THE WEEK - Dec. 15-21, 2014

Here are athletic events/other items for the week of Dec. 15-21, 2014.

MONDAY, DEC. 15
No events scheduled

TUESDAY, DEC. 16
Girls JV/Varsity Basketball - At USA, 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m varsity. Bus leaves at around 4:45 to 4:50 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17
Boys JV/Varsity Basketball - Home vs. Marlette, 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m. varsity
Varsity Wrestling - Home Quad, Vassar, Ubly, Whittemore-Prescott, 5:30 p.m. At Junior High Gym

THURSDAY, DEC. 18
No events scheduled

FRIDAY, DEC. 19
Boys JV/Varsity Basketball - At Harbor Beach, 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m. varsity. Bus leaves at around 4:50 p.m.

SATURDAY, DEC. 20
Varsity Wrestling - At Caro Individual Tournament, 8:30 a.m. Bus leaves at around 7 a.m.

OTHER CAMPUS EVENTS
Monday - Junior Gymnastics, Elementary School
Tuesday - Middle School Quiz Bowl, Junior High
Tuesday - Softball Pitching, Elementary School
Wednesday - Rotary Spaghetti Dinner, High School Cafe
Thursday - Elementary Christmas Concert, Junior High
Thursday - Destination Imagination, Elementary School
Friday -  Destination Imagination, Elementary School
Saturday - Youth Basketball - Junior High
Saturday - Softball Hitting, High School Cage

THE WEEK, Dec. 8-14, 2014

Here are Bad Axe athletic events slated for the week of Dec. 8-14.

MONDAY, DEC. 8
No events scheduled

TUESDAY, DEC. 9
Junior High Girls Basketball, 8th GRADE ONLY - At Marlette, 4 p.m. Vans will leave at 2:55 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10
JV/Varsity Boys Basketball - At Kingston, 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m. Varsity. Bus leaves around 4:15-4:20 p.m.
Varsity Wrestling, At Millington Quad, TBA

THURSDAY, DEC. 11
JV/Varsity Girls Basketball - Home vs. North Huron, 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m. Varsity.
 
FRIDAY, DEC. 12
No events scheduled

SATURDAY, DEC. 13
Varsity Wrestling - At Swan Valley Invitational, 9 a.m. Departure TBA.
Junior High Girls Basketball, 8th GRADE ONLY - At Sandusky, League Tournament, 9 a.m. Departure 7:45-7:55 a.m.

OTHER CAMPUS EVENTS
Monday - Junior Gymnastics, Elementary School
Tuesday - NHS Blood Drive, High School
Tuesday - Middle School Band, Choir Concert, Junior High
Tuesday, Softball Pitching, Elementary School
Wednesday - Baker College, Elementary School
Thursday - Destination Imagination, Elementary School
Friday - Destination Imagination, Elementary School
Friday - High School Band, Choir Concert, High School
Saturday - ACT Testing, High School
Saturday - Softball Hitting, High School Cage
Saturday - Youth Basketball, Middle School

THE WEEK - Dec. 1-7, 2014

Here are Bad Axe athletic events scheduled for the week of Dec. 1-7, 2014

MONDAY, DEC. 1
Junior High Girls Basketball -  Home vs. Lakers, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, DEC. 2
JV/Varsity Girls Basketball - Home vs. Marlette, 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m. Varsity 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3
Junior High Girls Basketball - At Ubly, 5:30 p.m. Bus leaves around 4:45 p.m.
Junior High Wrestling - At Cass City, with Lakers, Memphis, 5:30 p.m. See Coach Hollingsworth for departure time.

THURSDAY, DEC. 4
No Events Scheduled

FRIDAY, DEC. 5
JV/Varsity Girls Basketball - At Harbor Beach, JV 6 p.m., Varsity 7:30 p.m. Bus leaves around 4:50 to 5 p.m.
Junior High Wrestling - At Cass City, League Meet, 4:30 p.m. See Coach Hollingsworth for departure time.

SATURDAY, DEC. 6
Junior High Wrestling, At Caro Invitational, 9:30 a.m. See Coach Hollingsworth for departure time.

SUNDAY, DEC. 7
No Events Scheduled

OTHER CAMPUS EVENTS
Monday - Junior Gymnastics, Elementary School
Tuesday - Softball Pitching, Elementary School
Wednesday - Baker College, Elementary School
Thursday - Destination Imagination, Elementary School
Friday -  Destination Imagination, Elementary School
Friday - Junior High Dance, Junior High
Saturday - Youth Basketball, Junior High
Saturday - Softball Hitting, High School Cage
Saturday - High School Christmas Dance, High School

UPCOMING NOTEWORTHY EVENTS
NHS Blood Drive, High School, Tuesday, Dec. 9. 
Middle School Band, Choir Concert, Tuesday, Dec. 9
First Boys JV/Varsity Basketball Game, Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Kingston
First Varsity Wrestling Meet, Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Millington
High School Band, Choir Concert, Friday, Dec. 12
ACT Testing, Saturday, Dec. 13 at High School


 
 




 
 


 

The WEEK - Nov. 24-30, 2014

Here are Bad Axe athletic events for the week of Nov. 24-30, 2014.

