Just an update on what we did over the Thanksgiving break.
I took Wednesday the 23rd off - just to relax and spend some time with Tonja. We still had to go into Ann Arbor to pick up her dictation work. We had the first real snow of the season - and as happens every single year - people had forgotten how to drive in snow. So a two hour trip turned into five. We took backroads home to avoid the interstate - and saw about 20 deer on a snowy-white field. We pulled over and just enjoyed watching them for a few minutes. Watched "Constantine".
Thanksgiving day was spent at Tonja's folk's house. Thankfully their electrical came back up early in the day. Had a great time around the dinner table. [Yes, I ate too much.] Watched some of the pitiful Lions game (fell asleep - mercifully). Watched "Christmas with the Kranks". Pretty good movie - no religious message - but some good family and community ideas. Then we played Mexican train.
Unfortunately, David had to work most of the day at Weber's in Ann Arbor. He didn't get to come to Onsted at all. But we took a lot of the food home - and he came to our house on Friday and was able to feast. He then went to Ann Arbor with Poppa and Grandma. We went to the DeKarske's (family in our church) and ate some more. Played "Up the River, Down the River" and Mexican Train with them. There must be a whole bunch of variations in the rules to that game. New set when we played with them. [Later we opened a center "train station" and saw that the rules included with it had even different variations.]
Saturday was a good sleep in day - then we did a little shopping and spent about 3 hours at Cabela's. Most of our Christmas shopping is now done. Spent the evening with the Rouster's - eating some more good food. We bailed around 9pm though - we were bushed.
Yesterday I sang a solo at church. I did "To The Glory" by Dallas Holm. I hadn't done a solo like that in quite a while. Flubbed up the beginning some - but as a friend said I made a "nice recovery." But the attention wasn't supposed to be on me anyhow. Nice spiritual afternoon watching "War of the Worlds" - and after church we watched "Bride and Prejudice." Enough movies for a while.
That's a quick summary. Hope all of you had a good Thanksgiving day - and found many things to be thankful to God.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
By Jake Lloyd
ADRIAN -- The number 14 did not treat the Jackson Christian High School girls basketball team very well Friday night in a 46-21 Class D district final loss to Lenawee Christian.
The Royals turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, missed 14 of 15 shots and went 14 minutes without scoring in the half. The result was a 25-3 halftime deficit from which the Royals could never recover.
Mary Robey's jumper in the lane gave the Royals their only lead of the game, at 2-1, with 7:07 left in the opening quarter. It lasted for 24 seconds before a 3-pointer by Lenawee Christian's Shelby Neill gave the Cougars a 4-2 lead.
Jackson Christian did not score again until a free throw in the final minute of the first half.
"I don't think they were scared necessarily," Jackson Christian coach Pattie Schryer said. "There were just jitters in the first half. We were intimidated by their size."
Lenawee Christian's roster featured four players who were 5-foot-10 or taller. The tallest Royal in the playing rotation was 5-foot-9 Andrea Richardson.
As a result, Schryer said the Royals' game plan was to shoot exclusively from the perimeter, which was their forte most of the season.
"We knew going into it you can't drive among the trees," Schryer said. "Our outside game has been our strength all year, so we were going with that. Our shots just didn't fall."
Jackson Christian shot 8-for-50 (16 percent) from the field and 0-for-8 from 3-point range. Richardson and Kaitlin Callahan led the Royals with six points apiece.
Alison Budd, one of the Cougars' 5-10 players, dominated inside, scoring a number of layups for a game-high 17 points. Elizabeth Davies added nine.
Jackson Christian, which lost in the district finals for the third straight year, finished its best season since 1997 with a 14-8 record. Lenawee Christian takes an 18-5 record to the regional.
Here are last nights scores that are of interest to our League and Districts:
CLASS D
Adrian Lenawee Christian 41, Britton-Macon 12
Jackson Christian 41, Deerfield 28
We will play Lenawee Chr. Friday night at 7:00 for our District Championship.
Camden-Frontier 51, Litchfield 43
Hillsdale Academy 67, Pittsfield 55
Hillsdale will be playing C-F for their District Championship. I would like to see Hillsdale beat C-F
Lawrence 65, Burr Oak 47
Mendon 37, Tekonsha 22
Our league has been eliminated from this District match.
3 class C games of interest:
Jonesville 45, Hanover Horton 40
Michigan Center 53, Jackson Vandercook Lake 33
Napoleon 57, Grass Lake 49
Class D at Lenawee Christian
- Favorite: Lenawee Christian won the district last year.
