Hartford Soccer wins SAC conference title

 After a dominating performance all season long, the Hartford varsity soccer squad reaped the benefits of their hard work and dedication by claiming the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.   The team, led by coach Nick Blackmer, topped the conference with a 12-0 undefeated record. The Indians’ overall record was 17-1.  Blackmer shared, “I’m happy for our kids and community. We have been very fortunate to have success, but I also take pride in knowing we are making our young men better people.”  The title, according to Blackmer, is the school’s fourth in seven years.  Hartford began the season notching four shutouts (over Fennville, Bloomingdale, Saugatuck, and Bangor). Hartford blanked seven of their 12 conference opponents.  As of Monday’s Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association poll, Hartford was ranked 13th in Division 4.  The championship capped off a busy week for the Indians. On Monday, October 10, the team shut out Delton Kellogg 4-0 after leading 3-0 at the half.  Austin Nelson scored two goals for the Indians and had two assists.  Fernando Alvarez and William Martinez scored one goal apiece. Martinez was also credited with two assists.  On Wednesday, October 12, the day the Indians claimed the SAC championship title, Hartford topped Kalamazoo Christian 1-0. The lone Indian goal was scored by Isai Ordonez.  Jake Griffith was in as keeper for Hartford; he notched six saves.  On Thursday, Hartford played to a 0-0 tie against Gull Lake. Griffith recorded 12 saves in that game as keeper.

Comets and Indians open soccer district tournament action

 Hartford played their first match of Division 4 district soccer on Monday, October 17. Host Hartford welcomed Bloomingdale to the soccer field and turned in a decisive 7-1 victory.  Michel Calderon scored two goals for Hartford and had one assist. Fernando Alvarez, William Martinez, Austin Nelson, Danny Soto, and Miguel Cardoso scored one goal each.  Nelson and Alvarez were credited with one assist each.  Jake Griffith grabbed eight saves for Hartford in goal.  With the thrilling win, Hartford faced Covert at home on Wednesday.  Hartford coach Nick Blackmer said, “We have scrimmaged [Covert] earlier in the year, so we are familiar. They have some talented individuals, so we need to prepare like any other game.”  In a heartbreaker of a match for Coloma, the mighty Comets were shut out in the opening round of Division 3 district soccer action Monday, October 17. Coloma lost 1-0 to Fennville at host Dowagiac.

SAC Cross Country meet yields All-Conference honors for Watervliet’s Kerr, Tavolacci, Pazera, and Shafer

