Preview: Leagues of Champions, Part II
June 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Familiarity is the name of the games to be played Saturday at Howell’s Parker Middle School.
For the second straight season, both MHSAA Boys Lacrosse Finals will feature rematches of league rivals.
Detroit Catholic League rivals Birmingham Brother Rice and Detroit Catholic Central will face off at 2 p.m. in the Division 1 championship game for the third straight season. Ottawa-Kent Conference foes East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central will play at 4:30 p.m. for the Division 2 title for the second straight year and after facing off twice already this spring.
Both Finals will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv, available with subscription, with audio available on MHSAANetwork.com. Click for more information, including all tournament results.
Below is a look at all four contenders, with player statistics through Regional Finals.
Division 1
BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 19-4, No. 1 at end of regular-season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League A
Coach: Ajay Chawla, fourth season (74-14)
Championship history: 12 MHSAA championships (most recent 2016).
Best wins: 8-6 over No. 4 Rockford in a Semifinal, 15-14 and 15-10 over No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 17-1 and 25-6 over Division 2 No. 6 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 17-1 over Division 2 No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 14-7 over Division 2 No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle, 15-5 over Division 2 No. 4 Detroit Country Day, 14-9 over Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 10-9 over Victor, N.Y.
Players to watch: Erik Schmidt, sr. A (27 goals, 12 assists); Daniel Reaume, sr. M (38 goals, 22 assists); Jack Kelly, sr. M (70 goals, 25 assists); Nick Dudley, sr. A (44 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice continues to be the only Division 1 champion in the history of boys lacrosse as an MHSAA-sponsored sport. But it’s had to survive a few close calls this spring and will need to be at its best in this next rematch with DCC. All four losses were to out-of-state teams, but the win over Victor was especially significant – it broke Victor’s 50-game winning streak, which reportedly was the longest active streak nationally. Schmidt, Reaume, Kelly and senior defenseman Carson Cochran all were all-staters last season.
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 14-5, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic High School League A
Coach: Dave Wilson, 12th season (164-76)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up six times (most recent 2016).
Best wins: 12-11 (OT) over No. 3 Hartland in a Semifinal, 14-5 over No. 6 Troy Athens in a Regional Final, 13-10 over No. 5 Northville in a Regional Semifinal, 14-8 over Division 2 No. 6 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 16-5 over Division 2 No. 4 Detroit Country Day, 15-9 over Division 2 No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle, 15-10 and 14-11 over Division 2 No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Players to watch: Peter Thompson, jr. A; Brennan Kamish, sr. M; Hunter Braun, sr. G. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: DCC will play in its fourth straight Final, again trying to break Brother Rice’s grip on Division 1, but got within one and five goals in their two earlier meetings this season. Braun made the all-state second team last season – Thompson and Kamish made the first team – and DCC has held opponents to single-digit goals in 11 games this spring. Its in-state losses were twice to the Warriors and once to Division 2 top-ranked East Grand Rapids, by two goals early this season.
Division 2
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/rank: 17-1, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in O-K Conference Tier 1
Coach: Rick DeBlasio, fifth season (69-26)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2009), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 17-7 (Semifinal) and 21-4 over No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 16-6 over No. 7 Vicksburg in a Regional Semifinal, 15-13 and 16-9 over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 13-8 and 16-4 over No. 9 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 14-8 over No. 5 Detroit Country Day, 17-15 over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 16-7 over Division 1 No. 7 Brighton.
Players to watch: Hub Hejna, sr. A (82 goals, 56 assists); Ben Keller, sr. A (48 goals, 22 assists); Luke Elder, sr. A (54 goals, 11 assists); Nick Milanowski, jr G (8.65 goals-against average).
Outlook: The Pioneers are hoping to avenge last season’s 10-6 championship game loss to Forest Hills Central after sweeping their rival during the regular season. A one-goal loss to Division 1 No. 4 Rockford is all that’s kept East Grand Rapids from a perfect run this spring. Hejna, Keller and Milanowski all made the all-state first team last season, and senior mid Joe Bolea (17 goals, 12 assists) made the second team.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS CENTRAL
Record/rank: 15-6, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Patrick Clay, first season (15-6)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 11-10 OT (Semifinal) and 16-6 over No. 5 Detroit Country Day, 18-7 over No. 9 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 21-8 over No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 17-10 and 13-10 over Division 1 No. 4 Rockford, 19-12 over Division 1 No. 5 Northville.
Players to watch: Bryce Clay, jr. A (93 goals, 61 assists); Tanner Hallock, sr. A (41 goals, 44 assists); Drew Bailey, sr. A (45 goals, 25 assists); Nick Carter, sr. D.
Outlook: Patrick Clay took over the program this season and inherited eight returning first-team all-staters: Bryce Clay, Bailey, Clark, senior Tate Bond, junior Patrick English, sophomore Logan Wedder, senior Jake Prinz and senior Jack Uecker. Hallock also was a top scorer on last season’s team – and with all of that talent and experience, the Rangers can’t be overlooked in this Final despite two and seven-goal losses to East Grand Rapids during the regular season.
