HOWELL – Detroit Country Day is the Division 2 boys lacrosse champion for the fifth time in program history.

Also for the fifth time, the Yellowjackets won the title with a different coach.

JD Hess stepped into the role in 2026 after DCD had reached at least the Semifinals the last four seasons, and won it all in 2024. 

On Saturday, Hess’ Yellowjackets overcame a four-goal deficit to rally and beat Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 14-12, at Howell Parker.

“It feels great. I walked into an unbelievable situation with this team,” Hess said. “Senior heavy, bunch of studs, lots of talent, but I think the difference that showed today was our character and the way that we rally and play for each other. It feels great. I’m trying to enjoy this moment, watching these guys celebrate. I’m super happy for them. These guys worked really hard and deserve this.”

Trailing 9-5 midway through the second quarter, Country Day (20-1) would net the last two goals of the half on scores from seniors Keaton Yearego and Addison Davis.

Those goals ultimately helped spark a six-goal rally that started in the third quarter and ran into the fourth to put the game in Country Day’s favor.

“We have been a really good third-quarter team all season, so in the locker room we were pretty composed and calm,” Hess said. “We decided this is where we live, we live in the third quarter. Then, we started winning faceoffs and we got a couple stops on defense. Our defense showed up big time in the second half, and we felt like if we could get the ball to our offense, they were going to put it in the back of the net.”

Another senior, Luke Fisher, came up with the two goals that tied the score at 11-11 and seemed to shift all the momentum over to the Yellowjackets.

“I’m just so blessed,” Fisher said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was a little kid and they have always had my back. I just wanted to help us pull through as a team in that moment.”

From there, junior Rhys Kenney and senior Preston Cook gave DCD the lead for good in the fourth quarter. Both finished with a team-high three goals.

“Those are two of our studs,” Hess said of Cook and Kenney. “They mean a lot to us. Preston Cook has really come on at the end of the season. He’s had an incredible playoff run. Reese has been, if not the best player, one of the best players in the state all season. That’s what we expect from those two guys.”

The game was tied on five occasions during the first half before the Rangers (11-12) broke open the score as part of a five-goal rally over four minutes of play. Blake Teliczan put FHC up 6-5 while Elliott Fricano scored twice during the run to make it 9-5.

“We had seen Country Day had been off to a few slow starts the last few games, so we wanted to punch them in the mouth early and try to get up on them and hold on to that lead,” Forest Hills Central coach Andy Shira said.

Teliczan had five goals and an assist for the Rangers, while Finn Brunink and Fricano each scored three times.

The Rangers nearly capped off a remarkable turnaround this season. FHC started 2-10, with a 17-8 loss to Country Day and 19-5 loss to East Grand Rapids. The Rangers then rallied to win nine of their next 10, including avenging the defeat to EGR in the Semifinal, 14-13.

“This team’s never given up at any point throughout the year. We had a rough start, but the kids really stayed together and did everything we have been preaching since January. When you’re (2-10), it’s easy to fold, but these kids and the amount of passion they have, their accountability, and the effort they put in was tremendous. We just came up short at the end of it.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Micah Zacks (10) considers his options on offense during his team’s Division 2 championship win Saturday. (Middle) The Yellowjackets’ Rhys Kenney rips a shot. (Below) Forest Hills Central’s Blake Teliczan (8) and Elliott Fricano (24) celebrate a moment.