Ubly passes the test...

For the first time since Ubly battled Traverse City St. Francis in the state finals last year, the Bearcats actually found themselves in a ball game.

Ubly jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led 30-6 at the half, but it was obvious that early in the game the team came out flat. After a second quarter time out from coach Bill Sweeney, the team seemed to play with the fire they needed to.

In the second half, Peterburg-Smumemrfield went almost exclusively to the air and QB Mike Hewitt, who threw for 258 yards, connected with a pair of long TD catches to Eric Cogan, who had three on the day.

Ubly did shut down the run, as they held the Bulldogs to a pultry 34 rushing yards.

Give P-S credit, they came to play and really challenged the Bearcats, even if the scoreboard might not indicate that. They are a program on the rise and should be in the playoff mix for years to come.

The coaching staff isn't too concerned with the miscues, they realize they just have to clean some things up, so they don;t make any criitical errors when they face Hudson this Saturday at Ortonville-Brandon.

For the Bearcats on offese, the team rushed for 472 yards and were led by Jordan Terassi with 188 yards on 10 carries and a score, while Justin Cleary added two scores and 167 yards on the ground, giving him 1,577 yards and 17 scores for the year so far.

We're live here in Hudson!!!!

We're here live at Hudson for the showdown between Mendon and Hudson and we'll be updating live throughgout the night...play-by-play.
Of note, just spoke with John Johnson and the sites being considered if Ubly were to make a semifinal at this point are Howell and Brandon.
Just check the comments as we continue to update what is going on and give you some pre-game info.
We got here around 6 p.m. and there was well over a 1,000 in attendance already. Estimates are for a crowd of 5,000.
The game will be available to be watched tomorrow on MHSAA TV.

Attention football fans...Mendon vs. Hudson coverage live tonight!!!

It has the potential to be one of the game's of the year...
For the last several weeks, most area football fans have been dissecting the playoffs, looking for potential opponents and stumbling blocks down the road.
A majority of fans I've talked to our less concerned with Ubly's opponent tomorrow, Summerfield, who despite having had a great season, are truly lacking in any type of playoff experience. Instead, they are focused more on who will win between Mendon and Hudson; and how well Ubly will stack up against them.
Well tonight is when you all find out. Having the rare opportunity to go see an out of area game on a Friday night, a buddy of mine suggested we hitch a ride with the Tuscola County Advertiser's Chad Wingert, the mayor of Mayville, and see Millington play at Ovid-Elsie.
But instead, I thought for an extra hour drive, we could see the heavily hyped Mendon vs. Hudson game, which would be useful if Ubly went forward, because I could talk to the winning coach right on the spot for a potential preview and actually seeing what they could do on the field instead of just reading about it in one of their area papers or on Mlive.
So to make a long story short, I'm working out the details right now, but if all goes well, we'll have live updates throughout the game...on a play by play basis, along with instant thoughts and analysis on the game as it occurs.
Spread the word Thumb football fans, if you want to know what Ubly might be facing in another week if they win tomorrow, this is the place to be.

Eagles win, Eagles fall

Caseville may have failed to win their first regional championship in volleyball tonight, but they were victors in their own right. Despite losing to Deckerville in three (25-10, 25-19, 25-19), the Eagles put the Caseville volleyball program on the map, with what could only be described as a gutsy performance against Deckerville.

Despite being decided underdogs, Caseville came ready to play and were every bit Deckerville's equal for most of the second and third games.

Watts noted that the key for this team to repeat and possibly surpass their success from this year it will take a dedicated effort throughout the summer.

This officially ends our volleyball season, aside from the All-Thumb volleyball team, which will be announced on Nov. 25.

Caseville advances to regional finals

The Eagles swept Faith Burton in their regional semifinals at North Huron tonight. They advance to the regional finals on Thursday, where they will meet Deckerville at 7 p.m. The Eagles swept BCAS earlier tonight, a team that made it to Battle Creek last year.
Photos will be up in the next hour...

