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High 5s: 11/14/12

November 19, 2012

All three of this week's honorees have achieved some sort of first-time stardom this fall, either individually or as a team. And both Carli Snyder and Alex Grace will be back next fall to continue building on these accomplishments. 

Carli Snyder
Macomb Dakota junior
Volleyball

(UPDATED 11/19) Snyder, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, was an all-stater her first two seasons of high school. But she will be remembered even more for leading Macomb Dakota this fall to its first MHSAA championship in any girls sport. The Cougars defeated Temperance Bedford in three games in Saturday's Class A Final at Kellogg Arena. Snyder unofficially finished this season with 913 kills, good for seventh in the MHSAA record book since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004-05. Her 31 kills against Bedford were third-most for a Final during that time. Snyder already has committed to sign with the University of Florida next year. She likely will be among frontrunners for next fall's Miss Volleyball award. 

Title talk: "We wanted this thing so bad. Every girl on this team wanted it so badly. Megan (Manierski) was setting the ball perfectly. She made it very easy to get kills. ... Just talking about this moment, this gym, it makes you just want to play harder than you ever have."

Winning recipe: "We've been a competitive team in practice and in games all year, so I think that helped us at that moment (in three close Finals games) when we just didn't want to lose. We refused to lose. ... We support each other no matter what. And we hustled so hard."

Shake it up: "We have some secret handshakes with other people, but mine are very complex. I don't know how we went about that. Megan and mine is from "Parent Trap," and then Megan Downey and mine, we just made it up at team dinner. We make it a bit more complex than it needs to be, but it's fun. And it's a great thing to calm us down for a game when we've played a bad one before."

Had to be a Gator: "I like warm weather. I love the coaches. I actually called Florida for my recruiting phone call because I was kinda bored one day at home and I was like, 'I got a letter from them.' I fell in love with the coaching staff, and I told my mom that I needed to go on a visit down there. It's incredible, and when I went down there I was even more in love. Even on the phone, I knew this is where I would end up. It's just that feeling. You know when you get that feeling, and it's incredible."

Click to read more.

Alex Grace
Saginaw Swan Valley sophomore
Football

The Vikings' leading rusher is also one of the leading rushers in the state this season heading into Saturday's Division 4 Semifinal against Detroit Country Day. Grace has gained 2,091 yards plus run for 27 touchdowns, and needs only 109 yards and three more scores to make the MHSAA record book in both categories. He ran for 182 yards and three scores in the Vikings' Regional Final win over Croswell-Lexington. Grace took over as Swan Valley's running back this season after the graduation of his brother Johnathan, who rushed for 1,790 yards last season and now plays at Michigan Tech. Both brothers ran on Swan Valley's 400-meter relay that finished runner-up at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Track and Field Final in the spring. Alex is 6-0 and 185 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

I'd like to run like: "Even my brother. I like to look at myself as close to him. Professionally, (Minnesota Vikings back) Adrian Peterson. He's a tough runner, fast. He's strong."

Underdogs again: "The last game against Croswell, they were the No. 2 team and we were predicted to lose. But we came back and beat them. I use that underdog feeling to work harder each day."

Best brotherly advice: "Work hard, and if there are doubters, don't let them get you down."

Science and math: (My favorite classes are) biology and economics. They just come easy to me. I enjoy it."

Click to read more. 

Flint Beecher football

The Buccaneers, coached by former Michigan State and NFL standout Courtney Hawkins, were one of the final teams selected for the playoffs, at 5-4 after a 3-4 start. But Beecher advanced to this week's Division 7 Semifinal against Detroit Loyola by eliminating reigning champion Saginaw Nouvel, 19-15, in last week's Regional championship game. Beecher, now 8-4, has made the playoffs six straight years. The first of that run came in Hawkins' second as coach and after 12 straight losing seasons. 

Click to read more. 

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

Country Day goalie Kellen Curby makes a save during Saturday’s Division 2 Final.

Country Day Scores in Record-Setting Fashion to Claim 1st Title Since 2014

By Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com

June 8, 2024

ANN ARBOR – Heading into Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2 Final, Detroit Country Day coach Chris Garland attributed a lack of offense to why his Yellowjackets came up short in the 2022 and 2023 championship games.

That issue was corrected this time around.

Detroit Country Day put up the second-most goals in D2 Finals history, defeating Ada Forest Hills Eastern 18-7 to claim its first championship since 2014 and fourth overall.

“We have so many skilled players. We are a complete team with tremendous depth,” Garland said of the offense. “We just want to keep putting the ball in the hands of our offense. If you stop one of them, we have another guy that can come at you. We showed that (Saturday).”

One player that Forest Hills Eastern didn’t have an answer for was Country Day sophomore Keaton Yearego. He matched a MHSAA Finals record with six goals, three coming during a 5-0 rally in the second period that put the Yellowjackets ahead for good at 8-4.

Country Day and Forest Hills Eastern players scramble for the ball. “I have a lot of confidence in my team, and my coaches have a lot of confidence in me and allow me to play my game,” Yearego said. “I have some great senior attackmen around me that help me do my thing. Today was just my day.”

The Hawks (16-5) tried to set the tone early, posting the first two goals of the game when junior Jackson Arnold and senior Will Morgan each found the net during the opening minutes.

“I loved the energy. The boys came out to play right from the get-go,” Forest Hills Eastern coach Antonio Boggiano said. “We knew right away that we weren’t happy just getting to this moment. We actually wanted to compete for the championship.”

The Yellowjackets (19-2) didn’t let the early deficit affect them and answered with three straight goals, two coming from senior Oliver Aaron.

“We’ve faced that kind of challenge before. It’s nothing new for us. We’re a resilient team,” Aaron said. “When you have a strong bond with your teammates and can rely on them, you can bounce back from those slow starts.”

The Hawks answered with the last goal of the first period from junior Bradyn Campbell. Senior Preston Hoexum then found the net to open the second to put Forest Hills Eastern up 4-3.

That’s when Country Day got rolling offensively. The Jackets scored 14 of the next 16 goals over 26 minutes of play.

Most of the scores came unassisted, as the Yellowjackets won individual battles to get open looks at the net.

DCD’s Joe Norton (21) works to get into the open.“We have a lot of offensive threats on our team, so if one way isn’t working, we know we have other options,” Yearego said. “We really just executed well and showcased how many different ways we can score. It was an unbelievable performance.”

The offensive dominance showed in a 49-22 shot advantage for Country Day. The score could have been even more in favor of DCD, but Hawks goalie Camden Klaes made 15 saves in net.

Morgan and Campbell both finished with two goals to lead Forest Hills Eastern, which made its first Finals appearance since 2021.

“I’m just proud of the boys, just for overall the season we have had,” Boggiano said. “We met in October and said right then and there that we were going for this ring. We came up a little bit short, but I’m just extremely proud of (the team). They overcame a lot of adversity.”

Aaron finished with four goals for Country Day to go with Yearego’s six. Preston Cook, Caden Daley and Rhys Kenney all found the net twice. 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Country Day goalie Kellen Curby makes a save during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Country Day and Forest Hills Eastern players scramble for the ball. (Below) DCD’s Joe Norton (21) works to get into the open.