SPORTSBEAT:Last two U.P. state champs took out local teams

Last two U.P. state champs took out local teams With a record-setting shooting display from a sophomore in Saturday?s Class D championship game, the Cedarville Trojans brought the first state basketball title trophy across Mighty Mac in 12 years. C.J. Paquin, a sixth man for the Trojans, nailed six three pointers and eight field goals in the title game, to finish with 27 points. It gives Cedarville their first ever basketball title and avenges a 32-point loss to Wyoming Tri-unity Christian last year in the semifinals. It is the first Class D state title-holder from the U.P. since 1984, but the first from north of the bridge since 1995, when Ishpeming pulled off the trick in Class C.

It?s interesting looking back on the previous state title-holders as Ishpeming and Cedarville both have something in common: they knocked off local teams deep in the tournament on their road to the championship game. Posen fell to Cedarville by 40 points in the regional title game two weeks ago Friday, while Ishpeming had to get by one of the most talented Huron basketball teams of the last dozen years. Rogers City, which was led by Ben Taylor, Denny Smolinski, Ryan Greene, and Glen Curtis, lost in a quarterfinal game played in Gaylord.

The ?95 Hurons were a lot closer to moving on in the tournament than this year?s Posen squad. Rogers City had a slim fourth quarter lead against Ishpeming, but found points hard to come by as the minutes ticked on in the final quarter. They also had a hard time stopping Ishpeming?s best three-point shooter. I still believe, if Rogers City gets by Ishpeming, the state title trophy would have been right here in northeast Michigan.

?In last week?s column, I cited three reasons why Cedarville blasted Posen. They: 1) got their hands on the ball and created extra opportunities with steals; 2) The transition game was unstoppable; 3) Three point shooting prowess. Obviously, the three point shooting ensured the Trojans of this year?s title. It helped them get by Bellaire, but in the closing seconds, as Wyoming-Tri Unity was bringing the ball down the court to set up what could have been their shot at the Class D title, a Trojan player came over and stole the ball As was the case with Posen regional title game, I don?t even know if the ball handler knew the Trojan defender was sneaking up from behind him.

Posen coach Steve Hentkowski believes Cedarville has defensive plays that lure the ball handlers into traps. He said teams need speed to pull it off and Cedarville had plenty of it. Speaking of Posen, with the players Cedarville has coming back, the Vikes have their work cut out for them in the next 11 months if they want to go further in the tournament.

?Another baseball season begins on Monday with the Tigers hosting the season-opener at Comerica Park. There is a lot more interest in the Tigers this season, especially after their amazing turn around. I?m ashamed to say that I have been to three Major League ball parks since 2005, Toronto, St. Louis, and Cleveland, but have been to Comerica only once in that time period. That will change next week, as I?ll be taking the family to Detroit for next Thursday?s afternoon game in the first series of the year. A lot of pre-season prognosticators have the Tigers winning more than 90 games. I sure hope they are right.

?One other note on the Tigers, the seniors from Posen High School were at Tuesday?s pre-season game against the Atlanta Braves, who play at the ?Wide World of Sports? complex at Disney World Resort in Orlando. I passed the stadium about a dozen times last month. The Tigers did win, 7-5.

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