Grand Ledge Writes Championship Chapter
September 29, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND LEDGE – Brendan Garfield plays for one of his town’s most storied sports teams.
But someday, he may be known as an author of another successful chapter in Grand Ledge athletics.
During the spring, Garfield plays for the Comets’ baseball program under Pat O’Keefe, the winningest coach in MHSAA history in his sport. Grand Ledge annually is the team to beat in the Lansing area every baseball season, and it’s considered a privilege to wear that uniform and play for the legendary coach – even in what’s otherwise a football town.
But Garfield's position in spring also gives him a unique perspective on what he and his teammates have accomplished this fall, and really going back to last season, in bringing the Comets’ boys soccer program into mid-Michigan’s elite and relevance in their neighborhood.
Grand Ledge on Wednesday clinched its first Capital Area Activities Conference Blue championship, to go with a program-best 9-0-3 start with CAAC Gold Cup play starting next week. That tournament combines the top teams from all three divisions of the league, and Grand Ledge has a strong argument to be the top seed after winning the Blue and making the Cup championship game a year ago.
“People don’t expect us to be good, which is harder, but we don’t really look for the recognition. We just know we’re that good, and that’s all that matters,” said Garfield, a three-year starter for the Comets at defender. “We’re expected to win (in baseball), but I almost like not being expected to win. Because last year for the Gold Cup, everyone expected us to be out first round, but we really didn’t feel that was going to happen.
“We’re Grand Ledge. When you think about Grand Ledge soccer, it’s not really, ‘Uh oh.’ It’s, ‘Yeah, we might be a close game, but you should win. But last year, we definitely felt we were competing every single game we were in.”
And that’s certainly carried over to this fall.
Garfield is one of 13 seniors on a team, and one of six that make up a defensive back that has given up only five goals this fall – and gave up only one over the 10 games between the team’s opening-day win against DeKalb, Ill., and Wednesday’s clincher against the Rams. If the Comets stopped playing today, they’d be tied with the 2013 Saline team for fewest goals given up in a season. As it is, they will make the MHSAA record book list as long as they don’t give up more than seven more the rest of the way.
Grand Ledge is unranked this week in Division 1, but expect that to change soon. In addition to a tie earlier against now-Division 2 No. 1 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, the Comets opened this week with a draw against Division 2 No. 2 East Lansing – which then lost to Okemos on Wednesday to allow Grand Ledge to secure the league championship outright.
It actually was a loss to Okemos last season that showed eighth-year coach Scott Dane what might be in store for his team.
Grand Ledge lost a home game 1-0 to the Chieftains last September to move to 6-3-2, but felt they deserved to win. From that day on, momentum started to roll. The Comets beat the Chieftains 3-2 in the Gold Cup semifinals in October before then losing to East Lansing in the final and eventually finishing 11-7-2.
Fast forward to the first game of this fall, against DeKalb at an event in Fort Wayne, Ind. Grand Ledge trailed 2-0 by halftime, and Dane was OK with that – he was playing his full roster and figured his guys were sorting things out.
But Grand Ledge came back to win that game 3-2.
“That’s when I thought mentally we’re really good out there. Game one and you’re going to have that mentality? We won the next day 1-0 (over Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran) and I thought, OK, maybe we’ve got something here,” Dane said. “Let’s put it together and see what happens.
“At the beginning we knew we could compete with anybody. But early on we started putting it together.”
Dane, who played at Holt, coached the junior varsity at Lansing Catholic and also serves as executive director of the Capital Area Soccer League club program, took over a Grand Ledge program that had been solid but with only a few spectacular moments during its recent past.
The school is the second-largest by enrollment in the CAAC, but again, Grand Ledge is a football and baseball town. On the boys side, cross country, wrestling and track & field teams also have had their share of success – and the school’s most notable alum, Al Horford, won two college basketball national championships at University of Florida and this offseason signed with the Boston Celtics.
