Finals Preview: Champs Again Favorites
June 7, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan has known only one MHSAA Division 1 boys lacrosse champion, Birmingham Brother Rice. And Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central is the Division 2 power of late, with two titles in three seasons and the possibility of adding another this weekend.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern will attempt to break the Warriors' eight-season championship in the Division 1 Final at East Grand Rapids. And Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood should provide a formidable foe to Forest Hills Central as it looks to avenge a regular-season finale loss to the Rangers.
The Division 1 Final begins at 2 p.m., followed by the Division 2 Final at 4:30. Click for more information including all results from this season's tournament. Both finals also will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and broadcast on MHSAANetwork.com, and shown next week on Comcast.
Here's a brief look at the four teams vying for titles (player statistics do not include Semifinals):
Division 1
BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 17-5, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League Division I
Coach: Rob Ambrose, 20th season (373-45)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA championships (most recent 2012).
Best wins: 19-0 over No. 4 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 14-13 and 16-10 over No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central, 22-9 over No. 2 Clarkston in Semifinal, 13-5 over Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Players to watch: J.P. Forester, sr. A (66 goals, 19 assists); Graham Macko, sr. A (45 goals, 17 assists); Sergio Perkovic, sr. A/M (49 goals, 26 assists), Jason Alessi, jr. A/M (30 goals, 47 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice has won all eight titles since the MHSAA began sponsoring boys lacrosse and had only one scare, against rival DCC, in-state this season. The Warriors finished 3-5 against out-of-state competition facing top teams from Ohio, Indiana and Ontario.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN/EASTERN
Record/rank: 15-7, No. 6 at end of regular season
League finish: Third in O-K Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mark Lardieri, first season (15-7)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up in 2011.
Best wins: 10-8 over No. 7 Grand Haven, 14-8 over No. 8 Holland West Ottawa, 13-11 over No. 4 Detroit U-D Jesuit in Regional Final, 11-10 (OT) over No. 5 South Lyon in Semifinal.
Players to watch: Bobby Pelton, soph. M; Connor Sullivan, sr. A/M; Bennett Dipzinski, sr. D. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Northern/Eastern closed with two losses (including one to Division 2 finalist Cranbrook-Kingswood), but has advanced with three straight wins of two or fewer goals. Northern/Eastern also avenged two of its regular-season losses – coming back to beat both West Ottawa and Division 2 No. 4 East Grand Rapids in their second meetings.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK-KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 16-6, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic High School League Division II
Coach: Mat Wilson, second season (31-13)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2006, runner-up 2007.
Best wins: 16-8 over No. 9 Warren DeLaSalle, 10-8 and 8-6 (Semifinal) over No. 4 East Grand Rapids, 13-10 over No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (Regional Final), 17-5 over Division 1 No. 9 Brighton, 13-8 over Division 1 No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern.
Players to watch: Matthew Giampetroni, sr. M (67 goals, 38 assists); Taylor Ghesquiere, jr. A (54 goals, 15 assists); Johnny Wagner, soph. A (50 goals, 23 assists), Michael Langdon, soph. D.
Outlook: Half of Cranbrook-Kingswood’s losses came against top-four Division 1 teams, and another was against Norte Dame Prep – a loss the Cranes then avenged in the Regional. They’ll try to do the same now against Forest Hills Central, which beat Cranbrook-Kingswood 15-5 in the regular-season finale.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS CENTRAL
Record/rank: 17-3, No.1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in O-K Conference Tier 1
Coach: Tony Quinn, seventh season (115-31)
Championship history: Division 2 champions 2012, 2010; runner-up 2008.
Best wins: 17-2 over No. 9 Warren DeLaSalle, 15-5 over No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, 22-2 over No. 10 Portage Central in Regional Semifinal, 17-4 over No. 8 Haslett/Williamston in Regional Final, 11-8 over No. 5 Detroit Country Day in Semifinal.
Players to watch: Neil Cunningham, sr. A (39 goals, 19 assists); Andrew Kransberger, jr. A (63 goals, 52 assists); Luke Gerard, sr. A (42 goals, 24 assists); Chris Bosscher, sr. D (44 ground balls).
Outlook: In addition to beating half the top 10 in Division 2, Forest Hills Central also owns five wins over teams ranked in Division 1 at the end of the regular season – including two over Division 1 finalist Forest Hills Northern/Eastern. Those few losses came against No. 4 East Grand Rapids, Division 1 No. 1 Brother Rice and Indiana power Culver Academy. The Rangers have won 12 straight.
PHOTO: Forest Hills Central's Neil Cunningham (left) looks to pass to a teammate during last season's Division 2 Final. He'll be among key players as his team plays for a repeat championship Saturday.
Be the Referee: Boys Lacrosse Helmets
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
April 30, 2024
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Boys Lacrosse Helmets - Listen
We’re talking helmets in boys lacrosse today – and what happens when one comes off during play.
The high school rule differs from the college rule—in high school play, a helmet coming off during normal play is not a foul. If that happens, play is stopped, the player who lost his helmet must come off the field, and the team with possession maintains possession. If the ball is loose, alternate possession is used. The player can return at the next dead ball after play has resumed. In college lacrosse, this would be a technical foul.
When a helmet is knocked off (in high school) as a result of a foul, the helmetless player must leave the field until the next dead ball, and the foul will be administered.
Previous Editions
April 23: Softball Interference - Listen
April 16: Soccer Red Card - Listen
April 9: Batted Baseball Hits Runner - Listen
March 12: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 5: Hockey Officials - Listen
Feb. 27: Less Than 5 - Listen
Feb. 20: Air Ball - Listen
Feb. 13: Hockey Penalties - Listen
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen