Regional champion runners head to state meet

By Bill Mullaly

The Hudson High School boys cross country team won a regional title on Saturday morning up near Metro Airport as they competed in the MHSAA division 4 regional meet. Hudson was a clear winner edging out second place Ann Arbor Greenhills by seven points Hudson scored 79 to 86 for the runner-ups. The Hudson girls also competed in the regional meet and they were fifth but will not be advancing to the state meet on Saturday. The volleyball team was also in action this past week as the fall sports season is truly winding down to its near completion this coming Saturday when all three teams will be competing in important events. Here is a look at what happened this past week involving the fall sports teams at Hudson.

Boys Are Regional Champions

Hudson followed up its league championship the weekend before by winning the division 4 regional meet held in New Boston at Willow Metro Park near the Detroit Metro Airport. The regional was held last Saturday and the Hudson boys put on quite a show. The top three teams qualify at the regional for the state meet held this Saturday at MIS in Brooklyn and Hudson will be going as one of the favorites to do well at the state meet. In 2006 Hudson was the state runner-up. Nobody is expecting that high of a finish this Saturday but you never know what will happen. Hudson won the regional edging AAG and county rival Lenawee Christian School (LCS) was third with 96 points. Hudson sophomore Stephen Tennis was outstanding as he took fourth overall in a time of 17:06 and he was the top Tiger finisher. Senior standout Sabin Enerson was next for Hudson with a finish of seventh in 17:24. Junior Zach Pearce was next for Hudson in 11th at 17:28, while sophomore Derick Clark was 24th in 18:27 and the fifth and final Tiger finisher was Brett Merillat at 33rd in 18:50. “We are very happy to win the regional and all of the boys ran very well,” said a thrilled Hudson head coach Matt Carpenter. “We had great efforts up front from Stephen and Sabin and Zach really came on strong at the end to pass several runners and that really helped. Derick ran well again and Brett had his mind made up to be in our top five and he accomplished that. This was a true and total team effort.”

The Hudson team has been running well all season and has been doing well in the big meets. This whole month of October has been nothing but high-pressure meets beginning with Hudson winning its Hudson Booster meet.

Then the Tigers were second at the county meet to chief rival LCS and then Hudson won the LCAA league meet the week before the regional. Throw in a LCAA jamboree win to open the month and Hudson has had quite a month of running but it’s not over by any means. On Saturday at MIS the Tigers will compete in the division 4 state meet where they were second last year and second in 2003. Hudson won the regional last Saturday after finishing second three years in a row with its last regional crown coming in 2003. “It was so nice to walk away with the championship trophy after we were second three straight years,” said Carpenter, who was even more impressed by what awaited his team when it returned to town last Saturday afternoon. The Hudson bus carrying the team was escorted into town by the fire trucks and was given a few minutes of glory in downtown Hudson where several fans were waiting in anticipation for the team’s arrival. The efforts of those responsible for making the team feel special is greatly appreciated by the boys and its coaches and fans. “We had that last year when taking second at the state meet and it never gets old and is greatly appreciated,” said Carpenter about the escort and the fan appreciation.

On Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Hudson will compete at MIS and Carpenter is hoping for a great effort from his team and a finish he hopes will be in the top five. Good Luck Boys!

Girls Take Fifth, Emily Austin 10th

The Hudson girls ran well but it wasn’t quite good enough to make the top three to earn a trip to the state meet. Ann Arbor Greenhills was first with 38 points and Concord was second at 58. Pittsford was third with 84 points and Waldron fourth with 117 and Hudson a distant fifth at 128. “I’m not disappointed in how we ran but I’m disappointed for the girls who wanted to earn a trip to the state meet as a team but couldn’t do it,” said veteran girls head coach John Enerson. “We knew it was going to be a real battle for third place and Pittsford was better on this day and deserved it. I have to give them credit as they earned the third place spot. I knew everything had to go a certain way for us and it didn’t and we took fifth. What I knew needed to happen didn’t and we knew it would take a great effort to get third.”

Senior standout Emily Austin finished in 10th at 21:38 to qualify as an individual as the top 15 individuals moved on to the state meet. “Emily ran a great race and she will be going back to the state meet for the fourth year in a row,” said Enerson, who had Austin on his team the first three years when the whole team qualified. “She has had a great career and this will be a nice way for her to end it but I know she wishes the whole team was there with her.”