But there’s room for soccer too, and room on Dane’s team for multi-sport athletes. Garfield is one of three baseball players, and there also is a pair of lacrosse players among others in the lineup. During the winter, many Grand Ledge soccer players also form indoor teams with some of their football-playing classmates – and those games, while not entirely serious all the time, give younger players a chance to gain some experience.
And as this team shows, experience definitely pays off.
Senior Blaine Teahan is a third-year varsity goalkeeper and second-year starter, and he has nine shutouts while giving up only 0.42 goals per game. In front of him at backs are Garfield and seniors Parker Fitzgerald, Owen Schuchaskie and Jared Simmer, and senior Erik Seelman is the holding, or defensive, midfielder.
Senior forward Kyle Salisbury leads the offensive effort with six goals and eight assists, while junior midfielder Nate Cox has five goals and junior mid Aric Phinney has three. Garfield hadn’t scored a goal or tallied an assist all season until Wednesday – when he sent home a loose ball for the game and title-clinching score.
During Tuesday’s practice, less than a day after tying the heralded Trojans and a day before making program history, those players couldn’t have been having more fun racing around during mini games against each other and with just a little goofing off during what was an otherwise laid-back practice.
“I love high school sports. Because quite honestly, we’ve got some kids who aspire to play in college out there, but none of them are top recruits,” Dane said. “Two years ago we had Luke Menne, who is at Michigan State now and obviously a very good player, and we didn’t have the season we’re having.
“I almost call them sometimes a bunch a misfits, who are out here, just playing soccer and having an unbelievable time doing it. It’s the beauty of high school sports. This is the pinnacle of some of their athletic careers, and they’re reveling in it. And that’s awesome.”
Garfield has been around the program more than most; in addition to coming up as a freshman, his brother Zach played before graduating in 2014. Brendan saw his teammates reacting differently after losses last season to Okemos and East Lansing – they felt they should’ve won instead of just being glad to be in the hunt. He saw their disappointment with his after they lost to Caledonia 4-1 in a Division 1 District opener, which seemed far too early for their season to be done.
Drawing from baseball, he’s brought an approach of having higher expectations to this team. The seniors have set the level, and the juniors are playing up to it. Dane sees those new expectations as well; the top for Grand Ledge now is a team like this capable of playing at an elite level, not just being competitive with the best.
But there’s still plenty to prove and accomplish.
“I don’t think we’ve made it yet, to be honest,” Teahan said. “I’d like it to be that way, and maybe in the future we’ll become that. (But) I don’t think we’re recognized by all our peers as one of the top programs.
“Now people are coming out to our games, mainly our friends, but I think as we go, especially in the Gold Cup, I’ll think we’ll get a good showing and we can make it part of the school culture. Grand Ledge soccer has not been a powerhouse in any sense of the word, but lately we’ve really picked it up. We beat Okemos at Okemos two times in a row, we’re right in there with East Lansing and if we play them in the Gold Cup, I think we’ll get the win. We’re rising up as a big name in soccer.”
Geoff Kimmerly joined the MHSAA as its Media & Content Coordinator in Sept. 2011 after 12 years as Prep Sports Editor of the Lansing State Journal. He has served as Editor of Second Half since its creation in Jan. 2012. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Livingston, Ionia, Clinton, Shiawassee, Gratiot, Isabella, Clare and Montcalm counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Ledge's Kyle Salisbury (3) moves the ball ahead during a game versus Jackson this fall. (Middle) Hudson Morgan (20) works to gain possession against Haslett. (Below) Comets coach Scott Dane (third from left) speaks to his team after its win over Lansing Sexton. (Photos courtesy of the Grand Ledge boys soccer program.)
Preview: Time to Take the Final Step
October 31, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Half of this season’s boys soccer finalists have never won an MHSAA championship.
But they’re surely looking forward to another opportunity after just-misses in the past.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian has finished runner-up in Division 4 the last two seasons. Opponent Birmingham Roeper has made the Semifinals four times including last season and lost in its lone Final appearance. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood has fallen in Semifinals two of the last five seasons, and Williamston fell in overtime in the Division 3 Final only two years ago.