and Coloma’s Olsen 

 Four Watervliet and one Coloma cross country student athletes won All-Conference honors at the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship meet on Tuesday, October 11. Jobe Kerr and Allie Pazera from WHS were named First Team All-Conference honorees. Watervliet’s Dominick Tavolacci and Taylor Shafer and Coloma’s Greg Olsen picked up All-Conference Honorable Mention nods.  The SAC meet featured teams from 19 different schools and was held at Delton Kellogg. Saugatuck won the championship in the boys’ division with 17 points. Watervliet laid claim to fourth place by scoring 156 points. Hartford finished 16th with 392 points.  For Watervliet, Jobe Kerr continued to blaze through the race course. He finished sixth overall with a time of 16:59. His finish earned him a First Team All-Conference nod.  Dominick Tavolacci took 31st place overall (18:39), while Brent Simmons came in 36th place (18:43). Klayton Marshall claimed 59th place (19:19) with Gus Hinch hot on his heels in 60th place (19:20).  Nick Swanson finished 63rd (19:25). Haydon Richards had a time of 19:47 and took 71st place.  Austin Roberts ran to a 79th place finish (19:56), and Rick Ertman ended the event in 85th place (20:09).  Kody Edmonds took 89th place (20:28), and Alex Isbrecht finished 92nd (20:31) with a new personal record.  Tom Swanson crossed the finish line in 108th place (21:04). Isaac Willmoth and Josh Gruszczyk finished in 130th and 148th place, respectively, with times of 22:53 and 25:56.   Hartford was led by Francisco Loera in 70th place. He set a new PR with his time of 19:42. Tristan Hanners joined Loera at the finish line with a new PR time of 20:39; he took 97th place.  Blair McMeeken ran to a 99th place finish (20:41).  James Lucero took 126th place (22:18). Francisco Medrano set a new PR with his time of 33:27; he earned a 158th place finish. Zak Romhilt capped off the Hartford effort with a 160th place finish and time of 37:58.  Coloma was led by senior Greg Olsen. He notched a finish time of 18:38, matching his season record. Olsen finished in 30th place overall.  Josh Young’s contribution was a 66th place finish and time of 19:33. Adiel Granados took 73rd place and set a new PR with his time of 19:49. Bryton Fitzgerald also set a new PR; he finished in 118th place with a time of 21:39.  The girls’ cross country team from Watervliet captured sixth place at the meet with 168 points. Saugatuck won the championship with 32 points. Coloma ran to a 13th place finish with 345 points, and Hartford trailed in 15th place with 392 points.  Allie Pazera of Watervliet received First Team All-Conference honors after she ran to a 19th place finish with a time of 21:13. Taylor Shafer was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention team with her 25th place finish and time of 21:43.  Jade Miller and Bailey Evans finished 48th and 49th, respectively, with times of 23:13 and 23:16. Miller’s time set a new personal record for the athlete.  Alyssa Hobson finished in 57th place (23:48), and Brenda Hess took 137th place (30:45). Natalie Wesaw set a new PR with her time of 40:35 and finished in 148th place.  Coloma was led by Marissa Sherburn. The freshman finished the course in 23:13 which was a new personal record for the runner. She finished in 47th place.  Vanessa Crisenbery took 83rd (24:55). Teammate Gabrielle Ezell set a new PR with her 93rd place finish time of 25:36.  Amara Nichols set a new PR with her time of 25:43; she took 95th place. Julia Sternaman finished in 113th place with a time of 27:14.  Congratulations to Kerr, Tavolacci, Olsen, Pazera, and Shafer!

NO BOONDOGLE HERE… Watervliet’s Trent Boone reaches up to grab a Cam Rendo pass during the Panthers’ game against Decatur Friday night. Watervliet won 48-24. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

Watervliet Football playoff bound for sixth straight year

 The Watervliet Panther Maroon Platoon won their sixth game of the 2016 football season and punched their ticket to the playoffs with their 48-24 victory over Decatur Friday night.  Watervliet opened the scoring in the first quarter with 20 points on three touchdowns and one two-point conversion.  Decatur put six points on the board in the first, but Watervliet led 20-6 as time expired on the clock.  The teams were evenly matched in the second quarter, both scored six points. Watervliet had a 26-12 lead at the half.  Both teams ponied up another six points in the third quarter with Watervliet remaining in control of the game 32-18.  The Panther offensive ended the game in a similar fashion as to its start; they scored 16 points and allowed six to close out the game with a 48-24 drubbing of Decatur.  Watervliet quarterback Cam Rendo completed 21 of 25 passes attempted for 242 yards and three touchdowns. He was picked off twice. Zack Pickens threw one pass for 32 yards and one TD.  Tyler Brant caught six passes for 54 yards including two touchdowns. Garrett Matthews had another big game as he picked up six receptions for 103 yards and one TD.  Trent Boone hauled in three passes, including one for a TD, for 94 yards. Carlos Hernandez caught four passes for 20 yards, and Devon Flowers had one reception for seven yards.  Bryant Kieft led Watervliet in rushing. He carried the ball eight times for 70 yards and one touchdown. Rendo hauled the ball 19 times for 67 yards and one TD.  Pickens had 11 carries for 53 yards and one TD. Dylan Lynch picked up 15 yards on two carries.  Watervliet rushed for 205 yards and had 274 receiving yards for 489 total all-purpose yards. They picked up 24 first downs in the contest.  Ryan Chisek certainly got the better of Decatur’s offense. He lit up the Raiders with 14 tackles and two sacks. Dylan Lynch added 10 tackles and was credited with half a sack.  Pickens pelted the Raider ball carriers with seven tackles, and Kieft added six.  Brant and James Bell rung up the offense with five tackles apiece. Eric Kehrer contributed three tackles, and Rendo, Tate Halamka, and Sheldon Tobar each had two tackles.  Watervliet will face a winless Bangor squad on the road Friday to close out the 2016 regular season. Watervliet head coach Jeremy Andrews will have his hands full Friday balancing the strong Panther offense against Bangor and trying to mitigate the potential exposure to injuries his players may face before the playoffs.  “We want to play well and stay sharp.  [We] can’t just sit the starters and stay sharp. A lot of our back-ups are starters on the other side of the ball, so [it’s] tough to protect everyone,” Andrews commented.  Playoff Selection Sunday will happen on October 27 and Watervliet’s opponent in first round playoff action will be determined. Andrews said, “We are certainly excited to have qualified against this season. Making the playoffs is definitely one of our main goals at the beginning of the season.” This marks the sixth straight year the Panthers have qualified for the playoffs and seventh year out of eight.

