Senior-Led Forest Hills Central Completes Historic Championship Repeat

By Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com

June 10, 2023

EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Repeating as Division 2 boys lacrosse champion has been no easy task.

Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central had missed doing so on four previous attempts.

But Saturday, the Rangers became just the second program in MHSAA history to repeat, defeating Detroit Country Day for the second consecutive year in the Final, 11-6. 

“It’s really special (to repeat). We’ve had a couple opportunities to do that before and unfortunately haven’t been able to piece that together,” Forest Hills Central coach Andy Shira said. “This year, our seniors really took a step forward with how they lead and what it was going to take to get there. We had such a fantastic season last year, and we put them to the test this year. They met the challenge each and every day. We had some ups and downs, but the kids really stayed true to themselves and we came out on top.” 

FHC’s Magnus Salmon (3) works a shot between Country Day’s Hugh Aaron (17) and Shafeek Halabi (11). East Grand Rapids is the only other program to win consecutive D2 championships, when it won three straight from 2007-09. This year’s Finals was held at East Grand Rapids High School for the first time since 2013, giving the Rangers a hometown feel Saturday.

But Detroit Country Day (19-3) couldn’t have asked for much of a better start. 

The Yellowjackets opened by scoring the first three goals when Mason Gal, Bonner Upshaw and Will Thompson each found the net over the first nine minutes of play.

Shira called a timeout to regroup the Rangers (18-4), and the game was never the same. 

“We just needed the kids to settle down and execute better,” Shira said. “We had a little too much going on; we were a little frantic. So, once we settled down and the kids got to work, everything started to work in our favor.”

Forest Hills Central would lock in defensively, holding DCD to just one goal over the final 15 minutes of the first half. 

While the defense was in control, the FHC offense rallied behind Magnus Salmon, who scored four times in the second period to lift the Rangers to a 6-4 halftime lead.

“Magnus Salmon was the difference in my mind,” Detroit Country Day coach Chris Garland said. “Bang, bang, bang. He gets three straight goals in the second and really carried the team on his back there. That was the big momentum shift in the game.”

Oliver Aaron (10) rushes upfield with Collin Webb (7) defending.In the second half, it was Jonah McConnell who had the hot stick. He found the net three times during the half and four times in the game to keep DCD from getting within reach.

Forest Hills Central goalie Crandall Quinn put on a dominant final three quarters of play, holding the Yellowjackets to three goals while making nine saves in net.

“It’s amazing. It’s great to be back-to-back state champs and win it in my senior year with all my buddies,” Quinn said. “We lost to (Country Day) earlier in the year, and it was great to see us bounce back.”

On the other side of the field, Country Day goalie Kellen Curby also had a strong showing, recording 13 saves for the Yellowjackets.

“Crandall Quinn is the best goalie in the state, but I think Kellen Curby is the next great goalie in Division 2,” Garland said. “He was outstanding in spots today and played an outstanding game.”

Caden Daley had two goals to lead Country Day on the night.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Forest Hills Central’s Crandall Quinn (4) advances the ball during his team’s Division 2 championship win Saturday. (Middle) FHC’s Magnus Salmon (3) works a shot between Country Day’s Hugh Aaron (17) and Shafeek Halabi (11). (Below) Oliver Aaron (10) rushes upfield with Collin Webb (7) defending. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Tecumseh Thankful for Day to Remember

June 3, 2019

By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half

TECUMSEH – Baseball’s loss was lacrosse’s gain.

Dylan Day was in the fifth grade and playing Little League baseball in Tecumseh when he earned a spot on the district all-star team. Because he wasn’t a resident of Tecumseh, however, he wasn’t eligible to play for the squad.

“I was already starting to like lacrosse,” said Day. “In school, the varsity kids came down to our school and gave us a clinic on lacrosse. It looked like something I’d be interested in. I decided to give it a try.”

That lesson must have been a good one. It eventually led to a tremendous four-year run for the Tecumseh team and a phenomenal individual career for its leader.

Day is a multiple-sport athlete who completed his four-year career last week as Michigan’s second all-time leading scorer in lacrosse with nearly 500 career points. Last fall he rushed for 1,020 yards and passed for 1,037 more for the Indians’ football team, earning all-Southeastern Conference honors and receiving all-state mention from some postseason teams. He had more than 3,200 career offensive yards in football.

Despite hearing from Tecumseh’s football coaches that he might have a future playing college football, the 6-foot, 175-pound Day has long been dreaming of playing college lacrosse. He started playing the sport year-round before middle school. During the summer he would sometimes go from a full day of lacrosse to football workouts. He joined a traveling lacrosse team early on and has been playing across the country now for several years.

“I think the sport just fits my style,” he said. “I like to be active, run around and I like to hit. It’s the sport that I definitely have the most fun playing.”

Day was an instant success in lacrosse.

As a freshman, he scored 65 goals and had 27 assists, earning all-SEC and honorable mention all-state honors for the 14-3 Indians. After that season, he made the Under Armour All-American Midwest Uncommitted Team, a national traveling team that competed in a high-level tournament in Baltimore.

“He was a leader since the day he stepped on our practice field by challenging other teammates to elevate their game and speed,” Tecumseh lacrosse coach Steve Ayre said.

In 10th grade, he scored 83 goals and had 45 assists, with an 11-point game against Saline. As a junior, he surpassed the previous MHSAA record for goals in a season with 104 and had 59 assists. The Indians went 20-1 and won a Regional championship – and fittingly Day scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

“I didn’t care that I scored the goal as much as I cared about winning the championship,” he said. “It was a dogpile, everyone was jumping on. It was great.”

Another thing that made his junior season one to remember was he was able to share it with his younger brother Blake who also played on the team.

“We are brothers, so we argue, but it was pretty cool to play alongside of him, too,” he said.

This season, Day was as good as ever, scoring 52 goals and getting 52 assists. He finished his career with 304 goals, 183 assists and 417 ground balls.

“Dylan has always shown great athleticism, but his tempo of play and fearlessness set him aside from other athletes,” Ayre said.

Although he spent most of his career as an attack, he also played some midfield. “I think the coaches recognized I was good at scoring goals, so they put me in the attack spot,” he said.

In November, Day committed to the University of Indianapolis to play lacrosse. It’s a NCAA Division II program that is relatively new but has enjoyed a lot of success. In just their fourth season, the Greyhounds made the national semifinals and finished with a 16-3 record overall.

“My education is the most important thing,” Day said. “When I started looking and making visits, that’s the first thing I would ask about. I want to be a dentist or something in that field.”

As for playing the sport at the next level, Day is excited for the challenge.

“I’ve been playing lacrosse year-round now for several years,” he said. “I’m just a busy person in general. I think I’ll get used to playing in college.”

Ayre said he has no doubt Day will do what it takes.

“His dedication to academics and athletics has always impressed me,” Ayre said. “In today's world it is easy to get caught up in wanting to be a college athlete. Unfortunately, this usually means you lose sight of other things in your life, like academics, family, being a kid. Dylan played football for four years, worked at a job, completed a pre-dentistry course at our Tech Center, played on numerous travel and showcase lacrosse teams, and still managed to be a kid.”

Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTO: Tecumseh’s Dylan Day finished 2019 among the all-time leading scorers in MHSAA boys lacrosse history. (Photo courtesy of the Tecumseh boys lacrosse program.)