Tecumseh Herald Sports

Not one team attending the Tecumseh varsity volleyball tournament on Thursday, Aug. 26, could match the intensity of the hosts with the Indians going undefeated at 6-0 to win the title.

Tecumseh downed Columbia Central 25-16, 25-14 to start the day in pool play. The Indians followed with a solid 25-14, 25-18 win over Riverview, the team that would advance to the final. Tecumseh finished out pool play with a 25-12, 25-15 win over Napoleon and a 25-11, 25-18 win over Summerfield.

Onsted faced the Indians in a semifinal and lost 25-21, 25-19. Tecumseh finished its tournament with a 25-9, 25-19 win over Riverview.

Kelsey Berrington had an outstanding day, recording 46 kills, 35 assists and 35 digs. She served 53-54 with 38 points and 11 aces.

Carly Tillotson added 58 assists and 20 aces while Sarah Sailus added 21 kills. Chelsea Hutchison finished with 28 digs; Jordyn Norkey, 15 kills and 26 digs; Hannah Galloway, 10 blocks and Gabby Nowak, 28-28 serving with six aces.

In its opening season match at Ida on Tuesday, Aug. 24, Tecumseh won 23-25, 25-21, 31-29, 25-14.

Berrington finished the day with 20 kills and 15 assists while Tillotson had 23 assists and served 23-25 with 13 points and four aces. Tecumseh’s Sam Diehl added nine kills; Hannah Galloway, four blocks; Sarah Sailus, three blocks; Chelsea Hutchison, 11 digs and 19-19 serving with 14 points and Norkey, 10 digs.

The Indians split at Bedford on Tuesday, defeating Monroe 25-17, 25-14, 25-20 but falling 16-25, 13-25, 22-25 to Bedford.

Berrington finished with 32 kills, 21 assists and eight aces while Tillotson had 34 assists and 13 digs. She served 29-for-29 with 18 points. Sailus had 13 kills and three blocks while Norkey had 14 digs.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

A pass interception inside Monroe Jefferson’s 10-yard line ended any chances for Tecumseh’s varsity football team to pick up an opening season victory on Friday, Aug. 27.

The Indians allowed the Bears to come from behind after sending their opponents to the halftime break down 14-7. Jefferson gained a 21-14 lead in the final quarter and the Indians frantically drove the ball to Jefferson’s 15-yard line with just 49 seconds remaining in the game but turned over possession on the next play.

The Indians mixed things up a bit more than in the past and scored the first touchdown of the game (9:36) on their opening possession. Tecumseh junior Austin Shartle broke free for a 53-yard run to the end zone and instead of attempting a two-point conversion as in the past junior Sam Davitt kicked the ball through the uprights and added just one point for a 7-0 lead.

The Bears answered right back, scoring their own touchdown with a one-yard rush by Bryan McCullough. He scored all three of the Bears’ touchdowns. Jefferson also opted for a Point After Touchdown (PAT) kick and tied the contest with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

Tecumseh junior quarterback Brad Vannatter threw his first pass of the season to sophomore John Terry and a completion set the Indians up on the Bears’ 22-yard line in the second quarter. On the very next play, Tecumseh fumbled the ball and the Bears recovered it on their own 25-yard line. The Indians shut the Bears down on the possession and then made good on their next offensive drive. Terry broke free from two left side defenders on a third down play to record a 43-yard touchdown run with 5:44 left in the first half. Davitt connected on the PAT kick and the Indians held a 14-7 advantage.

Bears coach Marc Cisco thought his boys basically gave the touchdowns to the Indians.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

As long as nothing out of the ordinary happens to injure the starters on Clinton’s varsity football team head varsity football coach Scott McNitt believes the Redskins have a good opportunity to repeat as the Tri-County Conference champions.

However, the team is heavily laden with both skilled and new players putting chance into play.

“With that blend, it’s hard to say what might happen,” said McNitt. “Our expectations are high every year. With the skilled kids we have we feel like we can match anybody that we play.”

Clinton’s defensive line is where the big question mark is for the coach.

“How fast they develop will determine the fruit of our season,” said McNitt.

Last year, the Detroit Lions selected McNitt as the week-nine recipient of its High School coach of the Week Program. The Redskins were the TCC champs (7-0) and finished 9-2 after losing to Manchester twice. It was McNitt’s 25th season as Clinton’s head coach.

“I’m in a good place,” said McNitt. “Clinton is a very good place to coach football. It’s a very good place to raise a family and teach. The coaches that’s we’ve had over the years keep me on an even keel, and obviously working with kids is something I’ve always loved. I really do love Clinton. It’s a great place.”

