Keeper Keys Country Day's D2 Triumph
November 3, 2018
By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half
COMSTOCK PARK – Jon Dougherty stood tall for 100 minutes of soccer.
And then some.
Under constant pressure Saturday at Comstock Park from undefeated and top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Dougherty, the senior goalkeeper for Detroit Country Day, made save after save throughout regulation and then overtime to keep his team in a scoreless Division 2 title game.
Then in the penalty kick shootout, Dougherty made one more big save and the Huskies missed the net on another shot, giving the Yellowjackets a 4-2 advantage in penalty kicks for a 1-0 victory and the program’s state-record 15th MHSAA Finals championship.
The title Saturday was the program’s first in Division 2. The Yellowjackets moved from Division 3 this fall.
"Credit to Forest Hills Northern, they were a great opponent," Dougherty said. "They were big, fast and physical and really wore us down the whole game. I just did what I had to do to keep the ball out of the net. I just kept telling my defenders where to be in position, and they did a (heck) of a job, too."
During regulation, Dougherty stopped 12 Forest Hills Northern shots. He stopped four more in the two 10-minute overtime periods. Then the one in the penalty kick session to give him a full day’s work and make his coach very proud.
"They (FHN) are a wonderful team," said Detroit Country Day coach Steve Bossert, whose team ended the year with a 20-5-2 record. "And we had a good gameplan, the kids executed it and I think we have the best goalie in the state. He made the difference."
Especially early.
"Some of those flighted balls early, he had to reach over and make great saves in a lot of traffic," Bossert said. "And they have a lot of big bodies. He was the best."
The higher-regarded team coming into Saturday's title game was the Huskies, who had not lost in 24 games this fall.
And Forest Hills Northern played like that all game, controlling tempo and pushing the ball into the Yellowjackets' defensive end time and time again. But the Huskies could not penetrate Detroit Country Day's defense and Dougherty.
"It doesn't really matter if you don't score," said FHN coach Daniel Siminski, whose team ended its year 23-1-1. "This is my fifth state finals, and I have lost three on PKs. And when you are or are not the best team, today they were the best team because they won, shots or no shots."
The Huskies also fell in a shootout in their first championship match appearance, to Mason in 2015.
"Country Day played a great defensive game," Siminski added. "They made it difficult for us to create. And when we had chances, we didn't score. That is how it goes sometimes. This is a tough pill to swallow after the season we had."
Senior midfielder Kevin Tang netted Country Day’s final penalty kick that put the game away.
The championship was Country Day’s first since 2011.
"This was a great high school soccer game," Bossert said. "I think it is a shame that somebody has to lose like that. Obviously, I am very excited that we won. I am not a very big fan of the tiebreak, but it is what it is and we ended up on the better end of it."
PHOTOS: (Top) Country Day keeper Jon Dougherty gathers a shot just over the head of a Forest Hills Northern player Saturday at Comstock Park. (Middle) Yellowjackets senior Kevin Tang celebrates during his team’s Division 2 Final victory.
Star Seniors Emerge Amid Tragic Losses to Lead Manistee on Historic Playoff Run
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 7, 2025
This fall’s high school boys soccer season is in the books, and Manistee advanced to the Division 3 Regional Finals for the first time since 2008 with Max Scharp and James Jados leading the way.
Coach Brandon Prince is prepared to never have players like Scharp and Jados again. The senior duo was a once-in-a-lifetime combination.
But there was so much more to their stories.
“I think it says a lot about the characters of Max and James to keep doing what they did and also says a lot about the support groups they have behind them,” said Prince, who completed his 14th season at Manistee. “They never showed hardship from what they were experiencing outside. They just kept the focus on the team and what the team goals were.”
Scharp scored the District championship game’s only goal as the day marked the four-year anniversary of the death of his mother, Jessica. She lost a seven-year battle with breast cancer when Scharp was an eighth grader and older brother Jacob a freshman in the midst of helping Manistee make a run to the Regional Semifinals.
“I wanted to keep going in all kinds of ways — it was pretty emotional, and it kind of inspired me,” said Max Scharp, who suffered an ankle sprain in two spots as the Mariners earned a 4-3 shootout win over Standish-Sterling in the Regional Semifinal on Oct. 21. “She always liked to watch me play soccer.”
Scharp had 23 goals and 17 assists this season and was named to the all-West Michigan Conference first team and third-team all-state by the state coaches association.
He pointed to the sky after he scored the winning goal in the District Final win over Montague. Scharp then scored two goals in the Regional Semifinal as Jados, an all-conference center back, scored the deciding shootout goal advancing the Mariners to the Regional Final in Clare – where their season ended with a 4-1 loss to then-undefeated Fremont.
Jados almost didn’t have a high school soccer career. He played as a youth but had no intention of joining the Mariners until he was encouraged to play by assistant coach Wendy Adamski.
This season, as the Mariners were about to host rival Ludington on Sept. 10, Jados lost his home, two dogs and cat in a fire. He vividly recalls watching the house burn with Prince alongside him.
“We were sitting up in front of the house and it was still burning, but Coach showed up for me and I knew I had to show up for the guys,” Jados said. “I told him I'd be there and got a ride over there. I told Coach I had to take care of business at home."
The Mariners took a 1-0 lead on Ludington but eventually fell 3-1. The team wasn’t told about the fire until after the game was over.
“I ran down to see him and his family before the game, and I was talking to James and his dad and I said, ‘Don't worry about us, we'll take it from here, but if you need something, you let us know,” Prince recalled of the conversation at the disaster site. “I remember, and here's the emotion in that moment, he kind of pulled my arm and he says, ‘I'll see you in a minute. We've got something to do.’”
Jados played all 80 minutes that day.
“James was dealing with the circumstances that you know, a 17-year-old young man probably shouldn't have to, but he did, and he did it with such maturity and composure,” Prince said. “I think that says a lot about James.”
Jados and Scharp were two of five seniors on the Mariners squad that finished 12-9-1 and featured a sophomore goalkeeper. Lane Piper, who finished the year with 155 saves. The senior leadership was key to the Mariners’ success as they also saw 15 freshmen, one sophomore and a couple of juniors come out for soccer in August.
Prince said he knew from the beginning of the season that Manistee would find success. He noted he’s had great players and great squads in the past, but this year’s team was unique. The team’s goal was to go as far as possible – together.
“We put the team first and the program first, and they never stopped believing that they could be doing something special,” Prince said. “And, you know, being in this sport as long as I have, I can honestly tell you these kids were special in a way that I don't think I've seen on other teams.”
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) At left, Manistee’s James Jados (5) looks to his team’s bench after scoring the game-clinching goal in the Mariners’ Regional Semifinal win. At right, Max Scharp (10) celebrates his goal in the victory. (Middle) Manistee coach Brandon Prince, far right, talks to his team. Scharp is to his immediate right. (Photos courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)