Coloma suffers shutout loss against Lawton

 Coloma’s varsity football squad suffered a 49-0 shutout at the hands of Lawton Friday. The team drops to 2-6 on the season after enjoying a two-game win streak.  Lawton opened the game by scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter of play.  They doubled down in the second quarter, scoring another two TDs to take a 28-0 lead at half-time.  Three more Lawton TDs in the third quarter sealed the squad’s victory over Coloma.  Coloma’s Zach Goodline completed one of four passes for 14 yards and threw one interception. He also rushed for 16 yards on 13 carries and had one fumble.  Adam Hearn got time under center. He did not complete the sole pass attempted.  Caleb McDaniel rushed for 44 yards on five carries.  Zack Lake picked up 40 yards on nine carries.  Derek Plitt’s two carries netted 14 yards, and Levi Wilkens carried the ball eight times for 11 yards; he fumbled once.  Trystan Skaggs led the Comets with four tackles.  Jamane Smith Jr., Zane Lute, and Kendrick Simms had three tackles apiece. Billy Boyd, Christian Hudson, and Sergio Hernandez got their hands on the Lawton ball carrying two times each.  Goodline picked off one errant Lawton pass.  Coloma mustered only 14 passing and 139 rushing yards for a total of 139 yards on the night.  The Comets will host Eau Claire Friday in both team’s final game of the season. Eau Claire is winless this season having lost to Hartford last week.

Hartford Football wins second game of season

 Hartford football rolled into Eau Claire on Friday, October 14 and nabbed their second victory of the 2016 season, blasting the Beavers 34-6.  The Indians offense was on display all game along, as the team had their top scoring game of the season. Robert Ledesma ran for a season high 153 yards. Quarterback Evan Parker was three of six for 36 yards. He rushed for 76 yards.  According to Hartford head coach Ben Kain, “Our total offense was well over 300 yards for the first time this year.”  Defensively, Bob Johnson had 12 tackles. Parker banged out 11 tackles, and Berto Ibarra notched 10. The defense only gave up “slightly over 100 yards of offense,” stated Kain.  “We played like I expected and ran our schemes correctly. Defensively we played our most physical game and utilized the techniques taught in practice. I am happy with how we have progressed [this season] but we have a long road ahead of us if we are going to measure up to the tradition of Hartford football.”  Hartford is 2-6 overall, 1-4 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference – Central Division, and will face Constantine on the road Friday in their final game of the season, a nonconference battle. Constantine holds a 5-3 record and shares a slice of first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference – Lakeshore Division with Watervliet.

Coloma invitational features aces, digs, and blocks aplenty

ALL HANDS ON DECK… The Coloma Volleyball Invitational was held Saturday and featured a game between the Comets and Hartford Indians. Here, Coloma’s Jenna Walter (13) sets the ball for Kelly Walter as Hartford’s Amara Wesaw (10) and Amber Martin (9) defend the net.