MONDAY, NOV. 24
Junior High Basketball - Home vs. Harbor Beach, 5:30 p.m.
Junior High Wrestling - At Lakers, with Marlette and Sandusky, 5:30 p.m. See Coach Hollingsworth for leave time.
JV/Varsity Girls Scrimmage - At Pinconning, 6 p.m. Bus leaves at 4:15 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOV. 25
NEWSPAPER PHOTOS - 3:30 p.m. High School Gym. VARSITY ONLY.
JV/Varsity Basketball Scrimmage - Home with North Huron, Memphis and Croswell-Lexington, 5:30 p.m. All 3 courts at high school. 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26
No events scheduled

THURSDAY, NOV. 27 - HAPPY THANKSGIVING
No events scheduled

FRIDAY, NOV. 28
No events scheduled

SATURDAY, NOV. 29
No events scheduled

SUNDAY, NOV. 30
No events scheduled


OTHER CAMPUS EVENTS
Monday - Junior Gymnastics, Elementary School

Tuesday - Softball Pitching, Elementary School
Youth Girls Basketball Scrimmage, Junior High Gym

Wednesday - Baker College, Elementary School

Thursday - Thanksgiving

Friday - Destination Imagination, Elementary School

Saturday - Youth Basketball - Junior High Gym


UPCOMING NOTEWORTHY EVENTS
Tuesday, Dec. 2 - First Girls JV/Varsity Game - Home vs. Marlette, 6 p.m. JV
Friday, Dec. 5 - Junior High Dance, Junior High
Saturday, Dec. 6 - High School Dance, High School

THE WEEK - NOV. 17-23, 2014

Here are Bad Axe athletic events for the week of Nov. 17-23, 2014.

MONDAY, NOV. 17
Junior High Girls Basketball - At Lakers, 5:30 p.m. Bus 4:45 p.m.
JV/Varsity Girls Basketball - Scrimmage At Akron-Fairgrove, Bus 5:15 p.m. 
Junior High Wrestling - At Memphis, 5:30 p.m. Departure Time, TBA. See Coach Hollingsworth for time.
BOYS JV/VARSITY BASKETBALL PRACTICE START DATE, High School Gym
VARSITY WRESTLING PRACTICE START DATE, Junior High Aux Gym

TUESDAY, NOV. 18
No events scheduled

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19
Junior High Girls Basketball - Home vs. Ubly, 5:30 p.m. 

THURSDAY, NOV. 20
No events scheduled

FRIDAY, NOV. 21
No events scheduled

OTHER CAMPUS EVENTS
Monday -  Junior Gymnastics, Elementary School

Tuesday -Softball Pitching - Elementary School

Wednesday - Baker College - Elementary School

Thursday - Destination Imagination, Elementary School

Friday - BAHS Fall Play - 7:30 p.m. HS Cafe
Destination Imagination, Elementary School

Saturday - YFC Christmas Auction, Junior High Gym, 7 a.m.
BAHS Fall Play, 7:30 p.m. HS Cafe

Sunday - BAHS Fall Play, 2 p.m. HS Cafe

NOTEWORTHY UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, Nov. 24 - Girls Basketball Scrimmage at Pinconning

Tuesday, Nov. 25 - Home Boys Basketball Scrimmage, 5:30 p.m. Teams include Bad Axe, Memphis, North Huron and Croswell-Lexington

First Girls JV/Varsity Game - Tuesday, Dec. 2 vs. Marlette, JV 6 p.m.

THE WEEK - Nov. 3-9, 2014

Here are Bad Axe athletic events slated for the week of Nov. 3-9, 2014.

MONDAY, NOV. 3
Volleyball Districts - at Bad Axe High School
6 p.m. - Harbor Beach vs Lakers, 6 p.m.
7:30 p.m. - Bad Axe vs. USA, 7:30 p.m.

Girls Junior High Basketball - Harbor Beach at Bad Axe, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOV. 4
No events scheduled 

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5
Volleyball Districts - at Bad Axe High School
6 p.m. - Bad Axe/USA winner vs. Ubly
7:30 p.m. - Harbor Beach/Lakers winner vs. Cass City

Girls Junior High Basketball - Lakers at Bad Axe, 5:30 p.m.
MHSAA Sportsmanship Summit at SVSU, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Six students will be attending: Natalie Breault, Mikayla Essenmacher, Kaitlyn Kociba, Tommy Morneau, Clark Brady and Mason Krug. 