Sophomore Jennifer Adams was next in 28th at 23:45, while sophomore Liz Austin was 34th in 24:21. Freshman Chelsea DeSeranno was 40th in 25:36 and the fifth Lady Tiger runner was Cassie Bailey in 45th at 25:36. It should be noted that Bailey has been injured most of October and has not been able to run much. Had she been totally healthy it is likely she would have been a top 20 finisher. The final runner for Hudson was junior Mara Lyons in 64th in 28:39. Thus, the season is over for the girls except for Emily Austin who will represent herself and her school at MIS on Saturday when she runs at 10:00 a.m. Good Luck Emily!

Spikers Still Playing Hard

Hudson is still searching hard for wins on the volleyball court but they have been elusive. Last Saturday at home Hudson held its annual Hudson Booster Invitational that was won by Tecumseh. Hudson fell in pool play to Pittsford 22-25, 20-25, while going down to Union City 20-25, 8-25 and Addison beat Hudson 15-25, 21-25. Hudson then moved on to the Silver Bracket where they fell in the first round to Morenci 10-25, 17-25. Mykahla Frayer had six kills, while Kayla Swartz had four kills, as did Kellee Wonders with four. Frayer had 14 assists and Mary Bocks had 12. Jessica Varney had 12 digs and she served 41 points on the day with eight aces. Wonders had 25 points with an ace and Frayer served 21 points. Hudson also finished up LCAA play last week with a doubleheader loss to Dundee putting Hudson at 0-10 in the LCAA. The first match scores were 17-25, 13-25 and 18-25 in favor of Dundee. In the second match it was Hudson winning the first game 25-21 but then they fell 12-25, 10-25 and 11-25. Varney had 25 points with seven aces, while Wonders had 20 points and an ace and Frayer had 15 points with two aces. Samantha Gordon had 12 points with two aces. Frayer had six kills, Wonders five and Tasha Waltz had four kills. Frayer added eight assists and Varney had five digs. “We will keep trying and working hard,” said head coach Connie Varney. Hudson will compete on Saturday at Hillsdale High School in the class C district tournament where they compete at 1:30 against the winner of the Hanover-Horton and Hillsdale match earlier that day. Good Luck Ladies!

Loss to Blissfield ends Tiger football season

By Bill Mullaly

They didn't win but they gave an effort worthy of a win. They being the Hudson Tiger varsity football team. The Hudson Tigers played well enough to win on Friday night at Blissfield but came up short in an upset bid falling 14-6 to the host Royals. The division 6 district playoff game was a rematch of the Royals shutout win six weeks earlier. Hudson came to play and won the statistics battle but still couldn’t avenge a 21-0 loss during the regular season. The Tigers battled the entire game and out-played the Royals for the most part but couldn't make the plays when they needed to and as a result they saw their season come to an end at Blissfield. This was Hudson's eighth trip to the playoffs under Tiger head coach Chris Luma who also took teams to the post-season from 1998-2004. Luma sports a playoff record of 12-8 and Hudson's overall playoff mark now is 14-12. “We just couldn’t contain or stop the Estes kid and that was the difference in the game,” said Hudson coach Luma, about the elusive Royal quarterback. “He made plays when nothing was there and he is a great player with lots of speed. He is a playmaker and he made them in this game.” No play John Estes made was bigger than the 51-yard scramble with less than a half a minute left in the first half. The play started with 33 seconds left but by the time Estes had run down the Hudson sideline and was knocked out at the one-yard line there were just 15 seconds left. He took the ball in for the touchdown on a one-yard sneak with 12 ticks until halftime. The Royals scored to finish off a six-play, 80-yard drive after blocking a Hudson field goal attempt with 1:26 to go until halftime. Hudson wanted to score first after having been shutout the past three years by the Royals and they had a great chance to draw first blood, but failed. With a first and goal at the nine-yard line late in the first half the Tigers got just six yards on three running plays and tried the unsuccessful field goal. Blissfield didn’t play conservatively as Estes led them on the scoring drive. After having seemingly controlled most of the opening half the Tigers were down 7-0 to the Royals at intermission with that being the same score as the first game back on September 14. This game wouldn't turn out like the first one as the Tigers played well in the second half but just couldn't catch the Royals or the elusive Estes for that matter.

In the third quarter Hudson finally started a scoring drive after fumbling a punt and falling on it at its own six-yard line. Hudson went 94 yards in just 10 plays with a few highlights along the way. Taylor Milligan hit Mitchell Webb for a 28-yard pass to its own 38-yard line. Then Gannon Curtis broke off a nice 31-yard run. Kyle Benschoter gained eight yards and then Keith Walworth got 12 down to the Royal 11-yard line. Curtis got four yards and Walworth four before Benschoter got two for a first down. Then Curtis punched it in from a yard out with just 57 seconds left in the third quarter. Hudson went for the lead with a pass attempt that failed on the conversion try.