- Contender: Jackson Christian switches districts after losing in the district finals the last two years. The Royals' first winning season since 1997 was marred by a season-ending loss to Hillsdale Academy that stopped a three-game winning streak.
- Long shots: It would take an upset or two for Deerfield, Calvary Christian, Washtenaw Christian or Britton-Macon to even make the finals.
Class D at North Adams-Jerome
- Favorite: North Adams-Jerome recorded its first winning season since 1995 and now looks to end a string of eight straight opening-game district defeats.
- Contender: Camden-Frontier has won five straight district championships. The Redskins played North Adams-Jerome twice in the last four games, losing by five and winning by 10.
- Darkhorse: Hillsdale Academy is the only non-SCAA team in the field, and the Colts have to be taken seriously after beating the SCAA's third-place team, Jackson Christian, on Thursday.
- Long shots: Litchfield is a new team to the district. The Terriers avoided a winless season by beating Tekonsha in their finale. Waldron and Pittsford each lost twice to North Adams-Jerome.
I couldn’t find the entire article about Thursday night’s game on the web – but I did find this intro to the article:
Lucky 17: Colts wrap up record season
Hillsdale Academy finished their regular season Thursday night against Jackson Christian. The Colts gutted it out and came out on top of this defensive battle with a 37—23 win. That win, their 17th of the season set the new school record for wins in a single season.
Here is the line up for our district competition. Some nutjob calling himself “Son of Swami” picks Lenawee to win – let’s hope that he is proven to be daft.
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No. 101 at Adrian Lenawee Christian
Monday
Washtenaw Christian vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian, 6pm
Deerfield vs. Calvary Christian, 8pm
Wednesday
Britton-Macon vs. Washtenaw Christian/Adrian Lenawee Christian winner, 6pm
Jackson Christian vs. Deerfield/Calvary Christian winner, 8pm
Friday. -- Final, 7pm - - [I am predicting Lenawee vs Jackson Christian]
Son of Swami -- Lenawee Christian
I can't find the Cit-Pat article online. But here is the gist. Hillsdale gave us a royal spanking. There should have been no way they could have beaten us. But, IMHO, a few bad coaching decisions and a team that seemed to have left their skills back in Jackson - well...it was the worst I have ever seen the girls play. And that's all I have to say about that.
(I will post the article if it shows up later.)
Lyndsey and the Lady Royals played there last home game Tuesday. They had a shaky start - but ended with a solid win. Everyone got to play. It was a fun game to watch. I should also give the officials their due, too - they are about the best I've seen. They kept the game clean - they made their calls clear [and they were big guys, too - who's going to argue with them] .
Just one more game in the regular season - non-conference - but against a good team.
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Jackson Christian 57, Waldron 39: The Royals completed a season sweep of Waldron to finish their Southern Central Athletic Association schedule at 11-5 and in third place, their best finish since 1998.
"We started a little slow, but they picked it up," Jackson Christian coach Pattie Schryer said. "Everyone got a lot of playing time."
The Royals led by just four after the first quarter but took a 28-17 lead into halftime. Lauren Lee paced the Royals (13-6) with 18 points and four assists.
I am opening another blog - Moosejaw Mental Mastication - [hey watch it - check the spelling!] - go there http://garymmm.blogspot.com/ and see what it is about.
This site will still exist and be updated. Really, go check out the other site.
I just realized that "garymmm" will get me a few jibes. LOL!! Too late now.
Just a short post.
It is sad though...this coming Tues. is Lyndsey's last basketball home game. 1 chapter of her high school life turning a page. sigh....
Oh yeah, Volleyball is next!!
Dave came over yesterday for lunch - watched a movie with us - and then reclaimed his title as Lord of the PS2. It was nice just having him hang around with us.
Excellent game last night against a very aggressive C-F team. All the girls worked hard for this "W" - and deserve to be excited about districts coming up. Two more teams to go.
C-F plays rough - and seemed to be targeting Lauren - taking her to the hardwood at least five times. There was a lot of scrappin' going on.
Lyndsey made a good defensive showing - C-F scored 6 points in the 2nd period an only 3 points in the 3rd. Not a lot of rebounds - Andrea grabbed the most - and C-F didn't make a whole lot of shots.
Sidenote: The JV teams spanked C-F - but didn't get the win. At half time JCS was down by 14. They came back to lose by one. But they had the officially worst refs - who did not count a shot at the buzzer - which [after the game] the other coach said should have counted. Mr. Tong has done a great job with that squad.