Let's help out coach Herp

I'm reposting this message, I got in another post. I'm hoping everyone will take time to visit the web site below and leave a message. Between this and facebook, I'm hoping we can get 100 messages to coach before this Saturday's game.

Here is the message:

Chris,

Wondering if you could do me a huge favor. Bill Sweeney will be trying to beat my dad's straight wins record this Saturday.

Anyone out there that was coached by, coached against or just knew my dad should give him a shout. He could use the good wishes. Check out http://www.coachherp.com/.

Thanks - Coach Herp's Daughter #2 (Betsy Herp)

Here is info from the site as to why coach needs the well-wishes:

Ubly Football Coach Herp - Gerald F. Herp has been a coach, a father, a brother, an uncle and a friend to many people in this world. As you may know, because you have reached this website, he has been battling some medical problems since July 2009. It began with chest pains, a triple by-pass and finding out in the process that he had liver disease.
During his recovery from heart surgery he has had some setbacks with infections and kidney problems, making him ineligible for a liver transplant. While he is back at home, he needs lots of love, support and prayers to get him through the next six months, at which time he will be revaluated for a live donor liver transplant through the University of Michigan Medical Center. It truely is amazing what the medical community can do.
So we are asking for your help in providing words of encouragement, thoughts, prayers, funny stories about football, baseball and or softball (yes he coached those Ubly girls too!) or just good memories you have about Mr. Gerry Herp. Please be forewarned that whatever you write will be read by the masses and someday may even end up in a book about the "Best Little Coach in Ubly!"

Eagles soar to Class D district title

BY CHRIS OGRYSKI
EDITOR

AKRON – For the first time in over 20 years, the Caseville volleyball team has won a district championship.
Last Friday, the Eagles beat North Huron in four (25-15, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23) to claim the school’s first girls’ title in any sport since 1985.
For the Eagles, Rebecca Janke had 12 points, eight kills and three digs, while Tabitha Dexter added eight points and seven kills. Heather Nowak had 12 points and 10 kills, Chalon Foreman four kills, Emily Kurschner 12 points, Natasha Simmons 10 points, Amber Bieri seven points and nine digs, and Haley Buckey four digs.
Setters Maureen Fortsch and Kurschner were 98 percent successful on their sets, while blockers Angela Hessel and Veronica Sauer combined for six blocks. “Every player did her job,” Caseville coach David Watts said. “I am so proud of the young ladies.
“I’m beyond ecstatic!”
Watts felt it was a total team effort that led to his team’s victory. “Everyone - from the people on the court putting it all on the line, to the players on the bench cheering them on, to the Eagle fans in the stands yelling their support – played a key role in the victory,” he said.
According to Watts, one key for Caseville was to not focus on the championship and instead focus on playing good fundamental volleyball. “All week in practice, we hardly mentioned the title. Instead we focused on specific goals: taking that ‘one extra step’ to the ball, serving at least 90 percent (the team was 92 percent against North Huron) and ‘staying aggressive’ with our play,” he said.
“The team executed the gameplan and the results came.”
Yesterday in regional semifinal action, Caseville took on Burton Faith at North Huron. If they won, they advance to the regional finals on Thursday, November 12 at 7 p.m. where they face the Bay City All Saints-Deckerville winner.
For the Warriors, Megan Heffner had 15 kills, 22 digs, four aces and one assist, while Sara Clancy added 15 kills, five digs and one assist.
Amanda Navock had 39 assists, five digs and three kills, Stephanie Goretski 22 digs and two aces, Hanna Selaty eight kills and 18 digs, Caitlin Homrich four kills, four digs and two assists, Ashley Case four kills and Katie Knoblock two aces.
North Huron advanced to the finals with wins over Akron-Fairgrove (25-10, 25-20, 25-12) and last year’s champions Owen-Gage (25-17, 25-16, 25-14).