Varsity volleyball squads from Mendon, Benton Harbor, Hartford, Delton Kellogg, Edwardsburg, and Lawton gathered at Coloma for the annual Comet volleyball invitation on Saturday, October 15.  Coloma made it to the championship round before bowing out to Mendon 18-25, 22-25.  All schools opened up the tourney in pool play.  Coloma blistered Benton Harbor 25-9, 25-5. The squad split with Mendon 25-19, 16-25.  Hartford played Mendon in pool play and lost 7-25, 8-25. The Indians then beat Benton Harbor 25-17, 25-15.  Coloma and Hartford faced each other in pool play. The Comets bested the Indians in two games, 25-15, 25-8.  Following pool play, the squads were placed into brackets. Coloma defeated Lawton 25-5, 25-13 and Edwardsburg 25-21, 23-25, and 15-11 in an exciting three game match before losing to Mendon in the finals.  Hartford was hit hard by Delton Kellogg and fell 14-25, 10-25.  Kelly Walter led Coloma with 71 kills, 12 aces, 46 digs, and 24 blocks. Kayla Yore contributed 21 kills, 95 assists, six aces, 56 digs, and four blocks on the day.   Morgan Wagner served up six aces, 38 kills, 59 digs, and 11 blocks. Nicolle Larson added 14 kills, 20 aces, 12 digs, and four blocks. Jenna Walter tallied 10 kills, 31 assists, two aces, eight digs, and four blocks.  Mya Potter provided six aces, one kill, and 69 digs, while Alyssa Dillenbeck had 31 digs. Mika Anderson added nine kills and nine digs.  Sam Stewart delivered three digs.  Coloma’s record stands at 26-10-5 and the squad leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference – Lakeshore Division with a record of 4-0.  Hartford’s Janell Babcock led the Indians with five aces. Megan Nelson and Amber Martin both served up four, and Jasmine Solis had two.  Martin led Hartford in kills with 15. Amara Wesaw contributed seven kills, with AJ Jackson, Ellie Valdes, and Sarah Rice each chipping in three.  Martin also led the team in digs with 58.  Olivia Kling contributed 49 digs, while Olivia Ziemer tallied 41.  Martin and Jackson blocked four shots each for Hartford. Nelson had two blocks.  Kling notched 14 assists, while Martin had 10.  Overall, Hartford is 6-23 this season and has yet to win in the SAC – Lakeshore Division.

Rock ‘n Run results are in

 The Coloma boys’ and girls’ varsity cross country teams ran Thursday in the Rock ‘n Run Invitational at Dowagiac.  St. Joseph won the boys’ championship with 44 points.  Josh Young was the top Comet finisher. The junior completed the course with a time of 19:33 and earned a 58th place finish.   Adiel Granados, a sophomore, took 67th place (20:02).  Bryton Fitzgerald, also a sophomore, finished up the Comet effort with a 106th place finish (21:51).  For the ladies, freshman Marissa Sherburn crossed the finish line first for Coloma. Her time of 23:41 was good for 40th place. Vanessa Crisenbery, also a freshman, took 55th (24:39) and set a personal record.  Amaria Echols rounded out the freshmen effort by finishing 84th (26:05). Junior Julia Sternaman took 93rd and set a new PR with a time of 26:30. Gabrielle Ezell finished the race in 95th place (26:51).  The young ladies took 10th place overall with 251 points. The championship was won by St. Joe with 28 points.

COMET KICK… Kobe Hunter of Coloma’s varsity soccer team gets ready to launch the ball to-ward the goal last Thursday. Coloma topped Kalamazoo Hackett 2-1 in an exciting over-time shootout. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

Coloma Soccer finishes  regular season with 11-1 conference record

 The varsity soccer squad at Coloma finished up their regular season in exciting fashion, notching a 2-1 win over Kalamazoo Hackett that required not one but two overtime periods to determine the winner.  With Hackett leading 1-0 at intermission, the Comets bounded back with a goal courtesy of Tyler Sherrill and an assist by Kobe Hunter.  According to Coloma coach Rick Redman, “In the second sudden death shootout, Hackett missed their first attempt and Coloma’s Jacob Bryant put in the game winner.”  Coloma finished second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings with an 11-1 record. Overall, the team was 12-5 on the season.

