By Bruce Rolfe
While losing to Battle Creek St. Philip in just three games may appear to look one-sided, the Climax-Scotts varsity volleyball team pushed the regular state title contenders and 22-time state champions October 8 at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.

After falling in the first set, 25-18, C-S put together a strong second set that was close the entire game. St. Phil’s largest lead was four points and C-S’ largest margin was two points.

C-S fell behind 16-12 before mounting a comeback. The Lady Panthers tied the game 20-20 on a block by Mackenzie Vincent, igniting a 4-0 run that gave C-S a 23-20 lead. C-S fell behind 25-24 and appeared to tie the game, but a kill attempt by St. Phil’s Lanie Overbeek that was initially ruled out of bounds and would have tied the contest at 25-25, was reversed by the official and the Tigers escaped with a 26-24 win.

Undaunted, C-S responded with a strong third set and overtook the Tigers briefly.  C-S took its largest lead at 21-16, however the Tigers reduced the deficit to 22-21 and went ahead 23-22. The Lady Panthers forged a 23-23 tie on a tip by Adalynn Reeves but the Tigers closed out the game and match by scoring the last two points.

“Sometimes, unfortunately, it takes us that first game to kind of get mentally set and ready. And then coming out stronger the next set, which is obviously what we’ve done in the past because we’ve gone four or five games with this team, but it just didn’t work our way this time,” said C-S coach Angela Gilbert.

C-S enjoyed many stretches of strong defense to prolong several volleys. The team was also strong at the net, coming through with kills, tips and blocks.

Gilbert was especially happy how her team did not get down after the disappointing close loss in the second game, responding with a strong third set.

“Nobody likes to lose. They want to win. They’re going to push to win every chance that they can. Simple things happen. But the good news is we will probably see them (St. Phil) in the districts,” adds the C-S coach.

C-S started slow, falling behind 22-14 in the first game before pulling to within 24-18, only to fall short.

Lylah Parrish, with 21 digs, and Sophie Braithwaite, with 16 digs, led a very strong defensive attack for C-S. Vincent had seven kills and Ashlynn Gilbert had 23 assists.

Battle Creek St. Philip Def. C-S 25-18, 26-24, 25-23
C-S Stat Leaders
Holly Talbert - 1 ace, 4 kills, 1 block, 1 assist, 9 digs
Sophie Braithwaite - 5 kills, 1 block, 16 digs
Lylah Parrish - 1 ace, 1 kill, 1 assist, 21 digs
Kendal Reitz - 5 kills, 6 digs
Jane Carillo - 1 dig
Mackenzie Vincent - 7 kills, 3 blocks
Ashlynn Gilbert - 1 kill, 23 assists, 9 digs
Adalynn Reeves - 1 ace, 4 kills, 3 blocks, 2 digs

C-S participated in a quad at Quincy October 10 and came home with one win and two losses.

The Lady Panthers defeated Colon 25-21, 25-23, lost to Quincy 22-25, 22-25, and fell to Clinton in three games, 16-25, 25-22, 9-15.

Sophie Braithwaite and Adalynn Reeves each had 17 kills in the three sets and Mackenzie Vincent added 15 kills. Setter Ashlynn Gilbert totaled 50 assists, Adalynn Reeves had seven blocks and Lylah Parrish had a team high 28 digs, with Gilbert adding 24.

C-S Def. Colon, 25-21, 25-23
C-S Stat Leaders
Holly Talbert 3 kills, 1 block, 5 digs/Sophie Braithwaite 1 ace, 7 kills, 1 assist, 7 digs/Lylah Parrish 1 ace, 3 assists, 11 digs/Kendal Reitz 1 ace, 2 kills, 1 block, 2 digs/Jane Carillo 2 digs/Mackenzie Vincent 5 kills, 1 block, 2 assists/Ashlynn Gilbert 3 aces, 15 assists, 8 digs/Adalynn Reeves 6 kills, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 2 digs