Despite all the changes over the years one thing remains consistent for McNitt and the Redskins; they’re looking to be the best in their league.

“We’re going to try to defend the Tri-County championship and make the playoffs again,” said McNitt.

Hopes are the Redskins will bring a stronger passing game to the gridiron. Returning as the starting quarterback is Hayden Craig and he has the potential to gain big yards by throwing a long ball.

The Harlem Ambassadors will play the Tecumseh Chamber Challengers in a fun-filled basketball game on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at the Tecumseh Middle School, beginning at 7 p.m.

The Tecumseh Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the family-friendly community fundraiser to benefit itself as a non-profit organization.

The game will feature high-flying slam-dunks and hilarious comedy with local dignitaries and celebrities joining in the fun as opponents for the Harlem Ambassadors.

The chamber is seeking quarter, player and event sponsors for the evening with special advertising and recognition available with a sponsorship. The co-ed teams play the first and third quarters as regulation basketball against the Ambassadors. The second and fourth quarters feature fun antics as the Ambassadors play local celebrities in the “show” quarters.

The Ambassadors will also offer a post-game autograph session.

In addition to the game, there will be a special presentation given by the Ambassadors during the day to middle school students titled, “Stay in School, Stay off Drugs.”

Tickets to the game go on sale in mid-September and cost $5 for students and seniors and $7 for adults in advance. Tickets purchased at the door will increase the cost to $7 for students and seniors and $9 for adults.

For more information or to become a sponsor call Vicki at the Tecumseh Chamber of Commerce at 423.3740.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

This may very well be Kevin Harvick’s year to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

The Cup Series points leader has been making his mark at just about every track he’s been on this season including Michigan International Speedway (MIS). He won his first ever Sprint Cup race on the wide, 2-mile, track on Sunday.

There was no burnout to speak of at the conclusion of the 200-mile run. Instead, Harvick waived to the crowd as he slowly made his way to Gatorade Victory Lane. He radioed back to his crew chief after winning and said, “It’s been seven years since I’ve been in Victory Lane here, but my first in the Sprint Cup. I’m not sure how to even get there.”

Harvick’s only other victory at MIS was in a NASCAR Nationwide race in 2003.

With his victory, Harvick becomes the first driver to secure a spot in the 10-race Chase for the Championship. He currently holds a 293-point lead over Jeff Gordon with three races to go before the Chase for the Cup officially begins.

“This has been a very bad track for us and to come here and do what we did today says a lot about where Richard Childress Racing is,” said Harvick. “This win means a lot. To come here to Michigan and win is very important.”

Team owner Richard Childress was also having a bit of a dry spell on the track. It had been 20 years since having a driver representing his team in victory lane at MIS. His last came when Dale Earnhardt won the race in 1990.

“You know that was 20 years ago. I remember winning here and how proud we were to win for GM Goodwrench back in those days and to win in a GM product up here,” said Childress. “There’s a lot of pride. It’s great to be here today and win.”

Denny Hamlin won the June race at MIS and had an opportunity to log back-to-back wins but finished second. Harvick passed him with 11 laps remaining for the 17th lead change of the day.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

The 2010-2011 high school varsity football season opens on Friday, Aug. 27, for Tecumseh High School.

This year the Indians will travel to play non-conference foe Monroe Jefferson for their first game. Last year, Tecumseh lost the contest 21-8 to start the season.

Head coach Jason Mensing said he’s pleased with how committed his players are in preparing for contact but pre-season injuries have already begun to slow the team down.

“Our intensity’s been really good in practice,” said Mensing. “We’ve got a lot of injuries right now. So, probably our primary concern right now is overcoming some of that adversity with injuries.”

The injuries to the returning starters happened during non-contact situations in practice and over the course of the summertime break. Matt Napieralski rushed for 900 yards last year but will be on the sideline most of this season. He broke his leg during an early football practice.

“He planted and cut in an open field and it broke,” said Mensing. “It was a non-contact injury, we weren’t even in pads yet and just running through some plays...It was a real shot to all of us when that happened because we love Matt so much.”

Starting at the quarterback position will be junior Brad Vannatter, who saw time behind the offensive line last year. He scored the first TD of the season.

“We put a lot of pressure on him in the off-season to compete for that job and not just have it handed to him because he was the starter last year, and he’s done a great job,” said Mensing.

The Indians will have to have protection up front for the small-framed QB even though he’s able to quickly cut away from an opponent’s rush. Mensing said he has plenty of size up front to guard him.

“We’ve got a lot of big boys, that’s for sure,” said Mensing.