One Season Ends for Another to Begin

It was a sad couple of days for Beal City High School when both boys’ and girls’ basketball took the court for the final time this season.  Although neither team finished the way that they had hoped to come out, both teams had some star moments this season.

To start off with the girls’ team, they finished sixth in the Highland Conference per MaxPreps.com with a 4-10 league play record and a 5-16 overall record.   One standout game they had was against Evart on February 9 when they pulled off a 55-50 win.  A week later, Beal City girls had another impressive win of 48-13 over Marion.  With the season ending, Beal City will miss the seniors lost this year that include: Haley McMullen, Mackenzie Schneider, and Natalie Gross.  The remaining girls will look to build upon this past season while heading into next season with key returners: Ashley Reihl, Alex Fussman, and Mackenzie Yuncker.

On the boys’ side, Beal City finished with a third-place finish in the Highland Conference per MaxPreps.com with a 8-5 league play record and a 11-9 overall record.  One of the boys’ standout games was on February 7 against Sacred Heart.  They walked away with a whopping 67-38 win against Sacred Heart.  This was also Coach Cam Gatrell’s 200^th career win.  Another impressive game by the boys was on March 2 when Beal City pulled off the close win against the Lake City Trojans winning 73-67.  Since the season has come to the end, the boys’ team has had to say goodbye to one lone senior, Kyle Yuncker.  The team will have a strong returning class for next year to build upon the positives from this season which will be led by: Lucas Schumacher, Ryan Schafer, and Logan Chillman.

Although it is sad to know that the winter sports season has come to an end on the court, there are plenty of new activities starting up this spring.  Both softball and baseball practice started yesterday, March 13.  They start games up and hit the ground running towards the end of March and the beginning of April.  Both boys’ and girls’ track and field also start up to help finish out the school year on a high athletic note.  We want to wish all the upcoming sports teams the best of luck to start off their seasons!  #GoAggies

By: Valerie Johnson

We Wore Blue for Kelly Pung

Coach Antcliff with the girl's during a timeout.

Last Tuesday, February 21, 2017, Beal City Athletics did something truly amazing.  They came together as a community to bring hope and awareness for Kelly Pung’s fight against cancer during Beal City’s girls’ basketball game against the NMC Comets.  The girl’s team may not have pulled out a win in the game, but awareness was brought to a fantastic cause.

The game got off to a slow start for the Aggies when after the first quarter they were down 28-2.  The lone score for the Aggies was made off of an offensive rebound by sophomore, Alex Fussman.  She continued to have an impressive night for the Aggies by nailing a three late in the fourth quarter and by taking charge of the Aggie offense.

Another impressive standout for the Aggies that night was junior, Ashley Reihl.  She continuously battled on both the offensive and especially the defensive side of the ball for rebounds.  These are stats that not very many people pay attention to, so we wanted to give her some credit.  She impressed us enough with these behind the scene battles to win Athlete of the Week honors from our blog staff for last week.

Although the final score for the game was not in Beal City’s favor finishing 18-68, there was still a win on the night.  Beal City students, staff, and community members helped raise a whopping $4,186.  Some of the areas that raised money were the t-shirts that people were able to purchase with the saying, “I Wear Blue for Kelly Pung” on the back.  As a spectator, the front truly captured my attention reading, “Not all Cancer is Pink.”  Along with the t-shirts, there was a bake sale, bracelets for sale, and a 50/50 raffle.  To truly capture the Beal City spirit though, one had to be there for the halftime half-court shot.  This was run by Beal City’s own “Blue Crew,” an organization run by Beal City High School students, that raised an additional $57 to help Kelly’s fight.  Watch the video below to catch a couple lucky participants drain their half court shot!

By: Valerie Johnson

Aggies Lose a Tough One

The Aggies girls varsity basketball team was defeated on Thursday, February 23 by the Manton Rangers with a final score of 66-38. Manton controlled the game from the start despite a strong effort from the Aggies.

