Brother Rice Comes Back, Adds to Streak
June 8, 2013
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Few players get the opportunity to end a season with an MHSAA championship.
After Saturday’s 14-10 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, Birmingham Brother Rice senior Sergio Perkovic has done it six times.
Yes, six times.
Brother Rice claimed its ninth MHSAA Finals title in a row with the victory at East Grand Rapids’ Memorial Field, and Perkovic has been a part of the last four.
He also won a pair of titles in football as a junior and this past fall. He played defensive end and tight end.
“There’s no better way of ending a season than winning a state championship,” said Perkovic, who scored three goals against FHN/E. “And since I’ve been at Brother Rice, I’ve been fortunate in more than one sport. To just end my career with a win, there’s no better feeling.”
While the Warriors have dominated the landscape since boys lacrosse became an MHSAA sport, coach Robert Ambrose said each team makes its own mark on the program.
“Every year is different, I think, and it’s not about anything behind us or in the past,” he said. “It’s all about the future, and we don’t take anything for granted. We are very humble in our approach to the game, and on any given day, especially in lacrosse, anything can happen.
“We were fortunate to come out on top, and they played passionate and they played great. We played a very hard-fought game.”
Perkovic said the team doesn’t feel the pressure of continuing the program’s successful tradition each year.
Brother Rice is solely fixated on the present.
“We don’t think about that, and we try to work as hard as we can in the offseason and play a good season,” he said. “If we put our work in, then we’ll have a good chance of doing it again. We just get prepared for each season.”
The Warriors started slowly in Saturday’s Final and fell behind 3-0 in the first period.
They recovered with a superb second period, and tallied four answered goals in the final six minutes of the first half to turn a one-goal deficit into a 9-6 lead at the half.
“It’s always a tough match, especially in the state finals, and it doesn’t matter who we are playing,” Perkovic said. “Forest Hills came out flying, but we brought it back and came together offensively as a senior group.”
FHN/E was hoping to become the first team from Michigan to defeat Brother Rice.
“We had two goals for the whole season,” FHN/E coach Mark Lardieri said. “One was to be the first team in Michigan to beat Brother Rice in 11 years, and one was to win a state championship. We had it lined up perfectly today to do it, but we couldn’t close the door.”
FHN/E kept the game close throughout the second half, but never regained the advantage.
“I’m extremely proud of how far we came to get here,” said FHN/E senior Connor Sullivan, who scored two goals. “We had a lot of injuries and a lot of things going on this season, but we just pulled together in the playoffs and got it done to get here.”
Junior Jason Alessi led Brother Rice with six goals and six assists.
“This was a home game for them, so we knew they were going to come out firing and they got up 3-0,” Alessi said. “But then we began to move around and get shots. I was trying to get open, and my teammates were looking for me.”
Sophomore keeper Grant Lardieri stopped 12 shots for FHN/E, which ended the season with a 15-8 record.
Sean Scadron had nine saves for Brother Rice, which finished 18-5 with all five of its losses coming against out-of-state teams.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brother Rice's James Crowe (14) works to get around Forest Hills Northern/Eastern's Bennett Dipzinski on Saturday. (Middle) Joe Dudley (9) attempts to block FHN/E goalie Grant Lardieri as he looks to pass.
Preview: Finals Tough to Forecast as Past Rivals Set to Meet Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 9, 2023
While the matchups for Saturday’s MHSAA Boys Lacrosse Finals are familiar, the buildup to these championship games seems to have produced wide-open opportunities for all four to finish their seasons with victories.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice is the reigning Division 1 runner-up, but split during the regular season with Saturday opponent Detroit Catholic Central – and with the Shamrocks winners of their most recent meeting in the Catholic League Bishop Tournament final.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central defeated Detroit Country Day 11-8 in last year’s Division 2 Final. But the Yellowjackets won this season’s rematch.
Below is a glance at all four teams playing at East Grand Rapids High School. Rankings are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula used for postseason seeding. The Division 1 Final is set for 2 p.m., with Division 2 following at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.
Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv, with free audio broadcasts on the MHSAA Network.
