Of the teams in The Advance coverage area, both Blissfield and Whiteford earned spots in the postseason playoffs which begin Friday. Whiteford will be defending its 2018 state Division 8 championship.

A full preview is included in the Oct. 24 edition of The Advance’s “Destination Detroit” special section. Here is a brief intro to stories included in that section:

BLISSFIELD

For the second straight year the Blissfield Royals have earned a berth in the Michigan High school Athletic Association football tournament. While not an automatic contender, the Royals had enough play-off points to get one of the coveted spots in the district tournament in Division 6.
Teams with six wins on the regular season were received automatic berths in the playoffs across eight divisions. Once those were determined teams with 5-4 records were selected based on playoff points and
strength of schedule.
While many predictions suggested … Read More »

The defending state champion Whiteford Bobcats varsity football team hosted and roasted the Blissfield Royals 48-6 in the opening night of Friday night lights football.

Meanwhile, the Madison Trojans started off on a positive note with a 35-14 victory over visiting East Jackson Friday night.

Britton Deerfield had some moments where they looked good on offense and made some quality stops, but fell to Lenawee Christian School 26-12 in their away opener.

For the complete stories and photos from the games, please see The Advance’s Aug. 29 edition.

Blissfield Royals head Coach Larry Tuttle has led his teams over the years to many titles, but it was 2010 when his Royals last won a district crown; that is, until Saturday.

Blissfield High School brought home the baseball district title after the Royals downed Dundee in the championship game played at home.

The Royals took down the Madison Trojans earlier in the day 4-0, while Dundee beat Monroe St. Mary’s Catholic Central 4-1 to set up the title bout which saw Blissfield emerge victorious in a 4-0 win.

Next up: The Royals will play in regionals at Clinton Saturday.

For the complete story, please see the June 6, 2018, edition of The Advance.

Despite cloudy, overcast conditions and temperatures hovering just above 40 degrees (which were predicted to be near the mid-50s for game time Wednesday), the Blissfield Lady Royals shook off the chilly spring temperatures and they greeted the first contest of the softball season with two well played victories over the non-conference Summerfield Bulldogs.
In game one the Royals topped the Bulldogs by a score of 4-1, and in game two, Blissfield was again victorious, holding Summerfield scoreless for the entire seven innings of play, in a 7-0 win. The Royals have now taken their undefeated 2-0 record into this week’s spring break recess.

For Brad Heineman’s full story on opening softball games from the previous week, please check the April 4, 2018, edition of The Advance. And if you missed the Spring Sports Previews featuring varsity previews of all spring sports for … Read More »

EAST LANSING — Blissfield’s own Dennis “Denny” Thompson now has his name forever enrished in high school football coaching fame and honor.
The longtime Blissfield Community Schools coach and teacher was honored along with 13 other Michigan High School football coaches, March 10 up in East Lansing, for being inducted into the state’s Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
A dinner reception and celebratory induction event took place the evening of March 10 at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West in Lansing.
Fellow Lenawee County football Coach Chris Luma of Hudson High School, was also part of this year’s hall of fame class.
Thompson, a 40-year teacher and athletic coach at Blissfield Community Schools, graduated from Blissfield High School in 1969. He began his long coaching tenure as a Royal in 1973. He officially retired from coaching at … Read More »

In the opening rounds of women’s basketball district action Monday night, Feb. 26, the Blissfield Lady Royals took down Summerfield on the Lady Bulldogs’ home court by a score of 57-30, and the Britton Deerfield Lady Patriots defeated the Whiteford Bobcats 48-45 in overtime taking advantage of home court.

For the full story on women’s basketball districts, please see the March 7, 2018, edition of The Advance.

By Brad Heineman
MASON — The Madison Trojans are on a mission. It’s such an important mission that even perennial state competitive cheerleading power Hudson could not get in the way of the Lady Trojans during Saturday’s regional championship event at Mason High School.
In record-breaking fashion, Madison took home its first-ever regional competitive cheerleading championship in program history by earning the top overall score in Division-4 cheering, a 749.64, which outpaced the Hudson Tigers’ second-place score of 746.26.
The Trojans’ score was a season-high for the blue-and-gold. Last season, Madison advanced from the regionals and went on to the state meet, finishing in third place. In 2018, they made it a return trip to the state finals, but this year they move on as the regional tournament champs.
Madison got out to a first-round lead of 229.30 to Hudson’s 226.80, and the Trojans … Read More »

