DCC Caps Undefeated Run as best in D1
November 7, 2020
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – Jack Leuker had a vision three years ago, and Saturday afternoon on a sun-soaked afternoon in Comstock Park, that vision became a reality.
Leuker, a senior midfielder and captain, scored on two penalty kicks – including the game-winner late in the first portion of overtime – to power Detroit Catholic Central to a 2-1 victory over Traverse City West for its second Division 1 title in the last four years.
The last one came in 2017, when Leuker was a freshman observer.
“When I watched my freshman year and we won on a penalty kick, I thought: ‘I could see myself doing that in two or three years,’” said Leuker, one of four senior captains for the Shamrocks. “Fortunately, I got the chance to do it today.”
The win capped an unbeaten season for DCC (13-0-2), which had about 40 percent of its games wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the Shamrocks needed to come from behind to defeat Berkley in the Regional Final and Mattawan in the Semifinal, this time they never trailed against a Traverse City West team which was hoping to improve on its 4-1 loss to Troy Athens in the 2019 Final.
DCC controlled play and had several scoring chances in the first half, including a flying header by senior forward Landon Lodato which sailed just over the goal. But the first 40 minutes ended in a 0-0 tie.
It remained scoreless until a little over six minutes into the second half, when a handball on the Titans set up the first penalty-kick opportunity for Leuker.
The Titans’ keeper went to his left, leaving space on the left side of the net for Leuker to open the scoring.
“There were some nerves there, for sure, but I just picked my spot and trusted it,” Leuker said.
It looked like that 1-0 lead might hold up, before the Titans dug deep and started to apply more pressure on Shamrocks senior keeper John Browning during the game’s final 15 minutes.
After TC West’s Josh Hirschenberger was denied a good scoring chance by the DCC defense at the 13:05 mark, the Titans were awarded a penalty kick after a holding call in the box.
That set the stage for Titans junior Colin Blackport, who entered the game with 19 goals and 29 assists, and he showed how he was able to rack up those gaudy offensive numbers by firing a bullet into the left side of the net to tie the game.
Eighth-year DCC coach Gene Pulice, whose team has become known for rallying from behind, knew his team wouldn’t panic after giving up a lead, either.
“We knew we were going to get scored on – that’s the mindset we go in with, so when it happens, we don’t worry about it and just go out and get it back,” said Pulice, who is assisted by Mike Stratton and Brent Wasik. “That’s the attitude that we have lived on all year long.”
The game then headed to overtime, but not before Titans senior all-stater Tony Gallegos almost single-handedly won it for his team
With time running down, Gallegos took off on a charge and used his speed to get around the Shamrocks’ defense and fired a shot which reached the back of the net about two seconds after time had expired.
That set the stage for Leuker’s second penalty kick goal, this one coming after a tripping call with just 19 seconds remaining in the first overtime session. Leuker went the other way this time, sending the game-winner into the right side of the net.
From there, Pulice left matters in the capable hands of his aggressive defense, which allowed less than one goal per game this season – 13 goals in 15 games, to be exact.
“Our goal every game is to be the best with our feet and also the most physical team,” said Shamrocks senior defender and captain Andrew Memmer. “That’s the CC style of play. That’s the reason we’ve had an undefeated season.”
DCC held a 10-7 edge in shots and 10-6 advantage in corner kicks.
TC West (22-2-2) didn’t go down without a fight, working for a pair of corner kicks in the final four minutes of overtime (including a kick at the 3:20 mark which sailed tantalizing past the goal mouth), but sixth-year coach Matt Griesenger’s team was unable to score again.
That led to a typical title celebration after a very non-typical season, perhaps the first time that a player has cited Zoom meetings as a reason for a state championship.
“I think the reason we were able to go undefeated and find a way to win every game is our discipline,” explained Memmer. “I mean, when we were shut down, we were doing online workouts on Zoom. I don’t think many teams have the discipline to do that.”
Click for the full stat summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central’s Jack Leuker unloads a shot during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Chad Ewing (10) tries to block off Traverse City West’s Josh Hirschenberger. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Already Climbing State's Career Goals List, Juneau Focused on Leading Team's Rise
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 29, 2025
With every goal this season, Harbor Springs junior Henry Juneau will continue his climb up the MHSAA all-time career scoring list.
With 86 goals and 38 assists entering this season, the two-time all-stater had already qualified for the career points list. He has 12 goals already this fall, moving him onto the all-time career goals list as well.
Yet, Juneau would consider trading those spots for Harbor securing a spot in the MHSAA Division 4 Semifinals this fall. Throw in a conference championship, and it’s a done deal.