PHOTO: East Grand Rapids’ Hub Hejna works to elude a Forest Hills Central defender during last season’s Division 2 Final.
Brother Rice Holds Off Familiar Foe to Take Back Division 1 Title
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 10, 2023
EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Riding the championship experience the program has built for decades, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice is back on top of Michigan Division 1 lacrosse.
Leading by just a goal with 4:47 to play, the Warriors would capitalize on their offensive opportunities and score three consecutive goals to put the Division 1 Final with Detroit Catholic Central out of reach, eventually prevailing 14-11.
“It came down to our players, and it always does in these big games,” Brother Rice coach Ajay Chawla said. “Our guys won a lot of 50/50 balls. We just had a lot of gutsy performances today. Everybody stepped up today when they needed to. It was a team win, and that is what it takes in these championship games.”
In 2022, Brother Rice (20-2) lost the MHSAA Final for just the second time in history, falling in overtime to Hartland, 11-10.
Led by 14 seniors, the Warriors displayed championship poise during the key phases of Saturday’s Final.
“Those seniors were in the locker room last year and had to listen to the (Hartland) celebration. They never forgot that,” Chawla said. “They started working the next day, and it never stopped. This day is a culmination of all that work. You could see today that they were determined not to lose that game.”
One of the seniors who made a big impact in this win was Hunter Polonkey. The midfielder was dealing with a torn meniscus in his right knee, but gutted it out and racked up three goals and three assists.
“When you are out on the field with your adrenaline rushing, you don’t feel it too much,” Polonkey said of the knee injury. “I am sure I will be feeling it later, but I wasn’t going to let that keep me from this game.”
Polonkey scored the opening goal in the second minute to give Brother Rice the initial lead, but Catholic Central (19-3) would answer with three consecutive goals to establish a 3-1 advantage, which was the largest lead the Shamrocks had in the contest.
With momentum all on the side of Catholic Central, Polonkey fired off a desperate shot in the closing seconds of the first quarter that managed to find the net. It put the Warriors down only 3-2 after one and sparked a five-goal rally that carried into the second period.
Polonkey would assist on two goals early in the second period and help the Warriors to a 6-3 advantage.
“Hunter Polonkey, he’s going into surgery next week. He battles out there today and just crushes it,” Chawla said.
Catholic Central would answer the Brother Rice rally with one of its own. Jack Cyrek and Lachlan Moffatt scored before halftime to make it 6-5 at the break. Sean Donahue would then start the second half with a pair of goals to put the Shamrocks up 7-6 in the third, which was their last lead.
Polonkey ended the Catholic Central run with his third goal midway through the third period. Sam Klein and Caiden Ramos followed with goals to put the Warriors back up, 9-7.
“Our guys did a good job of withstanding the runs, and that’s a big deal,” Chawla said. “That’s a real sign of character and leadership from our guys.”
Catholic Central would cut its deficit to a goal three times, but the Warriors had an answer each time.
When Moffatt scored with 4:47 to play to cut the Rice lead to 11-10, the Warriors answered just 20 seconds later on a score from Johnny Kunz.
Rice goalie Cam Sims then made a key save that opened the door for goals from Christian McNulty and Klein to lock up the title.
“Sims is a great goalie, and he’s been making big saves for us all year,” Chawla said.
Cyrek would get his fourth goal for Catholic Central with 1:20 to play, but the Shamrocks couldn’t generate any more offense after that.
“A lot of people want to be at this game, but only two can. When you get to this point, if you make a mistake, the opponent is going to take advantage of it and make you pay for it,” Detroit Catholic Central coach Dave Wilson said. “We made some mistakes down the stretch and (Brother Rice) made us pay.”
Cyrek finished with four goals and four assists for the Shamrocks, while Donahue scored four times. Catholic Central goalie Charles Graves also had a strong showing, recording 12 saves.
“Charles was seeing the ball pretty well today,” Wilson said of Graves. “Goalies need short memories, so when he gave up one he thought he should have had, it just motivated him more. He made some incredible saves today.”
Klein finished with three goals for the Warriors to go with the three for Polonkey. Sims finished with 10 saves in net.
Brother Rice has won 16 MHSAA Division 1 championships, while reaching all 18 Division 1 Finals.
“It’s a credit to our coaching staff, our parents, our kids and to the whole school,” Chawla said of the success of the lacrosse program. “It takes a lot of work from everyone, but everyone has been committed and that is what it takes to build the championship culture we have at Rice.”
PHOTOS (Top) Brother Rice including Hunter Polonkey (14) celebrates Saturday. (Middle) Polonkey works for position against. DCC’s Cal Taulbee. (Below) Jack Cyrek (7) looks for an opening with Rice’s Robert MacMichael (28) among those defending. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)