Leelanau Sports Guy at sportspig.com

Suttons Bay piled up 471 yards of total offense and pulled away in the second half for a 38-20 win over St. Francis. Eric Hernandez ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns, while Anthony Stewart (pictured at right) added 84 yards as the Norsemen showed off their speed and played very well in the season opener for both teams.

(Coach Joe) Trudeau said his team played about as well as could be expected for the season opener.

“This is not the same team that played in the scrimmage last week,” Trudeau said of his squad.

Next up for the Norse is a trip to Harbor Springs next Friday.

Photo by Douglas Tesner of the Record Eagle

Read Speedy Suttons Bay runs past St. Francis in the Record Eagle

It doesn’t get much tougher than playing Traverse City St. Francis on the road, but that’s how Suttons Bay will begin it’s 2007 football season. The two schools have only played twice before (St. Francis is 2-0) with the last meeting in 1998, a 53-6 St. Francis win. Since the 2000 season however both schools have almost identical records. Norsemen coach Joe Trudeau said it could be a “playoff-like atmosphere” and I wouldn’t expect anything less. The Norsemen were 12-1 last season while the Glads went 10-2.

Kickoff is set for 7pm at Thirlby Field.

Read Tough opener at Thirlby in the Record Eagle

Let’s just say I think I know where I am going to be on August 23rd and September 7th!

Glen Lake Lakers
8/24 vs. East Jordan
8/30 at Coloma
9/7 at Suttons Bay
9/14 vs. Benzie Central
9/21 vs. Frankfort
9/28 at Kingsley
10/5 vs. Mesick
10/12 at Milwaukee Marshall (WI)
10/19 at Baldwin

Suttons Bay Norsemen
8/23 at Traverse City St Francis
8/30 at Harbor Springs
9/7 vs. Maple City Glen Lake
9/14 at Kingsley
9/21 vs. Mesick
9/28 at Frankfort
10/5 vs. Benzie Central
10/12 vs. White Cloud
10/19 vs. Mio

Opinions on five current Leelanau and Northern Michigan sports topics from yours truly…

1. Leelanau Enterprise Sports – The Leelanau Enterprise has revamped their website and now will be posting more stories online, including sports! Check out their sports department! I of course will be linking to them often as they provide another way to follow our favorite Leelanau teams.

2. Leelanau Classic – I only wish this event would have been around when I was coaching! Lake Leelanau St. Mary defeated Suttons Bay 4-1 to capture the baseball title and Glen Lake cruised to the softball title with a 17-0 win over Suttons Bay in the championship game.

Read Korson sparks Eagles to title in the Record Eagle

3. Beach Bums ready for 2007 – Opening Day for the Beach Bums is one month from today (at Kalamazoo Kings on May 23rd) and plenty of new things are on tap as they start their second summer in Traverse City. Lots of new faces, including a new manager, should make for another exciting season in the Frontier League. See what the Beach Bums have in store for 2007!

4. NHL & NBA Playoffs – It’s never hard to get a prediction in Leelanau County for the Pistons and Red Wings. The Pistons are a popular choice to be crowned NBA Champions this summer, and the Wings well who knows. The Wings did get out of the first round, and did play pretty well, in 4 out of the 6 games. If the Dominator can hold up, they have an excellent chance in my opinion. Whatever happens Hockey Town North is buzzing with playoff excitement right now!

5. The Season Switch – Nick Edson of the Leelanau Enterprise reported last week that longtime volleyball coach Laurie Glass will be stepping down, at least for the time being, as she can’t coach and follow her daughter Alisha at Penn State because of the girls volleyball season being moved. My opinion is that it’s a shame that a few people can ruin a good thing for many. The seasons seemed to be working just fine for 99.9% of the athletes, but a couple of parents couldn’t handle their kid’s not getting scholarships.

If you want to let the me know what you think, you can always send me an email at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com or post a comment!

Dennis Chase of the Record Eagle takes a quick look at the final week of the boys basketball regular season. Only one team really stand out in the county and that’s Leland. The Comets clinched the Cherryland Conference title on Friday. Suttons Bay, with a little help, could still clinch a share of the Northwest title with a win over Frankfort and a Kingsley loss at Glen Lake.

Read Parity in preps makes for wild league races in the Record Eagle

Nick Edson of the Leelanau Enterprise is asking for your votes and opinions on the top 10 boys and girls basketball players in the history of Leelanau County. You can also vote for the Top 5 county coaches of All-Time as well.

The ballot is available in the January 25th edition of the Leelanau Enterprise or you can send Nick an email with your choices. Please include the players/coaches names and schools. Ballots are due by Friday, February 9th.

Now I have to start compiling my list, but here’s my #1 for each team…

Boys Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Sander Scott – Northport

Girls Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Julie Polakowski – Leland

Coach All-Time Top 5
1. Larry Glass – Leland

Let the debating begin…

The Traverse City Record Eagle continues it’s countdown of the top 10 sports stories of 2006 with a story about the Suttons Bay Norsmen football team’s shutout streak.

Read Suttons Bay’s defense: Seven straight shutouts in the Record Eagle

The Traverse City Record Eagle is starting it’s countdown of the top 10 sports stories of 2006 with a story about the Suttons Bay Norsmen golf team’s run to the state championship.

