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Another Title for Alessi, Brother Rice
June 7, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
TROY – Along with a fortunate few Saturday, Jason Alessi finished his senior year with a win – and an MHSAA title.
But there can’t be many over the last 90 years who have contributed to seven Finals championships.
The Birmingham Brother Rice senior capped an incredibly successful career by helping the Warriors to their 10th straight Division 1 title after also helping Brother Rice to its third straight Division 2 football championship in the fall.
This spring presented its own set of challenges for Alessi and the Warriors, who lost to an in-state opponent (eventual Division 2 champ Detroit Country Day) for the first time since 2002. But the end result proved typical of an Alessi-led team – Brother Rice dominated Detroit Catholic Central 23-7 in his final championship game.
“As an athlete, you always want to do more. After that one championship, you want the next. There’s always bigger and better things,” Alessi said. “I’ve been lucky enough to win seven overall and four in just lacrosse. Hopefully I can keep that going in my future.
“As a senior there’s always an amount of pressure to go out on top and win a state championship. And finally that’s off our shoulders, and we can say at Brother Rice that we were champions. Not too many people can say that across the state or country, but we’re fortunate that we can say that.”
Brother Rice and DCC had met twice before this season; the Warriors won 15-9 and then 12-8 in the Detroit Catholic League Division 1 championship game.
So it was a little bit shocking when Brother Rice (19-4) jumped out to a 4-0 lead after just nine minutes and led 16-3 at halftime.
Alessi, who tied an MHSAA Finals record with six goals in the 2013 championship game, scored Saturday’s first and finished this time with four goals and three assists. But sophomore Morgan Macko tied that record with six goals, to go with two assists, and junior John Lockwood and senior Joe Dudley both added three goals.
“Our guys came out pumped. When you get CC in the state championship game, that’s a huge rivalry on any day let alone a Saturday in June,” Brother Rice first-year coach Ajay Chawla said. “They had some great looks early, and I think they deflated CC pretty early. When you take the air out of a team like that, the rest of the game, you kind of own it.
“All of our guys played awesome today. Alessi’s … a guy who comes around once every 15, 20 years. You’ve gotta take advantage of him when you have him. He’s been awesome for us, and today he was a big-time leader for us.”
Brother Rice broke its 2007 MHSAA Finals record of 17 goals, and the teams together set a record with 30 goals in a championship game, three more than Country Day and East Grand Rapids combined to score in the 2005 Division 2 Final.
But that’s little consolation for the Shamrocks (15-6), who made their fourth championship game appearance in the MHSAA tournament’s 10-year history and first since falling to Brother Rice in 2010.
DCC defeated Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 15-14 in overtime in Wednesday’s Semifinal, and Shamrocks coach Dave Wilson felt that effort might’ve zapped a little bit of his team’s usually energy.
“The lockerroom didn’t feel good. The bus ride didn’t feel good. I just thought that there was a lack of energy that we had all year,” Wilson said. “I would have to say out of a 48-minute game, we had six to eight minutes of possession time. We’re the number one scoring team in the state at 15.6 goals per game; we had seven goals.
“Give Rice credit. They dominated the tempo of the game by keeping possession. And it’s a mathematical certainty that every time you give the other team the ball, eventually they are going to score and they’re going to score a lot.”
Senior Jack Van Acker scored three goals to lead the Shamrocks.
Alessi initially committed to play college lacrosse next season at the University of Michigan, but since has chosen to continue his football career at Yale University. He’s also in the MHSAA football record book for multiple kicking accomplishments and two kickoff returns – including a 91-yarder for a touchdown during the Warriors’ 2012 championship game win over Muskegon.
“In high school, I’ve had a bunch of great times, to say the least,” Alessi said. “A bunch of memories to look back on and tell my kids, and (making) all my friends. It’s unreal almost.
“The fans every Friday night, and then coming in for lacrosse. … I’ll sure miss it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Birmingham Brother Rice players, including Morgan Macko (13) celebrate a goal Saturday. (Middle) Brother Rice’s Brian Cosgrove walls off Detroit Catholic Central’s Marc Longe.
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Clay, Forest Hills Central Score D2 Fame
June 11, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
HOWELL — Bryce Clay's contributions to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central's first MHSAA boys lacrosse championship were minimal.
He can be cut some slack, however. He was only in fourth grade, unable to perform an on-field role for the Rangers.