Hartford racers leg it out at Bloomingdale invitational

 Hartford’s varsity boys’ and girls’ teams legged it out at the Bloomingdale Invitational on Saturday, October 15.  The boys’ team finished ninth overall as they recorded 205 point total. Holland Black River won the championship with 19 points.  Francisco Loera was the first Indian to cross the tape. He finished the race in 25th place with a time of 19:53. Blair McMeeken took 37th place (20:32.6) and set a new personal record.  James Lucero claimed 51st place with his time of 21:48. Tristan Hanners, the lone senior racing on Saturday, took 57th place (22:07).  Francisco Medrano and Zak Romhilt finished the event in 77th and 78th places with times of 33:48 and 38:19, respectively.  Hartford’s female squad finished in seventh place overall with 173 points.  Leading the charge for the Indians was Angela Saldana; she finished in 26th place with a time of 24:17. Maria Gutierrez took 42nd place (27:10), and Evelin Ugalde finished 60th (28:50).  Mariela Gutierrez ended the race in 63rd place (29:06), while Jessica Cortes notched a 67th place finish (31:45).

Coloma beats Bangor on volleyball court

 Coloma’s varsity volleyball squad put a hurting on Bangor Tuesday, October 11. The Comets cruised to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-10 victory.  Kelly Walter led Coloma with 29 kills, two aces, 14 digs, and six blocks. Fellow Comet Kayla Yore chipped in eight kills, 35 assists, 23 digs, and two blocks.  Jenna Walter had two kills, 15 assists, seven digs, and one block. Nicolle Larson blocked one shot and had eight digs and three kills. Hannah Mathis contributed one kill, one dig, and one block.  Morgan Wagner tallied 11 kills and 25 blocks, while Mya Potter pitched in 25 digs. Alyssa Dillenbeck added 12 digs.

Hartford crushed by Constantine

 The varsity volleyball squad of Hartford met their match on Tuesday, October 11 and proceeded to be crushed by them.  Constantine walloped the Indians in three matches, 25-11, 25-5, and 25-11 in a tough outing for Hartford.  The Indians did not serve up an ace at all during the contest.  Hartford was led by Amber Martin who recorded four kills, one block, and 25 digs. Amara Wesaw contributed two kills, one block, and 15 digs.  AJ Jackson blocked four shots for Hartford and had one kill. Olivia Kling notched four assists and had 34 digs.  Cora Wesaw tallied one kill, while Ellie Valdez blocked three shots. Brynn Duffy was credited with blocking two shots.  Olivia Ziemer chipped in 16 digs for the Indians.

Harvick’s number comes up at Kansas

 Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway enticed many NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers into rolling the dice, which often resulted in pit road speeding violations, accidents on the track, and a little bumping between friends.  Kevin Harvick enjoyed the cards he was dealt as he took command of the race at the 238 lap mark and won the event, which guaranteed his spot in the third round of NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship competition.  Harvick passed Carl Edwards to take the lead and headed directly to the finish line. He never relinquished the lead in the race’s final 30 laps and led 74 overall. He earned his fourth victory of the season.  Edwards cruised to a runner-up finish in the high stakes race. He led 61 laps.  Joey Logano led two laps in his third place effort.  Jimmie Johnson, who has already qualified for Round of 8 competition with his win at Charlotte, finished fourth. Kyle Busch took fifth place.  Twenty-four drivers finished on the lead lap. There were 16 lead changes with eight caution periods in the 267-lap event.  Drivers who also led laps included: Austin Dillon (2), pole sitter Matt Kenseth (116), Kurt Busch (1), Denny Hamlin (1), Casey Mears (5), Chase Elliott (4), and Brad Keselowski (1) – before an accident dashed his dreams.  Twelve drivers started the second round of Chase racing. Only eight will move on to third round action. Johnson and Harvick have hoisted trophies and guaranteed their spots, leaving one more guaranteed position available for this Sunday’s race winner. The remaining five places will be filled by drivers according to the total points they have accumulated.  Drivers currently vying for a win to move into the third round include Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Logano, Dillon, Hamlin, Keselowski, and Elliott.  The teams go racing on Sunday at Talladega in the Alabama 500. That race will feature 188 laps on the 2.66 mile superspeedway track. On May 1 of this year, Keselowski nabbed a Sprint Cup win. After his disastrous performance on Sunday, which resulted in a 38th place finish, he definitely needs a win to remain in contention.  Joining Keselowski on the bubble and facing elimination are Dillon, Hamlin, and Elliott.