Quincy Def. C-S 25-22, 25-22
C-S Stat Leaders
Holly Talbert 2 kills, 1 block, 1 assist, 3 digs/Sophie Braithwaite 4 kills, 1 assist, 7 digs/Lylah Parrish 1 ace, 1 assist, 12 digs/Kendal Reitz 3 kills, 2 assists, 5 digs/Jane Carillo 4 digs/Mackenzie Vincent 7 kills/Ashlynn Gilbert 1 ace, 1 kill, 14 assists, 6 digs/Adalynn Reeves 4 kills, 2 blocks, 1 assist

Clinton Def. C-S 25-16, 22-25, 15-9
C-S Stat Leaders
Holly Talbert 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 dig/Sophie Braithwaite 1 ace, 6 kills, 1 block, 5 digs/Lylah Parrish 1 ace, 1 kill, 3 assists, 5 digs/Lylah Parrish 1 ace, 1 kill, 3 assists, 5 digs/Kendal Reitz 4 kills, 1 block, 4 digs/Mackenzie Vincent 1 ace, 3 kills, 1 block, 1 assist, 1 dig/Ashlynn Gilbert 3 kills, 21 assists, 10 digs/Adalynn Reeves 7 kills, 3 blocks, 2 digs

Climax-Scotts had two runners compete in the SCAA Championships high school race and two runners participate in the middle school race at Hayden Park, hosted by Hillsdale Academy October 12.

Hillsdale Academy, which occupied the top seven spots, ran away with the first place finish in the mens race, totaling 15 points, 42 points ahead of second place Athens (57) and 54 points ahead of Colon (69).

Hillsdale Academy also placed first in the womens 5000-meter run, finishing with 18 points on the strength of five top eight finishers.

Zachree Roebuck, with a 50th place finish and time of 26:42.29, was the lone C-S runner in the mens 5000-meter run.

C-S freshman Dalyn Bogard posted a time of 27:13.08 and in 20th place in the womens race.

In the 1.5-mile middle school boys race, C-S 7th grader Blake Morrison finished fifth out of a field of 50 runners with a time of 9:08.58 and 6th grader Jaxon Marlowe posted a time of 14:16.00 in 50th place.

Hillsdale Academy, with 10 points, won the middle school boys race, as well as the middle school girls race with 22 points.

There were no C-S runners in the girls middle school race.

October 12 at the SCAA Championships
Men
SCAA Championships at Hayden Park
1-Hillsdale Academy, 15, 2-Athens, 57, 3-Colon, 69
C-S Results
50-Zachree Roebuck, 26:42.29
Women
1-Hillsdale Academy, 18, 2-Pittsford, 53, 3-Burr Oak, 66
C-S Results
20-Dalyn Bogard, 27:13.08
1.5-mile Middle School Race
Boys
C-S Results
5-Blake Morrison, 9:08.58, 50-Jaxon Marlowe, 14:16.00

SCAA first place showdown
with Mendon is Friday

By Bruce Rolfe

A fierce rivalry that existed when Climax-Scotts and Mendon played in the SJV, rekindled later when the two schools battled each other in non-conference games, and stalled when C-S started playing 8-man football and Mendon remained 11-man, will resume once again October 18 at 7 p.m. at C-S when the two schools square off in yet another huge game in a battle that will likely determine the SCAA Conference championship.

Mendon, which started competing in 8-man football in 2021, joined the SCAA for the 2024 season, giving the two schools an opportunity to renew the rivalry.

C-S (6-1), winners of six straight games including last Friday’s 36-6 win over Bellevue, will bring a 4-0 SCAA record into the game while Mendon (7-0), also sports a 4-0 SCAA record. Mendon will play Adrian Lenawee Christian and the regular season finale while C-S hosts Pittsford October 25.

C-S fans, alumni, former coaches and current players and coaches are well aware of past frustrations against Mendon and the historical 8-6 pre-district playoff win the 2015 Panther team registered over Mendon that ended nearly 38 years of frustration and 30 straight losses to Mendon including seven consecutive playoff losses.

That long history, along with the conference championship on the line, makes Friday’s game very special.