The Tiger touchdown was the first score against Blissfield since the 2004 game as Hudson had been blanked the last three games.

Blissfield then went 60 yards in ten plays and it was Estes doing the scoring. He scrambled on a play that started at the Tiger 11-yard line and scored the clincher with 7:23 left. The Royals hit one key play on fourth and six when Estes connected with Tyler Carver for 10-yards to take the ball from the Hudson 21-yard line down to the Tiger 11 and Estes scored on the next play. Hudson got one final chance due to a botched Royal snap on a punt attempt. The snap was high and over his head and the punter tried to improvise when the ball went over his head. Hudson got the ball at the Royal 27-yard line with 4:30 left. On the first play Walworth went around the left end for eight yards down to the Royal 19-yard but the play was called back on a questionable holding call on Hudson.

Instead of second and two at the 19 it was first and 17 back at the Royal 35-yard line. Two plays netted minus five yards and the third play was a Hudson pass that turned into an interception. Hudson out-rushed Blissfield 165-155 and out-passed them 74-44 in yardage. Hudson had more first down 15-9 but failed to get the win. "We came a long ways from being 2-3 and the past five weeks have made me a proud coach about the way our team has played," said Luma, who falls to 6-6 overall in his 11-year career against Blissfield. "I'm going to miss our seniors but especially the five who have been with me the last three years. Those five are Gannon Curtis, Caleb Ely, Kyle Hillard, Zach Warner and Nick Hart." Those five were also the team's captains in 2007.

The story of the game was the play of Estes who ran for 104 yards on nine attempts and he constantly alluded Tiger tacklers in his backfield to prevent large losses. Estes was six of nine passing and was a constant threat to do something each time he had the ball. Curtis led Hudson (6-4) with 64 yards, followed by Benschoter with 59. Walworth rushed for 30 yards, while Warner had 20. Hudson was six of 14 passing with Milligan hitting five of 12 and Warner one of two for a combined total of 74 yards. Webb had four catches to lead Hudson good for 68 yards. "Our defense did a fine job and they kept us in the game with a chance to win it," said Luma, who ends his 11th season with a total career mark at Hudson of 85-34. The Tigers were led on defense by Benschoter with 13 tackles, while Colin Wollet had 10. Both Johnny Monahan and Caleb Ely had nine stops. Milligan and Nick Hart both had eight stops. Webb had an interception. A lot of Tiger players return in 2008 so watch for a great season next year for the Tigers but this ends the 2007 campaign earlier than many Tiger fans wanted. Blissfield (10-0) will host Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (8-2) a 38-0 winner over Clinton.

Pop Warner season finally winding down

By Bill Mullaly

The eighth week of Pop Warner football was played last Saturday and the games were changed from Addison to North Adams but the result was the same as lots of good football was played by the youngsters involved in this popular sport. After seven weeks of sun and warm weather the wind, rain and cold settled in but it was just good old-fashioned Midwestern football weather for the kids to play in. Here are the results of week eight of Pop Warner football.

In game one it was Hudson winning 19-6 over the Adrian Blue team and the win gives Hudson a perfect 8-0 season record. The unbeaten season gives Hudson the league championship for the 2007 season. Each team gets a bye in the nine-week schedule and Hudson’s bye is this coming Saturday so the season is over for the Tigers. In this final win it was Hudson scoring first as Cole Weaver went five yards for the touchdown and he added the point after for a 7-0 Tiger lead. Then in the second quarter Hudson was set to punt but Jacob Morgan faked the punt and ran 70 yards down the sideline for a touchdown making it 13-0 Tigers. Then with three minutes until halftime the Blues of Adrian scored as Zebb Ruple stole the ball from the Tiger quarterback and he raced 50 yards for a defensive touchdown for the Blues making it 13-6 at halftime. The final score of the game came from Weaver as he went 17 yards with 4:32 left to ice the win for Hudson. The Hudson offense was led by center Charlie Roberts with guards Morgan and Tyler Roberts and tackles Joe Weatherwax and Jacob Baker. The ends were Daniel Komarynski and Logan Milligan. Leading the Tiger defense was Komarynski who had two fumble recoveries and one came after Morgan crunched the quarterback forcing a fumble. Cody Nelson had an interception for Hudson. For Adrian it was Ruple with another fumble recovery and Jeff Marvin fell on a fumble. Mitchell Dempsey had an interception for the Blues who fall to 4-3 on the year.