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Jackson Christian 41, Camden-Frontier 30: Jackson Christian broke open a close game with a 17-3 run in the third quarter and improved to 12-6 overall and 10-5 in the Southern Central Athletic Association. The Royals are assured of their best regular season since 1997 and will finish no worse than third in the league, their best showing since 1998.
"They came out pretty physical in the first half, and we sort of adjusted to what they were doing," Jackson Christian coach Pattie Schryer said. "They got one shot and one shot only at the basket. Our rebounding was effective for us."
Andrea Richardson had 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Lauren Lee added nine points for Jackson Christian.
I got to watch the last half hour of practice Monday. I really like how Pattie and Dave work with the girls. They practice hard. I would still get out the medicine ball for them - but maybe they endured that torture earlier - it would make their passing game a lot crisper.
I told Tonja that if Lyndsey played like I saw her practice - she would have an excellent game. [ I like it when she plays hard underneath - that is where she should dominate. Mary R. is good for her - makes Lynds step up.] Last night her practice was fleshed out on the floor - 8 pts - several rebounds - a steal or two. I know she will say "Well, it was just Burr Oak." Nuts to that - if she takes that same game to Camden-Frontier Thursday - she will be a be contributor to the victory.
Monday afternoon during the last few minutes of practice - Lauren aggravated her bad ankle - she had it taped 1/3 the way up her calf for the game - she played an excellent game and didn't seem too bothered by it - until after the game. Time for some ice.
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Jackson Christian 67, Burr Oak 28: The Royals hit their season high for points aided by a 21-2 third quarter. Their previous high for the season was 62, also against Burr Oak.
"The girls played really good defense in the third quarter," Jackson Christian coach Pattie Schryer said.
Lauren Lee led the Royals (11-6, 9-5 SCAA) with 17 points, while sophomore Abby Cartwright came off of the bench to score a career-high 12 points and grab 10 rebounds. Jackson Christian had 20 assists, led by Kaitlin Callahan's six.
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We are now 9-5 in the league - North-Adams Jerome is 10-3 - not sure about C-F - but if we take care of them Thursday we should be solidly in 3rd behind C-S and NAJ.
CLIMAX-SCOTTS 57, LITCHFIELD 20: At Climax, Danielle Roden scored 23 points and had four assists to help C-S remain unbeaten at 18-0. Teammate Shawna Burgett scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds.
North Adams-Jerome 51, Camden-Frontier 46: The Rams used a 14-5 second quarter to take control of the game and improve to 10-3 in the Southern Central Athletic Association.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
By Jake Lloyd
For almost 75 minutes of a Division 4 soccer district final Friday, Lenawee Christian High School kept Jackson Christian junior D.J. Baisden in check.
But once Baisden got started, there was no stopping him.
Baisden scored both of the goals for Jackson Christian as the Royals claimed a 2-1 overtime victory over the Cougars to advance to regional play next week.
Just 2:03 into overtime, Scott Bugbee centered the ball perfectly from the right side, and a streaking Baisden pounded it home for the victory.
After watching the ball roll into the net, Baisden and teammate Jake Barney tackled each other. Moments later they were on the bottom of a huge pile of Jackson Christian players and fans.
"I was just waiting for something in the middle," Baisden said. "It came, and I just let it rip."
It was Baisden's 52nd goal of the season; the previous school record was 35, coach Terry Howdyshell said.
"I'll savor it for a while," Baisden said. "After the season's over."
The win was Jackson Christian's first over Lenawee Christian since the district final in 2002, which is also the last time the Royals won the district title, Howdyshell said.
Jackson Christian (20-4) will face the winner of the Allen Park Cabrini district at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a regional semifinal contest at Mehall Field in Jackson.
Lenawee Christian took the lead 11 minutes into the game on a goal by Dan Glaser.
Lenawee Christian's Jeremiah Weidmayer kept Baisden off the board for most of the game, but Baisden broke through with a goal with 5:37 left in regulation to tie the game 1-1. Baisden scored on a header off a pass from Adam Barsuhn, who re-centered the ball after his corner kick was headed back to him by a Lenawee Christian player.
"Once we got that goal, that really broke the ice," Jackson Christian coach Terry Howdyshell said.
Baisden knew it was a matter of staying focused.
"I knew if I got frustrated it wouldn't help, so I just tried to stay positive and I knew I would get a chance," Baisden said. "I felt better after that (goal). I thought, 'Now the momentum's changed.' "
