Prep Zone: Winter Sports Rewind by Hearst Midwest

April 17th, 2021

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

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Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

BAD AXE HATCHETS

Boys basketball The Bad Axe boys varsity basketball team finished the pandemic-shortened season as district champions with an overall record of 12-3. The Hatchets finally opened the 2020-2021 season on Feb. 10 with 63-62 win at Brown City. What would prove to be a memorable season culminated on March 27 as junior standout Aaron Sowles poured in a career-high 37 points to give Bad Axe a 67-62 victory over Harbor Beach in the district championship game. The Hatchets’ only three losses came at the hands of the Greater Thumb Conference West champion Reese Rockets, including a tough 82-80 OT loss in Reese on Feb. 18 and a 57-53 heartbreaker in the regional semifinals on March 30. The prospects for next season are bright in Bad Axe. Returning for the Hatchets in 2021-2022 is a solid core featuring Sowles, Noah Kervin, Keaton Braun, D’Carlos Sageman and Connor Etzel The Bad Axe boys team will lose two players to graduation at the end of the year – Jensen Emerick and Noah Messing. Emerick was a fouryear varsity player and three-year starter.

Girls basketball The Bad Axe girls basketball team, returning to the court after a historic 2019-2020 season in which the Hatchets captured their first district title since 1980, nearly repeated the feat, making it all the way to the district title game against Harbor Beach on March 26 before falling to the Pirates, 44-37. Bad Axe finished the season with a 12-3 record. The Lady Hatchets bid farewell to seniors Alexis Booms and Cam Affer, players head coach Kurt Dennis described as “irreplaceable.” The future of Bad Axe girls basketball is filled with potential, with key players like Kate Clancy, Katherine Himmel, Sophie Shuart and Haley Newland returning next year and the addition of younger players from the junior varsity squad. Wrestling The Bad Axe wrestling team’s year was highlighted by the eighth-place finish of Sam Hass at 2021 MHSAA Individual Championship finals at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. Hass, a junior, will return next year to compete for the Hatchets.

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Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

BAD AXE HATCHETS

Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

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CASEVILLE EAGLES Boys basketball The Caseville boys basketball team was one of many who battled opponents on the court and the ups-anddowns of the pandemic off the court. The Eagles, who saw four of the 11 games on their scheduled canceled, will put the season in their rearview mirror and look forward to the 2021-2022 season. Girls basketball The 2020-2021 Caseville girls basketball team opened up the abbreviated regular season with two straight wins and had bult a record of 3-3 before COVID-19 forced the team to cancel four straight games. The Eagles would resume play just in time for the district tournament but would fall in the opener to North Huron.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

CASS CITY RED HAWKS

Boys basketball The Cass City boys varsity basketball team toughed it out during a regular season that saw several players sidelined by quarantine rules and the loss of two games to cancellation. But the Red Hawks’ season was not without its bright moments, including an exciting 48-43 overtime victory over host Laker in the district quarterfinals. Cass City’s Michael Fernald hit a three-pointer as time expired in regulation to force overtime. The Red hawks would face Bad Axe in the district semifinals, where the Hatchets proved to be too strong for Cass City, winning 58-51. Girls basketball The Cass City girls basketball team, which finished the 2020-2021 regular season with a 6-9 record, experi-

enced the same ups-anddowns as every other prep sports team in Michigan during the pandemic and are hoping to have a better year in the 2021-2022 campaign. One of the brightest spots in the Red Hawks’ season was Saylar Cuthrell, who continues to develop into a a dominating player that can take control of a game and put her team on her back, if necessary. Cuthrell had a stellar performance in the Red Hawks’ season finale, a road game against the Bay City Central Wolves on March 19. Cuthrell knocked down seven three-pointers and finished the night with 23 points. Unfortunately, Cass City’s postseason run was over before it started, with quarantine rules ending the year for the Red Hawks on March 22.

