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.
Lax Regional Finals on MHSAA.tv
May 22, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director
Plans have been finalized for broadcasting live streaming video of Lacrosse Regional Semifinals at two sites next week on MHSAA.tv.
On Tuesday (May 26), the Division 2-Region 6 Boys Lacrosse Semifinal games at Okemos High School will be streamed live, with DeWitt (11-6) facing Haslett/Williamston (9-9) in the opening game at 5:30 p.m. followed by the host Okemos Chiefs (14-2) taking on Portage Northern (13-7) in the nightcap at 7.
Then Wednesday (May 27), the Division 1-Region 4 Girls Lacrosse Semifinal games at Lake Orion High School will be televised, with Midland Dow (12-0) vs. Hartland (11-5) in the first game at 5:30 p.m. and the second game featuring Lake Orion (11-4) against Waterford Kettering (2-10-1) at 7 p.m.
The games at Okemos feature the top three seeded teams in the region. Top-ranked Okemos will be facing fifth-seeded Northern for the first time this season, while second-seeded Haslett/Williamston and third-seeded DeWitt will be playing for the third time. DeWitt won each of the first two games by a single goal.
Hartland and Midland Dow are the fifth and seventh-ranked teams, respectively, in Division 2 Laxpower.com rankings. None of the four girls semifinalists have squared off against each other this season.
The games are being produced by MHSAA members participating in the School Broadcast Program. The games at Okemos will be produced by Haslett High School, and the games at Lake Orion will be covered by Davison High School.
The games are available live and for the following 72 hours on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv, and are part of a promotion allowing subscribers to follow three weekends of MHSAA spring tournament action with a special all-access pass being offered by the NFHS Network.
Between now and June 15, the NFHS Network is offering its Month Pass for just $9.95, 33 percent off the normal retail price. The pass will provide access to more than 100 hours of live programming of spring Finals. Click here to take advantage of this offer.
Finals coverage begins on May 30, with live coverage of the running events at the MHSAA Track & Field Finals. Here’s the complete spring Finals live streaming schedule:
- May 30 – Track Finals – Running events – Rockford (L.P. Div. 1), Zeeland (L.P. Div. 2), Comstock Park (L.P. Div. 3, Hudsonville (L.P. Div. 4), Kingsford (U.P.) – Coverage begins at 10 a.m.
- June 6 – Lacrosse Finals – Rockford (Girls), TBA (Boys – Games will be at Troy Athens, Howell or East Grand Rapids – Site announced after Semifinals) – Two games at each site, coverage begins at 2 p.m.
- June 11-13 – Baseball-Softball Semifinals & Finals – Michigan State University – Four games in each sport-each day, coverage begins at 9 a.m. each day
- June 12-13 – L.P. Girls Soccer Finals – Michigan State University – Two games each day, beginning at 1 p.m.
Plans for other pre-Finals event coverage by SBP schools is pending. Coverage will be announced as arrangements are confirmed.
The School Broadcast Program, powered by PlayOn! Sports, is a platform which schools can utilize to reach members of their community about activities taking place in their buildings, providing recognition for students while at the same time giving them hands-on opportunities to gain broadcasting experience and providing schools an opportunity to realize additional revenues for their programs. Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.