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. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Brother Rice Comes Back, Adds to Streak
June 8, 2013
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Few players get the opportunity to end a season with an MHSAA championship.
After Saturday’s 14-10 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, Birmingham Brother Rice senior Sergio Perkovic has done it six times.
Yes, six times.
Brother Rice claimed its ninth MHSAA Finals title in a row with the victory at East Grand Rapids’ Memorial Field, and Perkovic has been a part of the last four.
He also won a pair of titles in football as a junior and this past fall. He played defensive end and tight end.
“There’s no better way of ending a season than winning a state championship,” said Perkovic, who scored three goals against FHN/E. “And since I’ve been at Brother Rice, I’ve been fortunate in more than one sport. To just end my career with a win, there’s no better feeling.”
While the Warriors have dominated the landscape since boys lacrosse became an MHSAA sport, coach Robert Ambrose said each team makes its own mark on the program.
“Every year is different, I think, and it’s not about anything behind us or in the past,” he said. “It’s all about the future, and we don’t take anything for granted. We are very humble in our approach to the game, and on any given day, especially in lacrosse, anything can happen.
“We were fortunate to come out on top, and they played passionate and they played great. We played a very hard-fought game.”
Perkovic said the team doesn’t feel the pressure of continuing the program’s successful tradition each year.
Brother Rice is solely fixated on the present.
“We don’t think about that, and we try to work as hard as we can in the offseason and play a good season,” he said. “If we put our work in, then we’ll have a good chance of doing it again. We just get prepared for each season.”
The Warriors started slowly in Saturday’s Final and fell behind 3-0 in the first period.
They recovered with a superb second period, and tallied four answered goals in the final six minutes of the first half to turn a one-goal deficit into a 9-6 lead at the half.
“It’s always a tough match, especially in the state finals, and it doesn’t matter who we are playing,” Perkovic said. “Forest Hills came out flying, but we brought it back and came together offensively as a senior group.”
FHN/E was hoping to become the first team from Michigan to defeat Brother Rice.
“We had two goals for the whole season,” FHN/E coach Mark Lardieri said. “One was to be the first team in Michigan to beat Brother Rice in 11 years, and one was to win a state championship. We had it lined up perfectly today to do it, but we couldn’t close the door.”
FHN/E kept the game close throughout the second half, but never regained the advantage.
“I’m extremely proud of how far we came to get here,” said FHN/E senior Connor Sullivan, who scored two goals. “We had a lot of injuries and a lot of things going on this season, but we just pulled together in the playoffs and got it done to get here.”
Junior Jason Alessi led Brother Rice with six goals and six assists.
“This was a home game for them, so we knew they were going to come out firing and they got up 3-0,” Alessi said. “But then we began to move around and get shots. I was trying to get open, and my teammates were looking for me.”
Sophomore keeper Grant Lardieri stopped 12 shots for FHN/E, which ended the season with a 15-8 record.
Sean Scadron had nine saves for Brother Rice, which finished 18-5 with all five of its losses coming against out-of-state teams.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brother Rice's James Crowe (14) works to get around Forest Hills Northern/Eastern's Bennett Dipzinski on Saturday. (Middle) Joe Dudley (9) attempts to block FHN/E goalie Grant Lardieri as he looks to pass.