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ELKTON-PIGEON-BAY PORT LAKERS

Boys basketball The Laker High School boys basketball team finished the year with a winning record, but players and fans alike with left with wanting more. Laker finished the regular season with a 7-5 record but lost 48-43 overtime heartbreaker to a hungry Cass City team in the district quarterfinals. Next season, Laker will be without the services of team leaders Anthony Sheridon, Dylan Whener and Sawyer

Kozfkay, who will graduate at the end of the school year. Girls basketball The Laker girls basketball team battled hard but only picked up a couple of victories during the shortened regular season, finishing with a 2-9 conference record. The Lakers did not get a chance to play in the district tournament, and their final game on the regular season schedule – a matchup with the Reese Rockets – fell victim to cancellation.

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Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

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ELKTON-PIGEON-BAY PORT LAKERS

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

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DECKERVILLE EAGLES Boys basketball The Deckerville boys basketball team saved some its best for last during the 2020-2021 season. The Eagles compiled a record of 3-8 during the regular season then opened district play with a 68-49 win over Caseville in the district quarterfinals. That victory earned Deckerville the right to take on North Huron in the semifinals. The Eagles would provide a real challenge for the Warriors, who managed to come away with a 46-41 win. Girls basketball Though they faced many challenges during the regular season, including the cancellation of two games on the schedule, the 2020-2021 Deckerville girls basketball team managed to build a winning record of 5-3. But losing out on the chance to play their last two regular season games may have hurt them when district play began on March 24 as the Eagles fell to Dryden, 38-33.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

OWENDALE-GAGETOWN BULLDOGS

Boys basketball The Owendale-Gagetown boys basketball team finished the year with a respectable 4-2 conference record and an overall mark of 5-4. But the Bulldogs never got the chance to compete in the district tournament and will be looking forward to next season, which will hopefully be unaffected by the pandemic and start on time in November. Girls basketball The Owen-Gage girls basketball team had a difficult go of it in 2020-2021. The Bulldogs lost their first seven games but bounced back to win their final two contests of the year. Missing the district tournament and the chance to compete for a trophy, the Lady Bulldogs will be looking forward to the 20212022 season and the absence of rules and restrictions stemming from the pandemic.

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HARBOR BEACH PIRATES Boys basketball The Harbor Beach boys basketball team finished the regular season with a stellar record of 13-1, which included a nine-game winning streak to start the season. That win streak included thrilling overtime wins over Sandusky and Marlette. The Pirates would open district play with a 62-55 semifinals victory over Unionville-Sebewaing. Harbor Beach would move on to the district championship game, where the Pirates took on the Bad Axe Hatchets. Harbor Beach gave the Hatchets all they could handle and held the lead several times during the title game, but Pirates senior and team leader Dylan Kadar would suffer a lower leg injury during the course of the game and had to watch his team fall to a strong Bad Axe squad, 67-62. Girls basketball The 2020-2021 season was one for the memory books for the Harbor Beach girls

basketball team. The Lady Pirates opened the regular season with a tough 24-23 loss at Unionville-Sebewaing then proceeded to go on a 10-game winning streak. Harbor Beach would finish the regular season with a record of 10-3, the team’s final two losses coming at the hands of rival Ubly. Those losses didn’t sit well with the Pirates, who opened up district play with a 28-26 win over USA in the semifinals. The formidable Bad Axe Hatchets awaited Harbor Beach in the district championship game, and the Pirates were up for the challenge, capturing the trophy with a 44-37 victory and earning a trip to the regional semifinals against Hemlock. The Huskies would end the Pirates season with a 58-44 victory. Harbor beach will lose five starters – Maya Pfaff, Leandra Wolschleger, Maddie Geiger and Taryn Arntz – to graduation at the end of the school year.

