SPORTS

VARSITY SOCCER
Elks clinch tenth straight conference crown

Jake Garrow (4) races downfield a step ahead of the Stag defender. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

A pair of conference shutouts by the Elks clinched a tenth consecutive conference championship, made up of a third straight Northern Shores Conference (NSC) crown and seven Lake Michigan Conference titles. The Elks moved to the number one in the Division 3 soccer rankings released on Monday by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association (MHSSCA).
​
Last Thursday the Elks hosted conference rival Kingsley in the regular season home finale and came away with an 8-0 shutout on “Senior Night.”

The scoring came from six different Elks, Mason Hilley and Drew Plum both had two goals, and solo scores were recorded by Tyler Standfest, Jake Garrow, Eli Zbytowski and Harlan Prabhaker. Assists went to Hilley, Plum and Gavin Hamilton with two each and Blake Springstead added one assist. In the Elk net Corbin Bogard had one save.

On Tuesday the Elks made a trip to Grayling and left with an 8-0 conference shutout over the Vikings. The game had seven Elks contributing to the scoring. Standfest chipped in with two goals and Hilley, Plum, Springstead, Noah Liggett, Harlan Prabhaker and Hamilton each found the back of the net. Assists went to Hilley and Plum with two, Standfest, Liggett and Miles Prabhaker each had one assist. Bogard tallied two saves in the Elk net. The victory over Grayling was the seventh straight shutout win for the Elks and they have allowed just six goals through 19 games this season.

Elk Rapids (15-1-3,12-0 NSC) will close out the regular season schedule at Charlevoix on Thursday then at Kalkaska on Tuesday in a pair of conference road games.

Elks paid tribute to the eight seniors on the team in Eli Zbytowski (2), Drew Plum (9), Tyler Standfest (10), Corbin Bogard (00), Caden Schlicker (23), Jayden Poniatoski (7), Mason Hilley (8) and Jake Garrow (4). Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

---

VARSITY FOOTBALL
Elks win at Boyne, snapping 14-game losing streak

Brody Turner (34) running for a 44-yard TD in the fourth quarter. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

In the final game of the 2011 regular season the Elks won 34-24 over Boyne City on the road. Over the next 14 years the Elks dropped 14 straight games to the Ramblers, including two playoff game losses and a forfeit. Last Friday the long losing streak ended as the Elks erased a 6-6 tie by scoring 20 points late in the game to earn a 26-6 win at Boyne City in a Northern Shores Conference (NSC) battle.
​
The Ramblers received the opening kickoff and moved the ball to the Elk 46-yard line before a fourth down punt. The Elks went on offense at their own five-yard line. A run to the right side by Colin McCormack on the first play resulted in a 92-yard gain down to the Boyne three-yard line. Two runs by McCormack had the ball to the three, Brody Turner bulldozed in for a TD, but an Elk penalty brought the ball back to the 13-yard line.

The Elks have not been penalized often this season but would have two touchdowns called back in the game due to penalties. The Elks then turned the ball over on downs, the Ramblers took over at their own 13-yard line. The Elk defense stood firm, a third down sack by Hudson Sailor left Boyne facing a fourth and 15 from their five-yard line, forcing a punt from deep in their own end zone. The Rambler punter, against a strong Elk rush, sent the ball straight up and out of bounds at the Boyne 11-yard line. Turner would score from the one-yard line, the TD was good and the Elks had a 6-0 as the first quarter came to a close. The Ramblers’ lone touchdown in the game came on a 74-pass play with just over two minutes to play in the second quarter. The two squads went into halftime with the score knotted at 6-6.

The score remained tied until Turner capped off a 10-play, 53-yard drive with a five-yard TD run and 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Jake Moore kicked the extra point to give the Elks a 12-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Elk defense added to the scoring with Colin Shockley picking up a fumble caused by a near sack by Gatlin Zamora and scampering 30 yards for the touchdown and a 19-6 lead.

The Elks tacked on a final score on a 44-yard run by Turner, the third TD of the game for the Elk junior. The extra point kick by Moore sealed the 26-6 Elk win.

Elk quarterback Joseph Parrish was 6-12 passing for 92 yards, Moore had a catch for 60 yards, Dazer Pitawanakwat caught two for 17 yards, McCormack ran 19 times for 153 yards, and Turner rushed nine times for 61 yards. On defense Austin Toon, Zawora and Sailor had a sack, Luke Schulte had an interception and recovered a fumble.

Elk Rapids (4-2, 2-1 NSC) will play at Benzie in a non-conference road game on Friday. The Elks are 11-14 overall in the 25 meetings between the two squads and have a two-game win streak over the Huskies.

---

VARSITY GOLF
Back-to-back regional championships

The Elk golf team of Fiona Doherty, Madelyn Conrad, Piper Smith, Caitlin White, Colette Felker and Leighton Smith hold their second straight Division 4 regional trophy. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elk girls golf team earned a second straight Division 4 regional championship on Tuesday playing on the A-Ga-Ming Sundance Course. The Elks shot a dominating 385 to win by 29 strokes over second-place Leland with a 414, and 55 strokes over third-place St. Francis turning in a 440. The Elks, ranked fourth in Division 4, will now advance to the state finals for the second time in the five-year history of varsity girls golf at Elk Rapids.