In the second game it was the host team the North Adams Rams winning 14-0 over Pittsford. Josh Cramer ran in a score for the Rams with just under two minutes until halftime and Trent Powers got the point after for a 7-0 Ram lead at intermission. The second Ram score came after an interception by Alex Irish who returned the ball ten yards to the Wildcat three-yard line. Then Cramer went in from three yards out for a lead of 13-0 and Jacob Sarles added the point after for a lead of 14-0 with just under two minutes left in period number two. Pittsford almost scored late in the game when Trent Brackman went 70 yards on a run but was caught from behind by Irish at the 15-yard line and Pittsford never did score. For the Ram defense they were led by hard-hitting Hannah Webb who had several tackles and a couple for a loss of yardage. Ben Ackerson had a fumble recovery and a sack for the Rams. CJ Russell also had a hard hit for North Adams as did Chris Thomsen. For Pittsford it was Garrett Adams with several good hits on defense and he had help from Zach Hartman and Hunner Mravec. North Adams is now 4-3 and Pittsford is still looking for that first win at 0-7.

The third game wasn’t close as Adrian Madison won 38-6 over Addison White. Nick Klemm went 52 yards on the first play from scrimmage for a fast 6-0 lead for Madison. Then Nolan Anschuetz hit Collin Slates for a 51-yard scoring pass and when Zach Fisher ran in the point after it was 13-0. Slates scored again on a 12-yard inside reverse for a lead of 18-0. Anschuetz hit Tito Cabellero for the point after making it 19-0 with just over two minutes until halftime. Trevor Maynard scored on a short one-yard plunge for Addison making it 19-6 at halftime. Fisher began the second half with a 60-yard kickoff return for Madison and it was 25-6. Fisher added a 20-yard run and when Anschuetz added the point after it was 32-6 with just about eight minutes left in period three. Slates added a quarterback sneak on the last play of the game that ended up going 50 yards for a touchdown and a final of 38-6. For Madison it was Austin Wilt with a fumble recovery and several tackles on defense. Colin Anschuetz added a hard hit for the Trojans. Zach Hamilton also fell on a fumble as did Fisher for Madison. For Addison one highlight was a 60-yard pass completion from Bryce Glazier to RJ Walch but it wasn’t enough for a touchdown. Erika Underwood and Chance Chapman had hard hits for the Addison Gators. Shawn Coleman had two fumble recoveries for Addison and Maynard stole the ball away from a Trojan runner. Maynard had a sack forcing a fumble and Nick Burt fell on the ball for Addison and Burt also had a sack for Addison. Madison improves to 5-2 and Addison White falls to 3-4.

In the last game of the day it was Addison Red beating Waldron 25-7. Addison Red improves to 3-4 and Waldron is still searching for that first win at 0-7. Ryan Stubbins ran in the first touchdown for Addison from 22 yards out and Tyler Clark ran in the point after for a lead of 7-0. Then Clark ran in a score from 20 yards away making it 13-0 with eight minutes until halftime. Levi Long scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak for Waldron and Keith Lindeman added the point after for a 13-7 score. Addison Red got into the end zone one more time before halftime as Clark went 65 yards on the ensuing kickoff for an Addison score of 19-7 with just under two minutes before intermission. Clark then added a 46-yard scoring run in the third quarter as Addison jumped ahead 25-7. For Addison on defense it was Austin Laurie with two fumble recoveries and he had a hard hit. Michael Stanley stole the ball for the Red defense and Ben Foor had a fumble recovery. Evan Borton was credited with a hard hit for Addison. For Waldron Cainan Lindeman had a nice 40-yard run for a long gain and Keith Lindeman had several hard runs where he was tough to bring down. Jimmy Champion had a fumble recovery for the Spartans and so did Mackenzie Bates.

Next Saturday also at North Adams the final week of the Pop Warner season will be played. The big game will be at 9:00 as both Waldron and Pittsford go for their first win on the season. It will also be rivalry week as the two Addison teams play at 1:00 and the two Adrian teams play at 3:00 in the last game. The other game at 11:00 features Madison against the host Rams and that game will be a battle for a chance at second place. 

Middle School Football

Sept. 26 against Ida: The Tigers played host to Ida as we played Ida's eighth grade team with our combined seventhand eighth.This week injuries and grades took a toll on our eighth grade team. Ida kicked to us and we lost the ball on downs as we failed on a fourth and one. Ida took over and so did Justin Boies and James Herron at defensive ends. They each made great plays in the first quarter and James also caught a 40 yard pass from Alex Messer. The end of the quarter saw Luke Sparaponi punt the ball to Ida's five yard line.