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Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

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HARBOR BEACH PIRATES

Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

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NORTH HURON WARRIORS

Boys basketball The North Huron boys basketball team, led by junior Will Case, built an impressive 11-1 record during the regular season with winning streaks of five and six games in spite of the fact that a total of four games were lost due to cancellation. The Warriors had high hopes heading into the district tournament, opening play with a 46-41 victory over a scrappy Deckerville squad and earning a trip the district tile game against host Ubly. Luck would not be on North Huron’s side during the championship game as Case went down with a leg injury in the first half and was sidelined for several minutes. The Bearcats, playing on their homecourt, would prove to be too strong, winning the trophy with a

50-27 victory. Girls basketball The North Huron girls basketball team’s toughest opponent during the 20202021 season turned out to be the coronavirus. The Warriors, led by Emma Taylor, only had the chance to play seven games during the regular season, with quarantine rules forcing the cancellation of three games on the schedule. With high hopes and a 6-1 record heading into the district tournament, the Warriors got the news on March 26 that every prep basketball team in state of Michigan dreaded to hear: their chance to compete for a state championship was lost when the team was forced to withdraw from the district tournament due to quarantine issues.

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NORTH HURON WARRIORS

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Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

UBLY BEARCATS Boys basketball The Ubly boys basketball team overcame the obstacles placed in its way by the coronavirus pandemic to capture a Greater Thumb Conference East title and a district championship. The Bearcats, whose teamwork and tenacity proved to be a winning combination under second-year head coach Branden Sorensen, started the regular season with back-to-back losses, albeit against two tough teams in Sandusky and Reese. Ubly then reeled off 11 straight wins, including a pair of victories over rival Harbor Beach that gave the Bearcats the GTC East title outright. The Bearcats would open the district tournament on their homecourt with a lopsided win over Carsonville-Port Sanilac and move on to face the North Huron Warriors in the championship game. The Bearcats would prevail, 50-27, and claim their first district title since 2004. Ubly would move on to the regional semifinals, where it would meet its match in Saginaw Nouvel. Girls basketball The Ubly girls basketball team was eager to get the 2021-2022 season under way after its incredible 23-1 sea-

son the year before was cut short by COVID-19. The Bearcats stumbled out of the gate, dropping their first two games of the regular season. Ubly then went on to win 10 of its next 11 games, including two wins over rival Harbor Beach. One of those rivalry wins was a 51-45, double-overtime thriller and a 41-40 squeaker on the Pirates’ homecourt. With a share of the Greater Thumb Conference East title in their pockets, the Bearcats opened up district play with a 55-11 win over Akron-Fairgrove, earning them a trip to the district title game against North Huron. Ubly would be crowned district champions after the Warriors were forced to withdraw from the tournament due to quarantine issues and move on to the regional semifinals, where the Bearcats would meet up with Saginaw Nouvel, who would eventually end Ubly’s run at a state title with a 63-44 win. The success of the 20212022 season would be bittersweet for Joel Leipprandt, who would make the decision to retire from coaching at the end of the season. Returning in 2019 for a tw-year stint, Leipprandt would lead the Bearcats to back-to-back conference titles and district championships.

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Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

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UBLY BEARCATS

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021

Prep Zone Winter Sports Rewind

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UNIONVILLE-SEBEWAING AREA PATRIOTS

Boys basketball Heading into the season after losing all-state players in Landin Zimmer and Nash Morton, the Unionville-Sebewaing boys basketball team had its work cut out in 2021-2022. The Patriots, who saw four of their games cancelled due to quarantine issues, finished the regular season with a record of 3-8. USA opened district play against the Harbor Beach Pirates, who would end the year for the Patriots with a hard-fought, 62-55 victory. Girls basketball The 2021-2022 season got

off to a promising start for the Unionville-Sebewaing girls basketball team, which won its first six games to start the season. After going 6-0, the Patriots would meet up with two tough squads in Bad Axe and Reese, who would hand USA back-to-back losses. The Patriots would finish the regular season with three wins and three losses for a 9-5 overall record. USA opened the district tournament against a talent-laden Harbor Beach team. The Patriots would put up a fight against the Pirates but ultimately fell short, losing by a 28-26 margin.

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