By Brad Heineman
For five high school varsity bowlers representing Blissfield and Madison, their team portion of the season may have reached its end, but their individual success on the season and in the postseason regional tournament continues on into this Saturday’s state finals tournament.
Representing the Blissfield Royals in the individual state finals tournament at Battle Creek’s M-66 Bowl Alley will be first-ever state finalists, Amanda Fisher, Breann Knierim and Zack Taylor.
Representing the Madison Trojans individually at the state finals, will be senior Isaac Solis, a three-year state bowling finalist, and first-time finalist Donnie Farrar. Madison, bowling in the Division-3 tournament this postseason, will compete in the state finals at Muskegon’s Northway Lanes.
Britton Deerfield was not eligible to participate in Friday’s team tournament due to not having enough players to form a team. They opted to draw a forfeit on the … Read More »

DETROIT – The Whiteford Bobcats returned to Ford Fieldin Detroit after achieving runner-up status in 2016
and claimed the Division-8 MHSAA state championship
Friday morning, defeating Saginaw Nouvel Catholic
Central 42-21.

The Bobcats got out to a quick first-half lead, going into the locker room at half time with a 34-7
advantaqe.

The undefeated ‘Cats extended the lead in the third quarter and played for a time with a running clock until Saginaw Nouvel scored twice.

This is Whiteford’s first state title and was its
first meeting with Saginaw Nouvel. However, when the Blissfield Royals played for the state
title 10 years ago, it was Saginaw Nouvel – then
in D-6 – that took home the state crown over the
Royals.

The Whiteford Bobcats didn’t let a little rain and cold – or a lot of rain and cold – stop them from their goal of returning to Ford Field for a second crack at the MHSAA Division Eight state football title.

To get there, the Bobcats continued their perfect season by handling Mendon Saturday afternoon 50-21.  The ‘Cats got off to a 22-0 first quarter to set the pace. By halftime, the score was 36-7 Bobcats.

They will face Saginaw Nouvel the day after Thanksgiving at Detroit’s Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. Interestingly, Saginaw Nouvel, who played in Division Six 10 years ago, was the team the Blissfield Royals faced and fell to in 2007 at the state finals.

This is the second consecutive year Whiteford’s football team has made it to the state finals. Last year, they lost in that last game … Read More »

On a chilly Saturday afternoon in “The Woods” of Whiteford High School, the Whiteford Bobcats continued their perfect varsity football season by downing the Mountaineers of Clarkston Everest 60-20, adding another regional title trophy to their case in the process.

The Bobcats now advance to a neutral site – Howell High School – where they will take on Mendon High School at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18. They are just one win from returning to Ford Field where they finished as Division 8 runners up in 2016

For Brad Heineman’s story and photos, please see the Nov. 15, 2017, edition of The Advance. 

The Blissfield Royals ended their regular football season with a 5-4 record, but it was enough to get them into the playoffs in Division 6.

They mowed down Napoleon first – top seed in their district – then Columbia Central for their district’s championship.

However, when they traveled to Madison Heights Bishop Foley on a bitterly cold Friday to face the Cougars of Warren Michigan Collegiate for the regional title, their season came to an end as the Cougars won 32-6 to advance to the Division 6 semifinals.

For Brad Heineman’s complete story, please see the Nov. 15, 2017, edition of The Advance.

The Blissfield Royals won its first district championship in football since its Cinderella football year of 2007 that took the Royals of that era all the way to Ford Field where they lost in the state finals.

The Royals went back to Columbia Central, where they had defeated the Golden Eagles earlier in the year, and did it again Friday night with a 27-17 victory to claim their district’s title in the Division 6 of the MHSAA state football tournament. The team was presented with the trophy at Columbia Central and hoisted it high after singing the school fight song joined by student fans on the football field.

Blissfield will play for the regional title next weekend.

For the complete story, please see the Nov. 8, 2017, edition of The Advance.

The Bobcats of Whiteford High School took it to the visiting Summerfield Bulldogs Friday winning the district championship in Division 8 of the MHSAA football playoffs 36-20.

The Bobcats, runners up in Division 8 football last year, will play for the regional crown next weekend.

After several Fridays of cleanly executed football with few mistakes, the Blissfield Royals came into their homecoming bout as a favorite over Hillsdale. Even with two key players – Josh Eisenmann and Nathan Chappuies – sitting out with injuries, buzz was the Royal team had the weapons to wage a successful battle.

“I feel like we have individuals that can step up in the absence of those two,” said Coach Ryan Love. “Our game change was changed slightly, however a few missed opportunities proves to be costly.”

Very costly, in fact, resulting in a 28-20 Royals loss to the Hornets and putting the home team in a must-win situation for the last two games of the regular season if they are to earn a playoff berth.

The game started off tight in scoring, but fraught with interceptions and fumbles from the opening plays … Read More »