Division 1
BLOOMFIELD HILLS BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 19-2, No. 1
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central
Coach: Ajay Chawla, 10th season (143-25)
Championship history: 15 Division 1 titles (most recent 2021), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 26-1 over No. 4 Clarkston in Semifinal, 20-10 over No. 10 Brighton in Regional Final, 12-9 over No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central, 21-6 over No. 2 Hartland, 15-12 over Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Players to watch: Christian McNulty, sr. A (75 goals, 17 assists, 31 ground balls); Sam Klein, sr. M (25 goals, 16 assists, 36 ground balls); Ben Eck, sr. M (33 goals, 25 assists, 38 ground balls); Robert MacMichael, sr. D (1 goal, 1 assist, 37 ground balls).
Outlook: After finishing runner-up last season, Brother Rice will play for its 16th Division 1 title with just one in-state loss this spring, 9-8 to DCC on May 13 after defeating the Shamrocks two weeks earlier. The only other defeat came to Cincinnati St. Xavier, also 9-8, and the Warriors have outscored their five playoff opponents by a combined 126-17. McNulty, Eck, Klein and MacMichael all made the all-state first team last season. Senior Hunter and sophomore Hansen Polonkey are second and third, respectively, with 51 and 40 goals this spring, and senior Braden Zarek has 36 and 32 assists.
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 19-2, No. 3
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic League Central
Coach: Dave Wilson, 17th season (249-96)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2018, eight runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 10-9 over No. 2 Hartland in Semifinal, 16-6 over No. 9 Grand Ledge in Regional Final, 9-8 over No. 1 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 8-7 over Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 13-6 over Division 2 No. 3 East Grand Rapids.
Players to watch: Jack Cyrek, sr. A; Cal Taulbee, sr. D; Sean Donahue, sr. A; Logan Yatooma, sr. M. (No statistics submitted.)
Outlook: The Shamrocks are returning to the Final for the first time since 2019, and after a win in the most recent matchup with rival Brother Rice after losing to the Warriors 12-9 in their first meeting this spring. That game was the only time DCC gave up double-digit goals this season, and its only other defeat was 8-4 to Carmel (Ind.) on March 25. Cyrek and Taulbee made the all-state first team last season and are two of 11 seniors on the roster.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 19-2, No. 2
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Chris Garland, fourth season (61-19)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 12-7 (Semifinal) and 15-8 over No. 7 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 20-5 (Regional Semifinal) and 19-6 over No. 6 Grosse Pointe South, 11-10 (OT) over No. 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 7-5 over No. 3 East Grand Rapids, 13-9 over Division 1 No. 9 Grand Ledge.
Players to watch: Caden Daley, jr. A; Will Thompson, jr. A; Joseph Norton, soph. M; Simon Stoller, soph. M. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Country Day returned to the Final last season for the first time since 2014 and is back with its only losses this season to Division 1 No. 2 Hartland and No. 7 Rockford. Daley made the all-state second team last season and is considered among the state’s elite. Attack Ryan Ciacci is the only senior starter, but the expected lineup features several sophomores including goalie Kellen Curby.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS CENTRAL
Record/rank: 17-4, No. 1
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Rainbow Tier 1
Coach: Andy Shira, sixth season (95-11)
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2022), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 8-2 (Regional Semifinal) and 17-3 over No. 4 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 11-9 over No. 3 East Grand Rapids, 14-6 over No. 7 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 14-4 over Division 1 No. 7 Rockford, 10-8 over Division 1 No. 9 Grand Ledge.
Players to watch: Jonah McConnell, sr. A (57 goals, 34 assists); Nolan Hartl, jr. M (34 goals, 19 assists); Crandall Quinn, sr. G (7.5 goals-against average, 217 saves); Magnus Salmon, sr. M (53 goals, 33 assists). (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: The reigning champion will be playing in its sixth Final over the last seven seasons (not counting canceled 2020) and seeking its fourth championship during that span. After a March 28 loss to Country Day, 11-10 in overtime, Forest Hills Central’s defeats came to Division 1 top-ranked Brother Rice, No. 2 Hartland and No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central. Hartl and Quinn made the all-state first team last season, and McConnell made the second. Senior long stick midfielder Sam Sneider and junior face-off Luke Wedder also made the first team. Senior attacks Jake Koning and Graham Bennett both had added 33 goals through the Regional Final.
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice celebrates a goal during last season’s Division 1 Final.