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High 5s: 11/28/12

November 28, 2012

The final MHSAA championships of the Fall 2012 season give us our final High 5s before heading into winter. This week, we recognize both an individual and a team that achieved new heights. 

Drake Harris
Grand Rapids Christian junior
Football

A 6-foot-4, 180-pound receiver who has committed to play both football and basketball at Michigan State beginning in 2014, Harris posted one of the finest receiving season in MHSAA history capped by playing a huge role in his team's first MHSAA championship. The Eagles beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's 40-37 in overtime Saturday for the Division 3 title. His eight catches for a Finals-record 243 yards and a touchdown put his unofficial season totals at 91 catches for 2,015 yards and 25 scores. Once confirmed, the season yardage will rank as the most in MHSAA history and 12th nationally for one season (his yards per game rank fourth and yards per catch sixth on the NFHS lists). Harris also ranked fourth for catches and second for touchdown catches on the MHSAA single-season lists.

Just ducky: "I'm probably more energized now after he hit that kick," Harris said after teammate Joel Schipper's winning field goal Saturday. "I was probably more tired a little bit during the game. But we condition all practice. We play fast. We play like Oregon, move the ball, (at) a high tempo. We're all in condition, so we really weren't that tired." 

Bring on the new guy: Harris has caught more than 3,000 yards worth of passes from senior Alex VanDeVusse over the last two seasons, but will play with a new quarterback in 2013. "I've been with Alex since sophomore year. I guess I have to start over and work hard all next season and hope to get back here."  

Be like Calvin: "Calvin Johnson, I want to be just like him when I get older. I know I'm a little skinny right now, but when I get to college, I know they'll put weight on me. I watch film on him all the time, watch him running routes. So I take my game after him. He's the best wide receiver in the NFL right now, probably one of the best wide receivers to play the game, in my opinion." 

Click to read more. 

Portland football

The Raiders, unranked despite entering the postseason 8-1, finished with their first MHSAA title won in their first trip to the Finals. Portland defeated Grand Rapids West Catholic 12-9 in the Division 5 championship game after knocking out 2011 champion Flint Powers Catholic in the Regional Final. For the playoffs, Portland outscored its five opponents 169-66 while holding three to nine or fewer points. In finishing 13-1 and setting a school record for wins, the Raiders beat nine playoff teams total including eventual Division 3 Semifinalist DeWitt. 

Click to read more. 

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

DCC's Mathieu Chernauckas makes a stop during his shutout Saturday.

After Waiting His Turn, Goalie Plays Lead Role In Latest DCC Finals Win

March 9, 2024

PLYMOUTH — At any point, Mathieu Chernauckas could have looked for a way out.

As a junior at Detroit Catholic Central, he was still a goaltender on the junior varsity hockey team, separated from the glory that comes with being on the perennial MHSAA championship varsity squad.

There were no guarantees he would ever play on the varsity, let alone see much ice time.

But he kept plugging away, first by making the varsity this winter, then by winning a three-man battle for the starting position.

His patience and determination paid off Saturday night when he stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory over Brighton in the MHSAA Division 1 Final at USA Hockey Arena.

“I just love a story like that, because he didn’t get anything given to him as a freshman,” Catholic Central coach Brandon Kaleniecki said. “He had to wait three years just to have a chance to be on the team. With the world we live in, with the transfer portal and everybody in a rush, he had to bide his time. You love the persistence and you love to see a guy like that get rewarded. The guys loved him. You could see how excited they were for him. That tells me a lot.”

Chernauckas was in a goaltending rotation early in the season with juniors Joe Bedells and Bobby Brandt before seizing the starting job by midseason.

He finished the season with a 21-1 record, a 1.19 goals against average and a .937 save percentage.

The Shamrocks' Cael Rogowski (8) maintains possession despite a challenge from Brighton's Freddie Londo (17).“It was the most fun hockey season of my life,” Chernauckas said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.

“It was difficult (at first). I wasn’t going to start the first couple games. I got my chance. I took advantage of it, and I went from there.”

It was the fifth-straight MHSAA Finals championship for the Shamrocks and the third in a row defeating Brighton in the title game.

There have been Finals in which it didn’t seem to matter who was between the pipes for Catholic Central, which dominated puck possession more often than not. But this was an even battle against a perennial Division 1 contender, one in which the Shamrocks held a slim 28-25 advantage in shots.

They needed Chernauckas to be strong in net to secure this one.

“The big crowd, the atmosphere, those big guns they have are always dangerous and they created some chances,” Kaleniecki said. “He had to make some big saves. We had to block some shots. We had to gut it out. There’s some years we’ve been in control and have the puck in the offensive zone. That wasn’t the case this year. That’s a lot of credit to them. It was also credit to our guys to kind of have to find a way to win it. It wasn’t just steamroll over an opponent. We had to gut it out.”

Brooks Rogowski leads a DCC rush.The Shamrocks opened the scoring at 10:56 of the first period when Joseph Curtin buried a shot from the top of the right circle on the power play.

It remained 1-0 until Cael Rogowski pounced on a turnover in front of the Brighton net, took a shot, then knocked in his rebound with 13:45 left in the game.

The Shamrocks not only tied their own record of five straight MHSAA championships won from 1999-2003, they extended their streak of victories against in-state competition to 54 and their MHSAA Tournament winning streak to 30 games.

The last team to beat Catholic Central in the postseason was Brighton in the 2018 Semifinals.

Brighton has had the misfortune of running into the Shamrocks during one of their peak dynasty runs.

“Our seniors were unbelievable, not just this year, but their whole careers,” Brighton coach Kurt Kivisto said. “I’m real proud of the work they put in, their leadership, their dedication to the program. I’m just proud of what they accomplished. We didn’t get the state championship today, but it’s just a tremendous group of young men.”

Levi Pennala, who has started the last three Division 1 Finals, made 26 saves for Brighton.

Click for the full box score. 

PHOTOS (Top) DCC's Mathieu Chernauckas makes a stop during his shutout Saturday. (Middle) The Shamrocks' Cael Rogowski (8) maintains possession despite a challenge from Brighton's Freddie Londo (17). (Below) Brooks Rogowski leads a DCC rush. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)