The Elk top four golfers were led by Piper Smith with a first-place individual score 81, joined by Madelyn Conrad in second place with a 96, Caitlin White finishing at number eight with a 103 and Colette Felker in 11th place with a 105. The Elks fifth golfer was Leighton Smith, finishing 23rd with a 113.

The regional meet had 15 schools competing with over 80 individual golfers. The top three teams advanced to the state finals along with the top three individual golfers not on a qualifying team.

The first-place medal was the second straight for Piper Smith, the Elk sophomore finished first last season as a freshman with a score of 87. The Elks won the regional trophy last season by 28 strokes.
​
The Elks will head to the Division 4 Girls Golf State Finals played next Friday and Saturday (10/16 and 10/17) at The Meadows of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale about 25 miles west of Grand Rapids.

---

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Elks fall in battle for first

Harper Hall (7) concentrates on the ball and gets the dig. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elk varsity volleyball traveled to Kingsley on Tuesday for a battle with the Stags for first place in the Northern Shores Conference (NSC).

Elk Rapids entered the game ranked ninth in Division 3, and the Stags, the defending Division 3 volleyball state champions, now play in Division 2 and are ranked number six.

The Elks’ quest for the NSC crown came to an end as they were swept in three sets 15-25, 17-25 and 11-25. The sweep was the eighth straight win for Kingsley.

The Elks were on the road against St. Francis in a non-conference match last Wednesday playing in the “Pink Out” game for breast cancer awareness. The Elks struggled and fell in three sets to the Gladiators 13-25, 15-25 and a close 23-25. Harper Hall finished with 24 digs for the Elks. 

The game was a rematch between the two teams of a contest played in Elk Rapids two weeks earlier. The Elks then defeated St. Francis in a thrilling, five-set battle.
​
Elk Rapids (13-7-1, 5-1 NSC) will look to snap a two-game losing streak with a win over Harbor Springs in a conference contest at home on Tuesday.

---

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY
Two medals, personal records at BLUEJAY Invite

Elk medalist Bryce Reid. Courtesy photo

Charlie Denherder celebrates with his medal. Courtesy photo

The Elk cross country team traveled south on Saturday to compete with over 100 schools in the annual Shepherd BLUEJAY Invitational. The popular meet divides the varsity squads into four groups; the Elks ran in the HS Gold Varsity Division consisting of 28 schools with 170 individual boys running along with 150 girls. The top 40 runners were awarded medals.

In the boys race Hanover-Horton finished first scoring 50; Elk Rapids was number 15 with a 398. The girls meet was won by Benzie with an 82. The Elk girls did not have enough runners to compete as a team.

The first five Elk finishers were Bryce Reid with a personal record medal run (31-17:18.6); Charlie Denherder, also earning a medal (34-17:21.8); Ethan Miseta (116-19:53.3) and Wallace Showalter (117-19:54.3), both with personal records runs, and Mason Godden (121-20:01.2).

Finishing for the Elk boys were Elijah Stolt (124-20:18.2), Max Hospodar with a personal record (126-20:22.3), and Michael Macksey (133-20:42.5).

The Elks had three girls competing led by Ruby Okma with a personal record run (44-21:44.8) joined by Ruby Kline (122-25:42.0) and Adelyn Bassett (131-26:30.7).

The Elk next competed in the Mancelona Invitational on Wednesday then traveled to Buckley for the “Battle of the Kings” dual meet on Friday followed by the Kingsley Invitational on Tuesday.
​
“The “Battle of the Kings” meet is new this year,” explained Elk cross country coach Remmi King. “My mom is the head coach of the Buckley team, so it is Coach King versus Coach King! We wanted to do it this year because a lot of our runners are competing at similar times, especially our top boys. Additionally, we have already run there this year, and they have an awesome flat and fast course. It is going to be a great low-stake atmosphere and a chance to compare where we are now to the beginning of the year.”

---

YOUTH SOCCER
Second at Autumn Classic

The ERSC U12 girls and U10 boys teams took second place in their respective divisions at the 2026 Traverse City Autumn Classic Tournaments recently

U10 Boys: Coach Ben Swift, Hodge Reinhardt, Kalvin Barton, Rhett VanDusen, Ryker Smit, Carter Suniula, Austin Hershberger, Cruz Swift, Peter Schiller, Jimmy Magsig, Zion Prabhaker, Coach Quinn Magsig.

U12 Girls: Alice Cannon, Denali Molby, Morgan Voice, Thea Jones, Adalyn Prissel, Sharon Tulpa, Lily Kopkau, Talene Davis, Sophie Bratschi, Patterson Reinhardt, Saylah Rodgers, Jane Larsen, Gwen Kirkpatrick, Annistyn Milner. Coaches are Bo Reinhardt, Katie and Cary Larsen, Tom Kirkpatrick. Courtesy photo

---

---