced Forest Hills Northern in their O-K Blue conference opening game, 51-0.  Lance Buitendyk was the star of the show for the Falcons, with four total touchdowns to his credit (three rushing, one passing).

The story of the game is best told via the dramatic photojournalism of David Chandler Photography.  Action prints from the game can be purchased from DavidChandlerPhoto.com.

Powerful running attack by #23 Jalin Faison started early and opened-up the passing game nicely.

Cam Wysocki looks for an open target that was hard to come by with credit to the West Catholic defense.

W. Catholic took Northern out of their running game by scoring quickly and regularly. It made for tough work for the FHN air attack.

#8 Lance Buitendyk was banged-up early but made a strong case for MVP in my humble opinion.

#8 Lance Buitendyk connecting with #83 Zack Smith with a 25 yard pass play that opened-up the offense in the first half.

#83 Zack Smith with another deep ball from #8 Lance Buitendyk.

West Catholic started with the running game, then went to the air. Both were effective.

]]> http://westmiallstar.com/2010/09/photo-journal-west-catholic-runs-over-forest-hills-northern/feed/ 1 http://westmiallstar.com/2010/06/wma-takes-attendance-carli-capestany-remains-perfect-on-tennis-court/ http://westmiallstar.com/2010/06/wma-takes-attendance-carli-capestany-remains-perfect-on-tennis-court/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:38:33 +0000 Heather Smith http://www.westmiallstar.com/?p=4782 A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:

1. Hudsonville’s Carli Capestany stays perfect –and nice– on tennis court -The Grand Rapids Press
2. Otsego’s boys golf team one painful shot short of state tournament birth -Kalamazoo Gazette
3. Rosters set for annual East-West All-star football game at Spartan Stadium -The Grand Rapids Press  
4. Jordan Wolf, Elle Humphries lead Portage Central girls soccer team to rout of Kalamazoo Central -Kalamazoo Gazette
5. Devin Bond’s early goal propels Gull Lake to girls soccer district semifinal win over Thornapple Kellogg -Kalamazoo Gazette
6. Forest Hills Central will have shot to defend boys golf state title after winning tiebreaker -The Grand Rapids Press
7. Northview’s Casey Tull just misses out on medalist honors at Division 2 boys golf regional -The Grad Rapids Press
8. Three Rivers tops St. Joseph in Division 2 girls soccer district semifinal -Kalamazoo Gazette
9. East Grand Rapids wins Division 2 boys golf regional -The Grand Rapids Press
10. Vicksburg clicking at the right time, defeats Marshall in Division 2 girls soccer semifinal -Kalamazoo Gazette 
11. Liz Ruimveld scores 5 goals a Kalamazoo Christian girls soccer team routs Kalamazoo Heritage Christian -Kalamazoo Gazette
12. Pushint the limits: Autism doesn’t stop Loy Norrix discus thrower Cer Bolton’s rise to state meet -Kalamazoo Gazette
13. Jon Christ, Jack Rider lead Hackett boys golf team to regional title -Kalamazoo Gazette
14. Scott Manski helps send Vicksburg golf back to state tournament -Kalamazoo Gazette

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.

1. HS boys basketball Class-D power rankings — HSBB
2. Live chat from Class-B girls basketball semifinal — Grand Rapids Press
3. GR high school sports rankings — Grand Rapids Press
4. Loy Norrix’s Hughes is a first team all-stater — Kalamazoo Gazette
5. People helping people, the O-K Red is an example — Who’s the Bos?
6. GR Catholic Central is making a case to be best ever — Grand Rapids Press
7. Speaking of, here’s a couple GR all-staters in girls bball — Grand Rapids Press
8. Yes, seriously, this is a female football coach.  First ever? — CBSNews.com

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.

1. Feb. 3 high school basketball scores (boys) (girls) — Associated Press
2. Tuesday’s stars in high school basketball — HSBB
3. Girls and boys basketball high-fives for Skee-town — Muskegon Chronicle
4. 31-Grand Rapids area footballers sign letters — Grand Rapids Press
5. 23-Grand Rapids area athletes sign letters — Grand Rapids Press
6. K-Zoo Central football takes a big hit — Kalamazoo Gazette
7. Lowell wrestlers could probably kick your butt — Grand Rapids Press
8. GHaven hockey doubles up Kenowa — Grand Rapids Press
9. Very cool story about foes becoming friends in college — Grand Rapids Press
10. Allegan basketball finally puts it all together — Kalamazoo Gazette

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.