Read Sit-down meeting sparked Norse to title in the Record Eagle

Dennis Chase of the Record Eagle breaks down the incredible fall for the school’s in the Northwest Conference. State titles and strong teams made it one to remember! Plus he takes a look at the future of the conference…

Read Northwest shows it is the best this fall in the Record Eagle

Leland tops Northport, Eagles fall to Sabres
Erica Breen scored 21 points to lead Leland to a 55-30 win over Northport in the Class D District Semifinals at T.C. Christian. Christian eliminated Lake Leelanau St. Mary 68-33 to advance to the District Final. Sarah Schaub led the Eagles with 15 points.

The District Final is set for Thursday (11/16) at T.C. Christian. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM.

Read Sabres, Comets advance to district final in the Record Eagle

Norsemen top Lakers to advance

From the Leelanau News Blog…

Glen Lake & Suttons Bay squared off in Class C action at Kalkaska Monday night, and the Lady Norseman emerged with a 46-32 victory. They will face Fife Lake-Forest Area tonight (Wednesday, Nov 15) at 8 PM in Kalkaska with the final Friday night at 7.

Read Kingsley topples Blazers in the Record Eagle
Read Girls Basketball District Tournaments in the Leelanau News Blog

Boys Football: A preview of Suttons Bay’s matchup with Calumet
Mark Urban of the Record Eagle breaks down the matchup in the Division VI Regional Final between Suttons Bay and Calumet. Kickoff is set for 9pm on Friday at the Superior Dome in Marquette.

Read Defensive test for Norse in the Record Eagle

Boys Soccer: Suttons Bay’s Darling, Northport’s Brown named first team All-State
Suttons Bay defensemen Ben Darling and Nortport forward Cody Brown were named to the Division IV All-State first team in boys soccer. Leland’s Eric Larsen, and Suttons Bay’s Alex Dingrando earned third team honors. Honorable mention went to Leland’s Brad Dunklow, Northport’s Ryan Blessing, and Suttons Bay’s Jesse Wright, Kent Eikey and Matt Ness.

Congrats to all!

Read Townsend is the tops in the Record Eagle

The accolades keep coming in for Suttons Bay golfers. After helping the Norsemen capture the Division IV state golf title, senior Nate Kelly earned first team honors. Junior David Tropf and sophomore Charlie Olson were named honorable mentionn and coach Todd Hursey was named Division IV coach of the year.

Read Five area players earn All-State honors in the Record Eagle

In what’s becoming playoff tradition, Suttons Bay (10-0) will face Kingsley (8-2) in the Division 6 District Final at Suttons Bay. Kickoff is at 7:00 PM. The winner will advance to play the winner of the Calumet (8-2) vs. Iron Mountain game.

Both advanced with big wins as Suttons Bay cruised to a 49-12 win over Boyne City and Kingsley advanced with a 42-14 win over Charlevoix. The Northwest Conference also was represented by Frankfort winning, and once again shows how tough of a conference it is.

Suttons Bay got touchdowns from 7 different players, and the defense limited Boyne City to 17 first half yards, as the Norse led 28-0 at the half and cruised to victory.

Read Seven score for Norse in the Record Eagle

Boys Football: Football playoffs start Friday
Suttons Bay finished 9-0 and only gave up 30 points all season, earning the Norsemen a home game for the first round (and second if they win) of the Division 6 playoffs. The Norsemen host Boyne City, who finished 6-3, a young team who only has six seniors.

Kickoff is Friday at 7:00 PM at Suttons Bay.

The winner of this game will advance to the District Final against the winner of the Kingsley (7-2) vs. Charlevoix (8-1) game.

Read A look at area playoff matchups in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: Suttons Bay celebrates state championship
Suttons Bay captured the school’s third golf state title with a balanced performance in the state final to hold off St. Francis, 647-651. Senior Nate Kelly was sixth overall with a 159 and sophomore Charlie Olson ninth with a 160.

“This is exciting,” Norsemen coach Todd Hursey said. “Everybody stepped up.

“But I’m really happy for our seniors — that they could finish their careers with a state championship. There have been high expectations for these guys since their freshmen year. They’ve had great careers, but they knew what they needed to do this weekend to validate it.”

Suttons Bay also captured golf state titles in 2000 and 2001.

Read Norsemen honored in the Record Eagle
Read 2006 MHSAA LP Division 4 Boys Golf Finals at MHSAA
Read Norsemen save best for last in the Record Eagle
Read Norsemen lead Glads by 6 shots in the Record Eagle

Sorry for the lack of prep updates lately, I haven’t been able to focus during the Tigers late season collapse. I am planning on adding links and scores to the articles I have missed as soon as possible. If anyone would like to help out and post articles, etc., please send me an email.

Boys Football: Suttons Bay on the verge of 6th straight shutout
Suttons Bay is 6-0 and looking to finish unbeaten in the Northwest Conference when Frankfort visits on Friday. They are also in the midst of a record shutout streak after blanking opponents in the last five games. The Record Eagle’s Mark Urban takes a look at the streak and what the Norsemen think about it.

Read Norse a big red wall on D in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: Norse, Glads ready to battle for District Crown
A preview of today’s Division IV Golf District at the Leelanau Club. Traverse City St. Francis is currently ranked No. 1 in the state, while Suttons Bay is at No. 5.

Read District duel at The Leelanau Club in the Record Eagle