New Leader, Another Championship Result as Country Day Takes Back Title
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
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.”
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.
Preview: League Rematches Reloaded
June 10, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
No. 1 will take on No. 2 in both MHSAA Boys Lacrosse Finals on Saturday at Howell’s Parker Middle School.
It just so happens that both championship games will pit opponents who already have faced each other twice this season with league titles on the line.
Brother Rice downed Detroit Catholic Central 11-5 and 14-7 in Detroit Catholic League A play, and they’ll face off once more in the Division 1 Final at 4:30 p.m. Starting the day at 2 p.m. in Division 2 will be Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and East Grand Rapids, with the Rangers looking to add a third win to their 15-9 and 14-13 victories in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier I play this spring.
Both Finals will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv, available with subscription, with audio available on MHSAANetwork.com. Click for more information, including all tournament results.
Below is a look at all four contenders, with player statistics through Regional Finals.
Division 1
BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 19-2, No. 1 at end of regular-season
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League A
Coach: Ajay Chawla, third season (57-10)
Championship history: 11 MHSAA championships (most recent 2015).
Best wins: 9-6 over No. 6 Clarkston in Regional Final, 16-3 over No. 9 Midland in Regional Semifinal, 11-5 and 14-7 over No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 8-3 over No. 3 Detroit Country Day, 13-9 over Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids.
Players to watch: Morgan Macko, sr. A (70 goals, 55 assists); Riley North, sr. A (49 goals, 38 assists); Jack Kelly, jr. M (47 goals, 16 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice has played through a couple closer games than perhaps usual this spring – but is again the heavy favorite as it seeks to continue its sweep of every Division 1 title since the tournament was started more than a decade ago. The only losses this spring were twice to Indiana powerhouse Culver Military Academy, and the Warriors took on and beat some of the best from Ohio and Illinois as well. Macko is finishing off one of the most productive runs in MHSAA lacrosse history and also starred the last two seasons.
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 17-4, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in Detroit Catholic High School League A
Coach: Dave Wilson, 11th season (149-71)
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up five times (most recent 2015).
Best wins: 13-5 over No. 3 Detroit County Day in the Semifinal, 13-5 over No. 7 Brighton, 16-10 over Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids, 17-10 over Division 2 No. 3 Okemos.
Players to watch: Rocco Mularoni, sr. A; Justin Baker, sr. A; Brennan Kamish, jr. M (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: DCC will play in its third straight Final trying to break the hold of rival Brother Rice on Division 1. Seven seniors start for a team with plenty of big-game experience; midfielder Alex Jarzembowski is another veteran standout among many. Similar to Brother Rice, DCC also played strong programs from other states and Ontario. The Shamrocks have shown the ability to lock down top teams; they held opponents to fewer than 10 goals in all but six games and have given up only 11 goals total over four postseason games.
Division 2
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/rank: 15-5, No. 2 at end of regular season
League finish: Second in O-K Conference Tier 1
Coach: Rick DeBlasio, fourth season (first of second tenure; 48-13 overall)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2009), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 16-15 (2OT) over No. 3 Okemos in the Semifinal, 9-3 and 9-3 (Regional Final) over No. 4 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 8-6 over No. 5 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 6-4 and 9-7 over Division 1 No. 5 Rockford, 15-5 over Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Country Day, 16-5 over Division 1 No. 10 Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Players to watch: Hub Hejna, jr. A (67 goals, 30 assists); Matt Solberg, sr. A (43 goals, 49 assists); Ben Keller, jr. A (46 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: East Grand Rapids will play in its first championship game since finishing runner-up in 2011, and has taken on plenty of strong teams to prepare. The losses came to Brother Rice, Detroit Catholic Central, twice to Forest Hills Central and to Okemos in the season opener – and the Pioneers avenged that loss Wednesday. Those four teams are the only ones to score more than seven goals on the Pioneers this season. DeBlasio formerly coached the team from 2002-04.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS CENTRAL
Record/rank: 19-2, No. 1 at end of regular season
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Jake Seiler, second season (36-5)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 15-9 and 14-13 over No. 2 East Grand Rapids, 17-8 over No. 3 Okemos, 20-8 over Division 1 No. 5 Rockford.
Players to watch: Bryce Clay, soph. D (95 goals, 53 assists); Tanner Hallock, jr. A (51 goals, 34 assists); Max Kuiper, sr. A (38 goals, 28 assists).
Outlook: Second-year coach Seiler has Forest Hills Central back in a Final for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2013 and after having lost this season only to Country Day in double overtime and Culver. Although Clay is the most productive scorer, there’s lots of balance with six Rangers tallying at least 20 goals heading into the week – and plenty of help in goal as senior Kadin Schermers and freshman Jack Nolan have combined to give up six goals per game this spring.
PHOTO: Brother Rice's Cole Hyde moves the ball upfield during last season's Division 1 Final against Detroit Catholic Central.