Wayland's Wes Hudson drives the lane | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

You can make comparisons between teams based on records, outcomes versus common opponents, perceived strengths and weaknesses, style of play, and any number of other factors.  As a sportswriter, it’s part of the gig to speculate on these things.  But Tuesday night’s West Michigan Allstar Game of the Week between Wayland and Ottawa Hills proved yet again that it’s impossible to know how two teams stack up to one another until they actually meet on the court.

There was a time not too long ago that Wayland and Ottawa Hills were considered the top two teams in the Grand Rapids area.  Numbers 1 and 1-A, if you will.  Two Bengal losses later, Wayland seemed to have an edge over Ottawa Hills, but even with those two losses, the circumstances surrounding each team were more alike than different, and heading into Tuesday’s game you could have made a legitimate case for either team coming out on top.

Wayland's Chase Burgess stretches up a reverse layup | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

Not anymore.  After Tuesday’s 68-52 victory, there’s no more arguing about the top team in G-Rap — the Wayland Wildcats own every bit of that spot.

Lead by senior guard Wes Hudson, who tallied 19-points in the victory, Wayland didn’t take long to assert their will.  The Wildcats logged their first double-digit lead after only 12-minutes of play, and lengthened it to a 15-point lead by halftime. Even by that point, the outcome of the game seemed clear.

But Ottawa Hills wasn’t done.  The Bengals staged a rally to end the third quarter, keyed by two three-point bombs from junior Daniel West, and early into the fourth had cut the 18-point lead down to ten.  The momentum had done an abrupt 180-degree turn, and the once dormant crowd was wide awake.

Facing a hungry team in a hostile environment, Wayland collected themselves and coolly responded.  No biggie — simply time to play.

Zach Kasper nailed a couple threes, Ben Lenard hit a jumper, Chase Burgess and Justin Pepper cleaned up inside and then, fittingly, Hudson nailed an NBA-range three-pointer to cap off a 15-0 run, pushing the lead to 25-points with only minutes to play.  All that was left was draining the clock.

It was precisely the type of completely dominant run at exactly the right time that you’d expect from the top team in Grand Rapids.

What’s up with the Bengals?

After winning their first six contests, Tuesday’s loss marks the third consecutive loss for Ottawa Hills.  But that’s really not as surprising as it might seem.  Ottawa Hills is an extremely athletic team, who thrives off their pressure defense forcing turnovers and bad shots, and then turning those possessions into fast break opportunities — a situation in which the Bengals excel.

But the flip side of this coin is that the Bengals struggle in playing a half-court game.  And when their opponents limit their turnovers, or when their opponents are making their shots, Ottawa doesn’t have the opportunity to get out and run in the transition game.

What all this translates to is that Ottawa Hills is the archetypal “feast-or-famine” team.  When things are going well, they really go well.  When they’re not, they’re really not.

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.

1. Top-1o teams in the area — Grand Rapids Press
2. Top-10 players in the area — Grand Rapids Press
3. 5-things to watch for the upcoming basketball season — Grand Rapids Press
4. New 2010 schedules split Friday night lights — Who’s the Bos?
5. Kalamazoo rocks at volleyball, FYI — Kalamazoo Gazette
6. Colin Voss segues from the field to the court — Who’s the Bos?
7. Ryan Sabin tries to translate summer success to the winter — Grand Rapids Press
8. It’s Sultan Muhammad’s turn to lead Catholic Central — Grand Rapids Press
9. Ditto for Jason Gust in Cedar Springs — Grand Rapids Press
10. EK’s Tor’i Brooks is a cool story (paralleling MJ) — Grand Rapids Press

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.

1. Lowell wins Division-2 title — Grand Rapids Press
2. EGR wins Division-3 title — Grand Rapids Press
3. Marshall wins Division-4 title — Mlive.com
4. Montague wins Division-6 title — Muskegon Chronicle
5. Three Rivers’ Cottingham perseveres — Kalamazoo Gazette
6. Mona Shores drops hockey opener — Muskegon Chronicle
7. Grand Haven hockey moves to 4-0 — Muskegon Chronicle
8. Six locals earn Division 1-2 all state — Grand Rapids Press
9. Five locals earn all state Division 1-2 — Muskegon Chronicle
10. Montague’s D gets one stop to glory — Muskegon Chronicle

Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMAS fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMAS on Twitter.  Heck, even start your own topic over atAllstars Among Us.