September 2018 Issue of Varsity Monthly Thumb Magazine

Players Of The Month
Varsity Monthly Thumb is proud to announce our new sponsor for the Players
of the Month, VG’s Grocery of Caro. Now, not only will the players of
the month be featured in the magazine and recieve a stunning Player of the
Month T-Shirt, VG’s will also provide each athlete with a $25 gift Card!!
It would be difficult for Hunter James to improve on a junior year in which he earned first-team allstate
recognition and was named 8-man Player of the Year by the Thumb Sportswriters Association.
But Kingston’s senior quarterback is well on his way. After leading the Cardinals to a playoff berth in
2017, James has his squad in position to have one of the program’s best seasons
ever. Through three games, the Cardinals are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents
by a combined 184-45. Despite the Kingston offense taking its foot off the
gas pedal in the second half of its games, James still has thrown for nine touchdowns
and ran for five more.
Last season, the 6-foot son of Dave and Stacey James passed for 1,269 yards
and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 777 yards and 12 touchdowns. James, also plays
basketball and baseball, is unsure about his college plans, or if he will play football
at the next level. But one thing he is sure of is that sports will continue to be a
part of his life, even after his playing days are over. “I plan to stick with being an
MHSAA official for football, basketball and baseball,” he said. “It is a great way to
make a few bucks and stay involved with the sports I love.”
Hunter James
James gave credit to his family, friends, and many coaches he has had over
the years for his athletic success. He added that he cherishes each football battle he fights along with his
teammates. “I’m not sure if playing in college would ever match the feeling of playing on Friday nights
under the lights with the same kids I’ve know since I could walk.”
Ashlin Murphy has made a smooth transition from an extra long softball season, into the 2018 volleyball season.
It has been so smooth, in fact, that Murphy has played well enough to be named Varsity Monthly’s first female Player
of the Month for the new high school sports season.
The Caro senior wrapped up her 2017 softball season in early June, then continued
playing high level competition for the Millington Cardinals 18-and-under summer
team until August. Less than a month after hanging up her softball spikes, Murphy was
leading the Caro volleyball team to a win in its first tournament of the season.
And the winning didn’t stop there, with the middle hitter leading the Tigers in blocks
and kills in the majority of their matches, Caro volleyball has one of its best starts to the
season in school history with an 18-4-4 record through mid-September.
In the season-opening win, at the August Roscommon Invitational, Murphy led the
team with 52 kills and 22 blocks. The following week, she helped the Tigers to a runnerup
finish at the 12-team Swan Valley Invitational with team bests of 32 kills and 19
blocks. In the Swan Valley tournament, Caro defeated Class A Bay City Central before
losing 2-1 to Class A Saginaw Heritage.
Ashlin Murphy
6 • Varsity Monthly thumb edition • September 2018 • View FREE on-line at www.VarsityMonthlyThumb.com Contact us at 989 672 0604