SPORTS

Elk spring sports are back!

“Better late than never” sums up the return of high school spring sports after being canceled late last year due the Covid-19 virus pandemic. Below is a list of the varsity openers. Look for varsity previews in the Elk Rapids News coming soon!

Elk varsity baseball, Head Coach Tim Barber. First game Saturday, April 24 at Frankfort Tournament.

Lady Elk varsity softball, Head Coach Erin Merchant. First game April 20 at Traverse City West.

Elk track and field, Co-Coaches Luke Johnson and Jamie Sommerville. First meet April 15 at East Jordan.

Lady Elk varsity tennis, Head Coach Keith Schulte. First meet April 22, at home against TC Christian.

Elk varsity golf, Head Coach Larry Lavely. First meet May 1, the Rochester Adams Invitational.

Lady Elk varsity soccer, Head Coach Andrea Krakow. Started April 8 at Boyne City.

Complete season schedules can be found online at https://elkrapidshighschool.bigteams.com/

VARSITY GIRLS SOCCER
Lady Elk soccer returns to the pitch 

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Elk keeper Jorja Jenema smothers the ball for a save against Boyne City. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
Lightning and a pandemic are the only things that will stop a girls soccer team from taking the field. The Lady Elks soccer squad was the first high school spring sport to begin competition since the spring sports season was canceled last year, and now have three games under their belts with a record of 2-1.

The Elks returned to the field at Boyne City last Thursday, coming away with a 2-1 win over the Ramblers in the Lake Michigan Conference opener. “Since the spring season started, I have yet to have all of my players at one practice,” said Elk soccer head coach Andrea Krakow. “I am still trying to see who is the best option for each position; however, this evening my defensive line played and kept Boyne’s scoring opportunities low.”

The game was a scoreless tie at halftime. Boyne drew first blood, scoring on a rebound goal after a deflection save by a diving Jorja Jenema, the Elk keeper. Midway into the second half the Elks tied the game on a direct kick by Kendall Standfest from 15 yards outside the penalty box. 

The Elks took the lead for good 10 minutes later when Standfest rifled a kick directly at the Rambler keeper, who got a hand on the ball to deflect it away from the net. Lauren Bingham, running at full sprint towards the goal, followed the deflection and sent the ball into the back of the net for the 2-1 lead and final score. Jenema tallied six saves in her first start in goal.

The home opener was played Monday against Traverse City West. The Elks never trailed in the game, earning a 4-2 win over the Titans. “My girls were connecting more passes this evening than they had been able to just five days ago against Boyne. I reminded the girls to play with effort and that they can play with the best teams and that is what they did this evening against West,” Krakow said. The only goal in the first half came from Bingham, after she beat the Titan defender for a one on one with the West keeper. Bingham froze the goalie with a hesitation move, then drilled the ball to the far-left side of the net for the 1-0 halftime lead.

Early in the second half the Elks were awarded an indirect kick in the box after the West keeper was called for handling a ball passed back to her by a teammate. The Titans lined up 10 players across the goal line as a wall of defense. Mary Gregorski kicked the ball with a tap to Standfest, who squeezed a kick between the Titans into the left corner for a goal a 2-0 lead. Ten minutes later Mary Gregorski scored during a melee in front of the net, building the lead to 3-0. The Titans scored midway through the half and appeared to be energized for a comeback, but their momentum was quickly snuffed out by a 25-yard breakaway goal from Bingham for a 4-1 Elk lead. West scored a final goal with seconds remaining on the clock for the 4-2 final. Logan Reasoner, Mary Gregorski and Ally Plum each recorded an assist, Jenema had six saves in the net. 

Traveling to Cadillac on Monday night the Elks were handed their first loss of the season, a 5-1 drubbing by the Vikings. At halftime Cadillac led 2-0 then scored twice within seven minutes of the second period to take a 4-0 lead. The Elks scored midway through the second on an 18-yard Bingham kick that hit the far post from the left side and banked into the net. Monika Gregorski earned the assist with a perfect pass to Bingham. Cadillac added a final goal late on a fast break. Jenema had six saves in the Elk net. 