On the first play of the second quarter Ida's quarterback threw quickly to their split end and he raced down the sidline with Tigers in pursuit for Ida's first score. The run was good, 8-0 Ida. Ida kicked off and James Herron returned the ball to the 25. On our first play Luke Sparaponi ran off left tackle behind Joish Cruppan, Justin Boies, Gabe Lee and Brian Parkhurst's pull block and ran 75 yards to pay dirt. The extra point pass was good from Messer to Herron, score tied at 8.

Ida drove the ball downfield against our defense and passed ten yards for a TD just before the half ended. The run for two was no good, 14-8. Deven Marry, Zach Reiger, Collin Cottrill, Dominique Keene had some nice tackles on defense. Messer and Boies hooked up for another 25 yard pass play, but the half ended with three incompletes.

Ida took the ball on the opening second half drive but fumbled and Devon Marry recovered at our own 15. We could not sustain a drive at at the beginning of the fourth quarter we punted. Ida blocked the punt and three plays later scored on a ten yard run up the middle. The run for two was no good, 20-8. The rain fell harder and we were cold. We had another chance after Gabe Lee recovered a fumble at the 50. Messer threw a screen to Dominique Keene and behind Crippen and Adam Laughlin blocks he raced to the 30 yard line. Four plays later we gave up the ball on downs. We had one more chance but came up short. Ida was too tough on this day but we will continue to work hard and improve.

Flag Football Wrap Up

The flag season ended last week but here is a look at a few facts about the league and the teams.

 The Adrian Maples were the league champions for the flagsters who are in grades three and four. The Maples were a perfect 7-0 scoring 216 points and giving up just 57. The team’s head coach was Jim Thompson with help from assistants Jessie Solis, Charlie Solis and Mark Stepansky. Offensive stars were AJ Alvarez, Blake Thompson and Gavin Stepansky. The standouts on defense were Tanner Heath, Kyle Lakatos and Noah Solis.

The second placed team was Pittsford at 6-1. The head coach was Dan Brunette with assistants Pat McCabe, Tom Smith and Bert Fellows. Offensive leaders were Remy Brunette, Ethan White, Brett Immel and Tanner Mravec. Defensive stars were Reece McCabe, Austin Fellows and Bo Beach.

The Adrian Bears were 5-2 with Ralph Padilla as head coach with help from Dave Stiverson, Tom Cumbow and Brent Erwin. Offensive leaders were Cooper Stiverson, Jason McGowan and Rico Damon. Defensive leaders were Zach Erwin, Matt Padilla and Jason Elmorz.

The Addison Patriots were also 5-2 led by head coach John Nicholl with help from Rick Gramm and Joe Lucey. Offensive heroes were Brett Burris, Isiah Trowbridge, Dakota Nieto and Jacob Gramm. Defensive leaders were Joe Comstock, Brendan Nicholl, Isaac Skinner and Bethany Valdez. The Madison team was 4-2-1 led by head coach Steve Morin with assistants Dave Solis, Mike Palpant and Scott Jessee. The offensive standouts were Donavan Slates, David Miller, Keesan Sweet and Conner Mellon. Defensive leaders were Max Trumbull, Isaac Solis, Jerome Allen and Willi Adams. The Hudson Buccaneers were 3-4 and led by head coach Mark Schaffner and assistants Fred Edmonson and Steve Gier. The top offensive and defensive players listed were “the team.”

The Hudson Tigers were 2-5 led by head coach Randy Darr with assistants Jeff Grubbs and Karl McCarty. Offensive stars were Garin McCarty, Sam Darr, Tom Grubbs and Parker Randell. Defensive heroes were Austin Swanson, Nic Feeking, Eric Belamy and Jason Stein.

The North Adams team was also 2-5 with Calvin Comstock as the head coach with help from Todd Taylor and Mick Grubbs. Offensive leaders were Austin Bostwick, Brady Bowman, Jared Maines and Austin Kunkle. Defensive standouts were Amber Irish, Chase Wyatt, Brevin Bowman and Shad Kittle.

The Waldron team was 0-6-1 tying Madison in its last game. The head coach was Richard Jameson and his assistant was Mike Shadbolt. The Waldron offensive leaders were Tyler Winch, Brodie Mohr, Abraham Philebaum and Chelsea Rowland. Defensive stars were James Rowland, Wade Shadbolt, Cody Burtsell and Noah Philebaum.

The Addison Gladiators didn’t win a game but the head coach was Rob Jezierski with help from Rick Doyle. Offensive players were Maylachy Evans, Paul Zinch and Nathan McLouth. Defensive stars were Patrick Doyle, McKenzie Evans and Mikey Howard.  
                                                To Index