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.)
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.