“I want to win the conference — that's one of the main things that we haven't won yet up here in Northern Michigan that we can accomplish,” he said. “It's been a lot of fun, and I guess over the past two years, we've just really seen it turn around — but we haven’t won the Regional championship.”
The Rams are off to a 3-0 start in the Northern Shores Conference. To win a conference title, the Rams will have to go through Elk Rapids, which has dominated during the league’s existence. Harbor Springs play host to the Elks in their next contest and also will travel to Elk Rapids on Sept. 25.
Juneau owns Harbor Springs’ school records for goals in a single game (9) and season (48). He led the Rams to District championships both of his first two years.
Winning a Regional title is more important to Juneau than breaking school and state records for finding the net. The state goals record sits at 201.
“They're not as significant to me, at least this year,” Juneau said. “I'd still love to break it and make the number higher and higher.”
Goals have been a little harder to come by so far this season for Juneau as the Rams have battled some highly-ranked and bigger schools. Juneau is also better known by Rams’ opponents, drawing some double and triple teams.
Earning wins also has been more challenging. The Rams – ranked No. 14 in Division 4 – are off to a 4-6 overall start, although the win-loss record is not a concern to Juneau or his fifth-year coach, Jeff Suffolk.
“We played some behemoths – every team was ranked,” Suffolk said of the Boyne Mountain Invitational the Rams hosted to start the season, during which they defeated Division 3 No. 12 Grass Lake but lost to Division 2 No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, No. 9 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, top-ranked Warren De La Salle Collegiate, Division 3 top-ranked Detroit Country Day and No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
“It gave our boys a chance to play against some really high-level teams and push their limits early.”
Pushing limits has been one of Suffolk’s strategies since taking over the program.
“We haven't won a conference since 2017, and that's one of our team goals,” he acknowledged. “We've tried to push our limits a little bit further. We're building upon some serious momentum we've had the last couple of years, and we have our eye on making a deeper run come playoff time this year.”
The Rams last advanced to the MHSAA Semifinals in 2002, falling 3-2 to the eventual Division 4 champion Hudsonville Freedom Baptist. Harbor Springs’ last conference title was achieved in the Lake Michigan Conference, which was dominated by Elk Rapids and is no longer in existence. Most of the same teams from that conference now belong to the Northern Shores League.
The Rams, in the midst of playing home and away games in the 10-team conference, are already looking ahead to the prospects or a third-straight District championship. The other teams in that bracket are Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian, Charlevoix, Harbor Light Christian, Mackinaw Island and Cooks Big Bay de Noc.
Regional play is also something on which the Rams already have set their sights. Last year’s Division 4 champion Muskegon Western Michigan Christian knocked out the Rams last year and could be an opponent again this fall. Leland, which topped Harbor Springs in a Regional Final two years ago, could also be a Regional foe again.
There are two Harbor Springs players named Juneau. Henry’s younger brother, Cliff, is a freshman this year. The brothers are already teaming up to be something special.
“Henry’s a lethal goal scorer and he has a great supporting cast, including his little brother,” Suffolk proclaimed. “Watching those two work together is really cool, and you can kind of see the future.”
Despite a huge size difference compared to his older brother, the younger Juneau is already gaining attention.
“Cliff comes up to Henry's shoulders right now,” Suffolk pointed out. “But he's trying all the same things, and he's finding a lot of success. He's already a critical part of our team.”
Henry Juneau has become a role model for his little brother and pretty much everyone in the Rams’ small community, Suffolk points out. The Juneaus live across the street from their coach, and Henry is the best friend of the coach’s son, eighth-grader Jack Suffolk.
“Henry is someone the kids can really look up to as a good role model,” Suffolk said. “They see his work ethic, and they see him putting in year-round work on his craft.”
Both Suffolk and Henry Juneau point to their special coach-player relationship as a key to the Rams’ continued success.
“I want excellence out of these kids, and I know we're never going to get perfection,” Suffolk said. “I demand excellence and as unstoppable as Henry is, we still have tough conversations.”
Juneau carries great appreciation for his coach’s demands.
“We have a great relationship, and it's fun to work with him every day through the season,” he said. “But, yes, he has a high standard and it's what pushes me to be better and our whole team to be better. And if we didn't have it, we wouldn't be where we are right now.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Harbor Springs’ Henry Juneau (11) works to get control of the ball in front of the net. (Middle) Juneau stands among his teammates during a game. (Photos by Rob DeForge/RD Sports Photo.)