“We did too much watching instead of playing tonight,” Krakow said. “The girls played three tough opponents right out of the gate. We definitely need to work on consistency of play, moving to the ball and paying the ball wide instead of trying to attack straight up the middle of the field.”
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The Lady Elks (2-1, 1-0 LMC) host TC Liberty on Thursday, then travel to Harbor Springs on Monday in a pair of conference matchups.

VARSITY BASKETBALL
Ball finishes hardwood career with 1256 points

PicturePreston Ball. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
Preston Ball drove down the center of lane for a layup and quickly got back on defense against Glen Lake in the Elk Rapids Division 3 district semifinal game. The clock read 40 seconds remained in the game and the Elks were down by 10 points. Ball stopped and exhaled, then knelt over with his hands on his knees, seeming to realize the game was over, and so was his stellar four-year career on the Elk varsity basketball team. That last layup gave Ball 1256 points for his career and the number two spot on the Elk boys career scoring list. 

During his four years as a varsity starter the Elks amassed a record of 52-31, going 3-4 in post season play with one district championship in 2018. Ball’s first varsity game was in December of 2017 at Suttons Bay, he scored his first points with a layup, followed by a pair of back-to-back threes. He finished that first game with 18 points and a 64-59 win. The number one spot in career points is held by 2012 Elk graduate Luke Morrison with 1396. In 2012 the Elk Rapids News reported Morrison’s accomplishment with the statement, “One can only wonder if there a young Lakeland or Mill Creek student outside practicing his shooting touch that will someday score more than 1396 points for the Elks?” Preston Ball was nine years old then, he watched Morrison play with admiration. If Covid had not shortened his senior season, maybe Ball would occupy the number one spot, but being number two is still very impressive. 

Congratulations to Preston Ball on his accomplishment, and to the many teammates and coaches along the way that helped him reach this mark. Somewhere out there is young player bouncing the basketball and practicing shooting that will make a run at the Elk career scoring title. But that player will first have to get by number two on the list. 

VARSITY BASKETBALL
Elk foursome earns all-conference 

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Preston Ball. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
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Mason Travis. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
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Photo by Kim Eardley Photography Kadin Patterson Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
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Gordie LaFontaine Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
The Lake Michigan All-Conference teams were announced on April 13, with Elk Rapids having four players on the list. Earning First Team honors were senior Preston Ball and junior Mason Travis. 

Ball, with his third straight all-conference honor, led the Elks in every major category, first in scoring with 358 points, three point shooting (59-150 39.3%), rebounding (89), assists (84), steals (60) and free throws (53-67 for 79.1%). He was first in minutes played with 432.

Travis was all-conference first team for the first time after earning honorable mention honors the last two seasons. He finished second on the team in scoring with 234 points, three point shooting (26-85 30.6%), assists (39), steals (43) free throws (42-56 for 75.1%) and was fourth in rebounding (58). He was second in minutes logging 398.

All-Conference Honorable Mention went to a pair of seniors, Gordie LaFontaine and Kadin Patterson.

LaFontaine, an honorable mention honoree as a sophomore, finished third in scoring with 129 points, third in threes (9-31 29.0%), tied for second in rebounds (77), fifth in assists (28) and steals (24) and third in minutes played with 351.

Patterson was fifth in scoring (98) and second in overall shooting percentage (42-87 48.3%), second in deflections (31), fourth in assists (30) and steals (25) and fourth in minutes played with 340. In the LMC there were 13 players total earning first team all-conference and 10 players that received honorable mention all-conference.
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Lake Michigan Conference 
2020-21 boys basketball

First team:
Preston Ball, Elk Rapids
Mason Travis, Elk Rapids
Evan Solomon, Charlevoix 
Jacob Mueller, Charlevoix
Caleb Stuck, Charlevoix
Wyatt Nausadis, St. Francis
Adam Gerberding, St. Francis
Aidan Brehm, Boyne City
Jack Neer, Boyne City
Preston Malpass, East Jordan
Dylan Cragg, Grayling
Grant Richardson, Harbor Springs
Travis Blasko, Kalkaska


Honorable mention:
Kadin Patterson, Elk Rapids
Gordie LaFontaine, Elk Rapids
Ethan Putman, Charlevoix
Casey Donahue, St. Francis
Joey Donahue, St. Francis
Alex Calcaterra, Boyne City
Mason Malpass, East Jordan
Eliot Boik, Grayling
Jude Proctor, Harbor Springs
Glenn Morris, Kalkaska