One of the Division 4 teams is sure to celebrate Saturday. Cranbrook and Williamston have their work cut out, however, against two of the most storied programs in MHSAA history. Division 1 is the lone division matching former champions.
Below is Saturday's schedule, followed by a look at each team in the hunt:
Division 1 at Brighton, Noon
Canton (23-0-3) vs. Rochester Adams (13-4-7)
Division 2 at Brighton, 3 p.m.
East Lansing (23-2) vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (19-2-1)
Division 3 at East Kentwood Crestwood Middle School, Noon
Hudsonville Unity Christian (23-1) vs. Williamston (14-3-6)
Division 4 at East Kentwood Crestwood Middle School, 3 p.m.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (21-3-2) vs. Birmingham Roeper (22-1)
All four Finals will be streamed live on MHSAA.TV and available on a subscription basis. A one-day pass costs $9.95 and allows access to all four games plus the Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals. A month pass costs $14.95 and allows fans to also watch live the Volleyball Semifinals and Finals and Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals, plus weekly coverage of the football playoffs. Radio broadcasts of the Soccer Finals will be available on MHSAAnetwork.com.
Click for links to brackets and scores. All statistics below are through Regional Finals.
DIVISION 1
CANTON
Record/rank: 23-0-3, No. 2
Coach: Mark Zemanski, second season (40-2-6)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Kensington Conference
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2011).
Players to watch: Jack Zemanski, sr. M (5 goals, 17 assists); Carter Schenk, sr. F (14 goals, 6 assists); Hunter Olson, jr. M/F (15 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: Canton’s undefeated run has included wins over No. 3 Livonia Stevenson (by shootout), No. 9 Plymouth and No. 10 Northville (by shootout in the Regional Final) and one of the ties was against Rochester Adams, this weekend’s championship game opponent. Jack Zemanski and Schenk both earned all-state honorable mentions as juniors, with Zemanski this fall the main distributor to four players with at least 12 goals. Three keepers have combined for 15 shutouts, including a string of seven straight through the middle of the season.
ROCHESTER ADAMS
Record/rank: 13-4-7, honorable mention
Coach: Josh Hickey, sixth season (70-33-30)
League finish: Second in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 1999, runner-up 2001.
Players to watch: Kevin Lencioni sr. F (17 goals, 5 assists), Lennart Zorn, jr. F (15 goals, 8 assists), Dylan Brown, soph. GK (0.50 GAA, 9 shutouts).
Outlook: Hickey has led Adams to two straight District titles and four total in six seasons, this time after a rather middling 1-1-4 start to the fall. Adams downed No. 4 Fraser 3-2 in the Semifinal in one of only five games the team gave up more than one goal. The ties are many but impressive against honorable mentions Novi, Detroit Catholic Central (which Adams later beat) and Canton, as mentioned above. Brown is one of three sophomore starters and also has a freshman among defenders in front of him.
DIVISION 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 19-2-1, No. 10
Coach: Chad O’Kulich, 16th season (214-54-24)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League AA
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Paul Holmes, sr. M (14 goals, 9 assists); Kolin Clark, soph. M (13 goals, 4 assists); Ken Kernen, jr. F (14 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: Cranbrook’s run has been impressive with three shutouts and its last two wins coming over No. 5 Linden in the Regional Final and No. 9 Dexter in the Semifinal. Both losses were during the first half of the regular season to honorable mention Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, and the Cranes also own a win over Division 3 No. 9 Detroit Country Day. They’ve won nine straight league titles and 11 in 12 seasons, plus three straight Districts and two Regionals in three seasons. Five seniors man the middle and back in front of junior keeper Trevor Stormes, who has 10 shutouts.
EAST LANSING
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 4
Coach: Nick Archer, 38th season (595-154-72)
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Blue
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2013), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: DeJuan Jones, sr. F (22 goals, 13 assists); Zach Lane, jr. M (15 goals, 7 assists); Elmedin Celovic, sr. M (11 goals, 6 assists), Chris Wallace, jr. GK (15 shutouts).