"Back in 2010, I was the water boy for them as a youngster," Clay said. "They won a state title that year. I looked up to guys like Collin Schlosser, an All-American, Chris Bosscher. I just wanted to be like them someday. It's a humbling experience looking up to them and to finally be on the level they were on."
Clay's role is considerably more significant these days.
He broke the state single-season goal-scoring record on Saturday, scoring three times for the Rangers in a 10-6 victory over rival East Grand Rapids in the MHSAA Division 2 championship game at Parker Middle School.
With 104 goals in 22 games, he eclipsed the mark of 102 set by Colin Theisen of Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in 2015. Add that to the 81 goals he scored last season, and Clay is on pace to obliterate the state record of 276 career goals — because, you see, he's only a sophomore.
It's a fact that excites Forest Hills Central faithful and is a source of angst for rivals.
"He's an absolute animal," said Rangers junior Drew Bailey, who scored the tie-breaking goal with 8:55 left in the game. "He's hard to defend. He's physical. He finishes every shot. He's only a sophomore. He has a huge future ahead of him."
"You have to pay attention to Bryce," said East Grand Rapids coach Rick DeBlasio, whose team lost three times this season to the Rangers. "He's one of the best attack guys. Unfortunately for us, he's only a sophomore."
Clay had an instant impact when he arrived in high school because he's been playing the game longer than most teenagers. He was in first grade when he joined a youth league, playing on the same team with current teammate Patrick English and East Grand Rapids star Hub Hejna.
"I fell in love with it at an early age," said Clay, whose brother Andrew is a senior defender for the Rangers. "If you want to be good at it, you've got to start early."
Clay may be young, but he's mature enough to spread the credit for one of the greatest individual lacrosse seasons since the MHSAA began sponsoring the sport in 2005.
He was held off the scoresheet in the first half, yet the Rangers held a 3-2 lead in the lowest-scoring first half ever in an MHSAA Boys Lacrosse Final. Tanner Hallock scored the first two goals of the game off passes from Bailey, while Max Kuiper had the third goal for the Rangers. Ben Keller and Drew Poortenga scored for the Pioneers.
"They run a heavy zone, which can be tough for a player," Clay said. "But I've got great teammates who can really move the ball and play a great style of lacrosse. My success is from my teammates. I owe everything to them. We're all one big family, and we love to play with each other.
"Honestly, if I'm not having a great day, guys like Tanner Hallock, Max Kuiper, Drew Bailey, Jack Uecker can carry the team. They can get it done in crunch time."
East Grand Rapids (15-6) never led, falling behind 1-0 on Hallock's goal 3:29 into the first quarter. But the Pioneers kept battling, getting a huge momentum boost heading into the final quarter when Hejna scored with three seconds left in the third to tie the game, 5-5.
"We never got into our game," DeBlasio said. "We played way too much defense and had difficulty with transition when we had the ball. When you don't play offense, it's hard to get into a rhythm. We struggled. When we went into the fourth quarter tied with these guys, even knowing how powerful they are at scoring, I liked our chances."
Momentum can be fleeting, however, especially against an offense as dangerous as Forest Hills Central's.
Bailey took a pass from English in front of the net and buried a low shot with 8:55 left in the game to put the Rangers ahead for good, 6-5.
"We started that quarter in a new formation, so we could get different looks," Bailey said. "I knew I was going to be open at the crease. I just had to finish my shot."
Bailey's goal ignited a three-goal outburst by the Rangers, as English scored with 5:46 left and Uecker tallied with 2:50 on the clock.
Hejna kept the issue in doubt when he completed his hat trick with 1:46 remaining, cutting Forest Hills Central's lead to 8-6.
Clay erased all doubt when he scored into an empty net with 51 seconds on the clock. Ty Collins completed the scoring with two seconds left.
Finally, the Rangers (20-2) were back on top of Division 2 lacrosse after losing to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood by one goal each of the last three seasons, including overtime Semifinal losses in 2014 and 2015.
"I'm fairly new to the program, so I haven't experienced the total disappointment that these kids have,” second-year Forest Hills Central coach Jake Seiler said. “They won it in '12 and were in it in '13. They've come so close, this group of seniors. They've tasted it, but they haven't won until today. I'm just excited we were able to give these seniors the championship they've been looking for since their freshman season."
Kadin Schermers made seven saves for the Rangers, while Nick Milanowski made 12 for the Pioneers.
PHOTOS: (Top) Forest Hills Central junior Ty Collins looks upfield during Saturday’s Division 2 Final in Howell. (Middle) Sophomore Nick Milanowski guards the goal for East Grand Rapids.