“Many things. The rivalry, our second home game of the year. And then you know, it’s going to be for an opportunity for a conference title between the two of us. They’re one of the best teams in the state. It’s just going to be fun. I bet this place will have quite a few people here. That will be fun,” said C-S head coach Tyler Langs, who admits the rivalry with Mendon was special to him when he played sports at C-S.

“The key next week is definitely keeping our momentum going. Our defense played excellent (against Bellevue). We played fantastic so if we can keep that going next week we should be fine,” said senior Chase VanMiddlesworth.

“I’m very fired up for the Mendon game. I don’t think we did the best to our ability for the offensive line. We’ve got some things mentally to work on. Physically, we’re doing good. But some mental things that we can push through for different alignments that we can combat when we see Mendon,” said senior offensive lineman Sam Bleeker.

Senior Luke Lawrence, who was very young when C-S beat Mendon in 2015 but was well aware about the rivalry, said getting a win over Mendon would be “huge.”

“My freshman and sophomore year it (the rivalry) was always with Colon. Colon was always good. Mendon wasn’t in our league. But now it’s Mendon and I don’t want anything else but a win,” said the Panther senior.

“Next week is a big game. It’s kind of a make or break game for our season. We’ve got to get the job done. We know the expectations. We’ve just got to get it done,” adds senior Jackson Bagwell.

Langs feels his team is clicking on all cylinders, and last Friday’s 36-6 win over Bellevue on homecoming night at C-S couldn’t come at a better time with the big game against Mendon approaching.

“We’re starting to play some of our best football at the right time. We talked about week one (a loss to Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian) was a struggle for us. But our seniors have done a phenomenal job of just getting better and better. And we’re playing our best football at the right time. It’s an awesome win and we just know how important it is to keep it rolling our next two home games,” said the C-S coach.

The Panthers once again dominated offensively against Bellevue, and came through with big plays on the defensive side despite allowing 91 yards through the air.

C-S took a 14-0 lead into the second quarter after Luke Lawrence bulled his way over from the one-yard line (Logan Gilbert passed to Chase VanMiddlesworth on the two-point conversion) at the 6:06 mark, and then Gilbert hooked up with VanMiddlesworth on a 46-yard touchdown pass play with 10.2 seconds left in the quarter (the two-point conversion was no good).

A seven-yard touchdown run by Lawrence with 8:04 left in the second quarter (the two-point conversion attempt was no good) five plays after VanMiddlesworth made a nice punt return to the Bronco 41-yard line and a 13-yard touchdown run by Gilbert with 1:36 left in the second quarter gave the Panthers a 28-0 lead at halftime.

A three-yard touchdown run by Lawrence with 3:47 left in the third quarter followed by a two-point conversion run by Dane Sattler sent C-S into the fourth quarter with a 36-0 advantage.

An interception and return 49-yards for a touchdown by Noah Loren, who suffered what appeared to be a severe left leg injury in the first half, gave Bellevue its only points of the game (the two-point conversion attempt failed), however C-S led by a 36-6 count.

An interception by Maddox Wyman prevented Bellevue from a late scoring attempt.

The Panthers, who churned out 265 yards on the ground, were led by Lawrence’s 116 yards on three carries and Jackson Bagwell added 73 yards on 17 carries.

VanMiddlesworth caught two passes for 83 yards and Gilbert was 3-for-4 passing for 102 yards.

The Panther defense, which allowed just 27 yards rushing, was led by Lawrence (six solo tackles) and Bagwell (five solo tackles) with seven tackles apiece. Jordon Grove added four tackles and two quarterback sacks, VanMiddlesworth, who had two tackles including one solo tackle, had two interceptions and Wyman added three tackles including two solo tackles with one interception.

A moment of silence was observed before the game for long time C-S supporter Ed Sturm, who passed away October 1. Ed and his wife Connie were both graduates of C-S High School, and their three children, Eddie, Greg, and Clifford graduated from C-S. Eddie has been a sideline assistant with the football team for 25 years, a role he continues today.

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