'Dogs' Eat, East Grand Rapids Wins in D2
June 10, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
HOWELL – If the “dog’s gotta eat,” as the expression goes, consider Hub Hejna permanently satisfied with the final feast of his high school lacrosse career.
East Grand Rapids senior attacks Hejna, Ben Keller and Luke Elder earned the nickname “dogs” from coach Rick DeBlasio earlier this season. And if there ever was a time to feed, Saturday’s Division 2 Final fit the bill.
The dogs combined to score eight goals, with Hejna’s last coming with two minutes to play as rival Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central was on a three-goal run. That last score ended up a little more insurance as the Pioneers closed out an 11-9 win and first MHSAA title in this sport since 2009 after finishing runner-up to the Rangers a year ago.
“It’s just part of the system,” Hejna said. “He came to calling us that, and whoever can get it done, just put it in the back of the net.
“It’s kinda goofy. But when a guy like that says something, you just roll with it, see where it goes.”
It went a lot farther than the last day of the season a year ago, when the Pioneers scored only six goals to Forest Hills Central’s 10 – although of those six, Hejna, Keller and Elder combined for five.
This season, entering this week, the trio had scored a combined 184 goals over 17 games. In Saturday’s Final, Hejna scored the team’s first two and four total, while Keller had three and Elder added one.
Forest Hills Central actually opened a 2-0 lead before Hejna’s two goals over the final 2:36 of the first quarter and Keller’s two over the first six minutes of the second gave East Grand Rapids a 4-2 lead that it never would relinquish, although the Rangers pulled within a goal three times.
But unlike in Wednesday's overtime Semifinal win over Detroit Country Day in which it trailed by four at one point, Forest Hills Central fell just short of turning the tide.
“We’re blessed this year with probably the three best attack guys in the state, as a group,” DeBlasio said. “There are other kids like Bryce (Clay of FHC) who are excellent. (But) when you put them all together, our three, we call them the dogs. And our whole attitude is just feed the dogs and make sure we enable them to go.”
East Grand Rapids had avenged last season’s championship game loss to Forest Hills Central with 15-13 and 16-9 wins this spring in finishing first just ahead of the Rangers in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1 standings.
But that didn’t mean the Pioneers (18-1) went into Saturday overconfident – not against an opponent they knew so well.
In fact, East Grand Rapids’ 11 goals were its second fewest this season. Forest Hills Central’s eight also were its second fewest.
Clay scored five of those goals, tying for fourth most in championship game history. Junior Patrick English added two.
Junior Eric Solberg added a pair of goals for the Pioneers.
“We had to play flawlessly to beat them, and obviously we got down in a position early that we didn’t want to be in,” FHC coach Patrick Clay said. “But given the situation from Wednesday we felt we could keep believing and we came up just a little short today.
“We talked about opportunity. Today we put ourselves in an opportunity to win.”
Forest Hills Central finished 15-7 this spring. East Grand Rapids’ lone loss came by a goal to Division 1 semifinalist Rockford. The Pioneers also earned a two-goal win early over eventual Division 1 runner-up Detroit Catholic Central.
Click for the full scoring summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids’ goalie Nick Milanowski reaches for a shot during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Forest Hills Central’s Luke Majick advances the ball.
Flashback 100: Hutchinson's Dominance Starts as Multi-Sport Divine Child Standout
June 23, 2025
Aidan Hutchinson has recorded an impressive 28.5 career sacks in just 39 games with the Detroit Lions, establishing himself as one of the premier defensive ends in the NFL.
But before terrorizing quarterbacks on Sundays, imagine him dodging defenders on the lacrosse field, cradling a crosse.
A multi-sport standout at Dearborn Divine Child, Hutchinson excelled in both football and lacrosse. He played a pivotal role in leading the Falcons to the Division 3 Football Semifinals in 2016 and helping them to back-to-back Detroit Catholic High School League championships in 2016 and 2017.
After high school, Hutchinson played at University of Michigan, where his senior season in 2021 was nothing short of historic. He earned All-America honors, was named Michigan Male Athlete of the Year and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting to only Alabama’s Bryce Young. Hutchinson also helped the Wolverines snap a 10-year drought against Ohio State, as the rivalry has since shifted in Michigan’s favor with four consecutive wins.
The Detroit Lions selected Hutchinson second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, keeping the local star close to home. As a rookie, he finished runner-up for The Associated Press' Defensive Rookie of the Year, behind fellow Michigan high school alum Sauce Gardner (Detroit Martin Luther King). Hutchinson followed that up with a Pro Bowl selection his second season, notching 11.5 sacks, and was off to another strong start in 2024 with 7.5 sacks over just five games before a leg injury cut his season short.
Football excellence runs in the family — Aidan’s father, Chris Hutchinson, also played at the University of Michigan.
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May 8: Duckett's High School Domination Extended to Shot Put Circle - Read
May 6: MHSAA Titles Just Start for NCAA Champion, Olympian Stark - Read
May 1: Legendary Actor Played Multiple Sports Roles at Country Day - Read
April 23: Legacy Program Provided Start for Pioneering NBA Official Schroeder - Read
April 11: Rice's Championship-Winning Ways Started at Flint Northwestern - Read
March 28: Youngquist's Times Still Among MHSAA's Fastest - Read
March 18: After 40 Years, Coles' Shot Remains Among Century's Most Famous - Read
March 7: Walled Lake Northern's Hellebuyck Reigns as NHL's Elite Netminder - Read
Feb. 27: Zeerip's Mat Stats Remain Rarely-Challenged Chart Toppers - Read
Feb. 21: Before TV Stardom, Kerwin Excelled as All-State Skier - Read
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Jan. 31: Johnson Family Put Magical Stamp on Michigan High School Hoops - Read
Jan. 24: Future Hall of Famers Face Off First in MHSAA Class A Final - Read
Jan. 17: First-Ever WNBA Draft Pick Rocked at Salem, Won Titles at Tennessee - Read
Jan. 10: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List - Read
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
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Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
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Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read