Armchair Quarterback, Krell crafts 6-2 record in week 8 football; trails Lynch’s lead by one game

By Kristy Noack

What a week of Tri-City Record Armchair Quarterback competition! Michigan State’s loss threw everyone for a loop… everyone except Greg Krell, that is.  Krell posted a 6-2 record in the AQB competition last week, tops for the eighth week of football play.  Each week, six local football fanatics are tasked with predicting the scores of eight gridiron games. When the Super Bowl bell dings, the AQB with the best overall record will win a jazzy TCR ball cap and bragging rights for 365 days, give or take.  In the event of any ties between our stupendous six and their records, one game is specially selected each week. This game is known as the tie-breaker game; each contestant must predict the total number of points they think will be scored in that game. The AQB with the closest estimate gets the higher ranking.  Three games on the docket last week tossed a monkey wrench into the rankings.  Krell was the lone AQB to select Northwestern over Michigan State. To his delight, the Spartans lost 54-40, sending MSU to a 2-4 record.  Our six ‘backs also predicted Ole Miss would topple Arkansas. But, the Razorbacks proved our quarterbacks wrong. That did not generate any movement in the rankings as everyone lost.  Chicago continues to burn some of our staunch supporters of da Bears. Chicago dropped to 1-5 on the season after losing to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. Benefitting from that upset were Tom Gear and Chris Leach, who were anything but.  Rodney Lynch, RoxAnn Rodney-Isbrecht, and Gear all turned in 5-3 records last week. Their place in the rankings came down to the Stanford/Notre Dame game total.  The non-Fighting Irish continue to drop the ball this season. They lost 17-10 against Stanford… at home. More importantly, the Irish allowed Stanford to score all 17 points in the fourth quarter.  With the 27 point total in play, Lynch finishes the week in second place. He guessed 44 points would be scored in the contest. Rodney-Isbrecht moved into third with her 52 point guess, and Gear took fourth place as he guessed 58 points would be scored.  Hildebrand posted a 4-4 record for the week, giving him sole possession of fifth place. Leach landed in sixth place, going 3-5.  Overall, Lynch continues to lead the pack with a 48-16 record. Krell moved one game closer to Lynch last week; he is in second place with a 47-17 record.  Rodney-Isbrecht kept pace with Lynch, so she retained third place and remains three games out of first place with a 45-19 record. Hildebrand held on to fourth place overall with his 42-22 record, just three games out of third.  Gear gained a game on Hildebrand and, as a bonus, added some distance between himself and Leach.  Gear holds a 37-27 overall record and is in fifth place.  Leach, having been tied with Gear last week, dropped two games to sixth place. She sports a 35-29 record.  Week nine forecasting includes the last week of regular season play for our local high schools. Also on tap is an Eastern Michigan versus Western Michigan battle. And, the Bears face Green Bay at Lambeau field.  Here is the complete list of games requiring guesses by our gridiron greats:

Hartford @ Constantine

Watervliet @ Bangor

Eau Claire @ Coloma

Illinois @ Michigan

Michigan State @ Maryland

Eastern Michigan @ Western Michigan

Washington @ Detroit

Chicago @ Green Bay

The tie-breaker game this week is the Bears battle at the bay. Will we see a perfect prediction from one of our passionate players? Check back n