Put-in-Bay School
Put-in-Bay, Ohio
Contact: Put-in-Bay School Principal
Steve Poe 419-285-3614
Ohio versus Michigan - Island Style
Put-in-Bay, Ohio plays Mackinac Island, Michigan
High School Basketball Teams Compete
December, 2009
For Immediate Release
Put-in-Bay (South Bass Island), Ohio............
The battle between two Great Lake Island high schools will take place on Friday, December 11, 2009, on Put-in-Bay, Ohio when the Put-in-Bay Panthers host the Mackinac Island, Michigan Lakers in girls' and boys' basketball. The girls' game will tip-off at 6:00 pm, followed by the boys' game, at the Jim Poulos Recreation Center gym, Put-in-Bay School.
This is not the first time these two island school districts have played one another. Put-in-Bay lost both games of a basketball double-header when they traveled to Mackinac Island on December 29, 1994. Susan Harrington, the coach at that time, recalls Mackinac's gymnasium and that first meeting between the two schools, "Their gym was so small that the spectators had to watch the game via closed circuit television from the classrooms next to the gym." When Mackinac Island visited Put-in-Bay the following year, Coach Harrington's boys' team executed an up-tempo style on Put-in-Bay's "full-size court" to defeat the Lakers.
There are several similarities between the two islands. Mackinac Island, in Lake Michigan, is a top Midwest resort island, and 79 students attend grades K through 12. Put-in-Bay is also a popular tourist island destination, located in Lake Erie, and has 86 students in pre-K through 12. The Lakers compete in a league with other island districts in northern Michigan and schools in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Put-in-Bay, however, plays an independent schedule of freshman teams from the Ohio mainland, along with a couple of varsity game against smaller schools. In order to travel to either of the islands, one must either take a ferry boat, or fly. The Mackinac Lakers and coaches will travel aboard Miller Ferry to Put-in-Bay, tour the island, and spend the night before heading back for the nine hour bus ride back to Saint Ignace, Michigan, where they will again board a ferry to return home to Mackinac Island.
Several island businesses are donating services and entertainment during the Laker's visit to Put-in-Bay. Island hosts and donors include the Skyway, Bay Lodging, South Shore Condos, Put-in-Bay Island Transportation, Heineman Winery and Crystal Cave,Tipper's, Miller Boat Line, Perry's Cave and Family Fun Center, and Perry's Memorial Welcome Center. The Skyway Restaurant will provide a spaghetti dinner to the Mackinac team, coaches and fans. The public is welcome to attend the games, and also enjoy a Christmas Community Bazaar. The Bay Lodging Hotel is offering rooms at a discount, call 419-341-0316. Miller Ferries will be running trips from Catawba to Put-in-Bay, see www.millerferry.com or call 800-500-2421 for schedules. Additional Put-in-Bay information can be found at the Put-in-Bay Chamber website www.visitputinbay.com.
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