The loss drops the Aggies to 5-15, with an upcoming neutral torunament on Wednesday, March 1. The tournament will be held at Beaverton High School. The tournament will include opponents from within the district as well as Farewell Area Schools and Montabella High School. The Aggies will be looking to avenge an early season loss to Montebella in which they were defeated 49-27. 

Make sure to come out and support our Beal City Aggie girls this Wednesday, March 1 at Beaverton High!  

Aggies Keeping Busy

Beal City Aggie Athletics has a busy week ahead of them for both boys and girls’ basketball. 

For starters, Aggie boys take on Baldwin at Baldwin tonight (February 14, 2017) at 7:30pm.  Baldwin is currently 12-1 while Beal City is 9-4.  It will be a tough match-up for the Aggies, but if the boys are able to keep Baldwin below their 19.6-point average in the third quarter and if Beal City can match their 14.8-point average in the second quarter, there should be a fighting chance for Beal City to come out with a win.

The next basketball game up for the boys will be a conference match-up on February 16, 2017 at Marion.  This game will also start at 7:30pm.  In the last game between the two teams in January, Beal City Aggies pulled off a 64-35 win over the Eagles.  After that game, the boys turn back into students to hand the athletics over to the girls to finish out the week.

The Beal City Aggie girls take on Marion at Marion on Friday, February 17, 2017 at 7:30pm.  This is a conference game between the two teams.  In the last match-up between the Aggies and the Eagles, Beal City pulled off a big win of 56-9.  It looks to be another big game for the Aggie Athletic program since the girl’s will have all week to prepare for the game.

Also, reminder to check out our social media pages! You will see more daily and weekly material available on all your favorite Aggie Athletic events.

By: Valerie Johnson

Beal City Boys Dominate Rival Irishmen on the Road

On Tuesday night in a packed Sacred Heart Academy gymnasium, Beal City varsity boys basketball head coach Cam Gatrell picked up his 200th career win during a rout of rival Sacred Heart Academy. 

The Aggies jumped out to an early 12-6 lead midway through the first quarter, and lead 10-17 after one. However, the Irish would fight back and eventually cut the lead to three. 

After a Beal City timeout, the Aggies would respond which was capped off with freshman Logan Chillman's layup in the closing seconds. Beal City would go into the locker room leading 32-21. 

From there, juniors Lucas Schumacher and Ryan Schafer would get heat up from the field. Schafer scored eight straight points himself to grow the Aggie lead to 14. Schumacher would knock down back to back triples after that and the lead was 20 after three quarters. 

Beal City would cruise the rest of the way with much delight to the very well traveling 

Aggie fans. The starters would receive a nice ovation as they headed to the bench late in the fourth quarter. Beal City would go on to win the game 68-37.

The Aggies were paced by Schumacher who finished with 20 points and Schafer who finished wth 17. Kyle Yunker also added 10.

On the other side, Sacred Heart was lead by Joe Methner with 16, and Colten Nelson with nine in the losing effort..

With the big road win, the Aggies are 8-4 on the year. They will travel to Evart (4-6) to face the Wildcats Friday, February 10 at 7:30. The boys are playing some of their best basketball of the season so be sure to make the trip! 

Boys Varsity Basketball Game Preview

After a huge comeback win against rival Sacred Heart Academy earlier in the year, the Beal City's boys varsity basketball team will once again face off with the Irish. However, this time the game is on the road. The boys games begin at 6:00 on Tuesday, February 7 (tonight), at Sacred Heart with j.v. followed by varsity at 7:30.  The varsity will look to sweep the season series against SHA and improve to 8-4 on the season with a win. Come out and support the boys on the road tonight!
Follow us on Twitter @bcaggieathletic for live video and updates! Go Aggies!

(Photo taken by Skip Taylor of MI Prep Zone on 12/20/16)

By Joey Paciero

Boy's Basketball Game Tomorrow!

Boy's Varsity Basketball

Opponent: McBain
When: February 2nd at 7:30 pm
Where: Beal City High School

The boy's basketball team takes on McBain High School, hoping to hand McBain their first loss of their season (13-0). The teams met once before this season with McBain winning by a final score of 73-32. Come watch as men's team tries to settle the score at home this Thursday.

By: Landon Dillion