Outlook: The Trojans followed last season’s championship with four shutouts to start 2014, and their lone losses were to top-ranked Mason and honorable mention DeWitt, the latter in a shootout. East Lansing avenged that Mason loss by beating the Bulldogs in the Semifinal and also beat No. 3 Spring Lake and DeWitt during this tournament run – and Division 1 No. 1 Okemos during the regular season. Jones has committed to play next season at Michigan State University and could be a finalist for Mr. Soccer.
DIVISION 3
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 23-1. No. 1
Coach: Randy Heethuis, 21st season (395-66-30)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Green
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Trent Vegter, sr. D/M (14 goals, 22 assists); Jared Timmer, sr. M (29 goals, 22 assists); Andrew DeJong, sr. F (21 goals, 6 assists); Carson Brinks, sr. F (17 goals, 13 assists); Lucas Ohlman, sr. GK (0.51 GAA, 15 shutouts).
Outlook: Unity Christian has won three of the last seven MHSAA titles in Division 2, including in 2012, and makes the move into Division 3 with a strong senior class looking for one last crowning achievement. Nine of 12 seniors start for a team that has shut out 16 of its last 18 opponents including No. 6 Grosse Ile 3-0 in the Semifinal. The lone loss was to Division 7 No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian, 4-3.
WILLIAMSTON
Record/rank: 14-3-6, No. 4
Coach: Brent Sorg, 10th season (132-83-21)
League finish: First in CAAC White
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2012.
Players to watch: Josh Ward, jr. M (11 goals, 13 assists); Aidan Pace, sr. F (6 goals, 9 assists); Zach Griffin, jr. F (18 goals, 3 assists); Brian Ganton, jr. F (14 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Williamston has taken a step into the elite over the last four seasons with four District and two Regional titles and a just-miss overtime loss to Grand Rapids South Christian in the 2012 Final. This Hornets run included wins over No. 7 Frankenmuth, No. 3 Flint Powers Catholic and regular-season victories over Division 1 No. 1 Okemos, Division 2 honorable mention DeWitt and Division 4 No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett. Ward made the all-state second team last season as a sophomore, and Pace earned an honorable mention.
DIVISION 4
BIRMINGHAM ROEPER
Record/rank: 22-1, No. 4
Coach: Ed Sack, 17th season (226-113-21)
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue
Championship history: Class D runner-up 1995.
Players to watch: Simon Roennecke, soph. F (35 goals, 34 assists); Max Whipple, sr. F (42 goals, 19 assists); Calvin Lind, jr. GK (1.06 GAA, 10 shutouts).
Outlook: Roeper took on its share of Detroit area teams with multiple wins during the regular season over No. 10 Plymouth Christian and honorable mention Allen Part Inter-City Baptist, and avenged an early overtime loss to honorable mention Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett with a win at the end of the regular season and then another in overtime in the Regional Final. Whipple made the all-state first team last season as a defender and ranks among the highest scorers in MHSAA single-season history; Roennecke made the all-state second team last season, and his assists tie for eighth-most for one fall in the MHSAA record book.
GRAND RAPIDS COVENANT CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 21-3-2
Coach: Mike Noorman, 11th season (145-70-17)
League finish: First in River Valley Conference
Championship history: 2013 and 2012 runner-up.
Players to watch: Travis Bouwkamp, sr. F (20 goals 33 assists), Jared Minderhoud, sr. M (24 goals, 6 assists); Colin Riemersma, jr. F (32 goals, 10 assists).
Outlook: Covenant Christian has fallen by a goal in both of the last two Division 4 Finals and graduated a strong senior class this spring. But Bouwkamp, an all-state first-team selection in 2013, has led a new group of standouts as they’ve outscored opponents by a combined score of 102-23. Covenant beat No. 3 Hackett in the Regional Final and then No. 9 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Semifinal, and the losses all came to much larger schools including Division 2 No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and No. 8 Holland Christian.
PHOTO: East Lansing's DeJuan Jones will attempt to lead the Trojans to their second straight Division 2 championship and fifth MHSAA title overall.