THURSDAY, NOV. 6
Volleyball Districts - at Bad Axe High School
7 p.m. - Championship

FRIDAY, NOV. 7
No events scheduled

SATURDAY, NOV. 8
Junior High Wrestling - At Mayville Invitational, 9 a.m. See Coach Hollingsworth for details.

SUNDAY, NOV. 9
No events scheduled

OTHER CAMPUS EVENTS
Monday - Junior Gymnastics, Elementary School

Tuesday - Softball Pitching, Elementary School
Family Enrichment, Elementary School

Wednesday - Baker College, Elementary School

Thursday - Parent-Teacher Conferences, 1/2 Day
Softball Pitching - Elementary School

Friday - Parent-Teacher Conferences, 1/2 Day
Mistletoe Market Set up - Junior High

Saturday - Mistletoe Market, Junior High
Softball - High School Cage

UPCOMING
1. Girls JV/Varsity Basketball Practice Starts Nov. 10
2. Boys JV/Varsity Basektball Practice Starts Nov. 17
3. Varsity Wrestling Practice Starts Nov. 17

Hatchets vs. Yellowjackets

Courtesy Huron Daily Tribune

BAD AXE — Prior to the announcement of the MHSAA’s football playoff pairings last Sunday evening, Bad Axe was uncertain if it had played its last game of the season just a few days prior. 

The Hatchets sat at 5-4 on the year, missing automatically qualifying for the playoffs by a game. 

However, the team garnered enough playoff points during the course of the regular season to earn its way into postseason play. 

The playoff berth was the first for the program since 2001, snapping a streak of 13 consecutive seasons without making the postseason. 

“It should be exciting,” said Bad Axe coach Mark Manenti. “It should be exciting for everybody. For the kids, for the coaching staff, for the community — for all of us.”

While the Hatchets had a streak they were happy to break, their opponent Ithaca has one it would like to keep intact. 

The Yellowjackets (9-0) are currently riding the nation’s longest active win streak at 65 games. They are also the four-time defending Division 6 state champions. 

“It’s great for our program,” Manenti said of the chance to play Ithaca. “You’ve got to look at something — these kids can achieve something that nobody else can achieve right now. They have a chance to go to the playoffs and have a chance to go beat a team that’s been undefeated pretty much for five years.”

Bad Axe will try to tackle that task beginning at 7 p.m. Friday at Ithaca in its Division 6 district opener. 

Despite the nearly two-and-a-half hour distance between the two schools, they do have something in common, which started with a chance encounter at a football coaching clinic in the offseason. 

Manenti said he and offensive coordinator Kelly Durr went to the clinic, with Manenti handling the defensive duties and Durr taking in some offensive presentations. One that happened to resonate with Durr was on the spread offense, put on by Ithaca coaches. 

Manenti said he gave Durr the thumbs-up to explore it further, which eventually led to a meeting with the Ithaca staff earlier this year. 

“They were willing to sit down and talk to us and show us what they do, how they do it, and why they do it,” Manenti said. “They invited us to come down and they were very good to us, treated us with respect, and showed us everything they did.”

Bad Axe took that valuable experience and ran with it, literally. Spearheaded by Durr, the Hatchets installed a spread option attack that has really taken off this season. 

“It’s been successful,” Manenti said. 

While Bad Axe focuses more on running out of the spread, the Yellowjackets tend to throw the ball a little more.

“We’re both going to be similar offensively,” Manenti said. “What they do real well that we haven’t tapped into this year yet is they can pass the ball. They pass the ball very well.”

Manenti said that is a concern his team will look to address this week leading up to Friday. 

“If you watch film on them, even when they are in the playoffs, people really don’t know how to defend them,” he said of the difficult task his defense will face. 

Aside from the opportunity to face a perennial state powerhouse, simply taking the next step into the playoffs is big for a program that hadn’t won more than three games in a season since that 2001 playoff year. 

Things started out bad for the Hatchets this season after they were shutout by Harbor Beach. Despite losing a heartbreaking 34-32 contest to playoff-bound Marlette, the game proved to be the one that turned around the season. 

“I think the kids at that point finally realized that they were able to stick with a team that was supposed to be a playoff contender and compete for their division,” Manenti said. “Then it all just snowballed from there. They started believing in themselves.”

Added Manenti on the turnaround: “The No. 1 reason is the kids. Their work ethic has been very good this year.”