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High 5s: 11/28/12

November 28, 2012

The final MHSAA championships of the Fall 2012 season give us our final High 5s before heading into winter. This week, we recognize both an individual and a team that achieved new heights. 

Drake Harris
Grand Rapids Christian junior
Football

A 6-foot-4, 180-pound receiver who has committed to play both football and basketball at Michigan State beginning in 2014, Harris posted one of the finest receiving season in MHSAA history capped by playing a huge role in his team's first MHSAA championship. The Eagles beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's 40-37 in overtime Saturday for the Division 3 title. His eight catches for a Finals-record 243 yards and a touchdown put his unofficial season totals at 91 catches for 2,015 yards and 25 scores. Once confirmed, the season yardage will rank as the most in MHSAA history and 12th nationally for one season (his yards per game rank fourth and yards per catch sixth on the NFHS lists). Harris also ranked fourth for catches and second for touchdown catches on the MHSAA single-season lists.

Just ducky: "I'm probably more energized now after he hit that kick," Harris said after teammate Joel Schipper's winning field goal Saturday. "I was probably more tired a little bit during the game. But we condition all practice. We play fast. We play like Oregon, move the ball, (at) a high tempo. We're all in condition, so we really weren't that tired." 

Bring on the new guy: Harris has caught more than 3,000 yards worth of passes from senior Alex VanDeVusse over the last two seasons, but will play with a new quarterback in 2013. "I've been with Alex since sophomore year. I guess I have to start over and work hard all next season and hope to get back here."  

Be like Calvin: "Calvin Johnson, I want to be just like him when I get older. I know I'm a little skinny right now, but when I get to college, I know they'll put weight on me. I watch film on him all the time, watch him running routes. So I take my game after him. He's the best wide receiver in the NFL right now, probably one of the best wide receivers to play the game, in my opinion." 

Click to read more. 

Portland football

The Raiders, unranked despite entering the postseason 8-1, finished with their first MHSAA title won in their first trip to the Finals. Portland defeated Grand Rapids West Catholic 12-9 in the Division 5 championship game after knocking out 2011 champion Flint Powers Catholic in the Regional Final. For the playoffs, Portland outscored its five opponents 169-66 while holding three to nine or fewer points. In finishing 13-1 and setting a school record for wins, the Raiders beat nine playoff teams total including eventual Division 3 Semifinalist DeWitt. 

Click to read more. 

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

De La Salle’s James Spicuzzi (5) and his teammates celebrate during Saturday’s Division 2 Final.

De La Salle Continues Reign, Delivering Previously-Unbeaten Unity's Lone Defeat

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

November 1, 2025

GRAND LEDGE — Call this the continued resurgence of a program that’s long been a state boys soccer power. 

Before last season, tradition-rich Warren De La Salle Collegiate hadn’t won a Finals championship in nearly two decades after claiming five from 1990-2005. 

De La Salle seems to have returned to its glory days again, capping back-to-back championships Saturday for the first time since 1992 and 1993 with a 2-0 triumph over Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Division 2 Final. 

It was the seventh state title in school history, all under legendary head coach Thaier Mukhtar. 

The Pilots’ Andrew Corder (14) controls the ball with Unity Christian’s Landon Crump (19) and Kyler Berghuis (3) working to gain possession. “Credit goes to the boys,” Mukhtar said. “It goes to them for just listening to what they were supposed to do, and they got it done.” 

In winning title No. 7, De La Salle (21-4-2) did something no other team was able to do before the championship game – defeat a Unity Christian contender also looking for its seventh Finals title. 

De La Salle scored first with 29:03 remaining in the first half on a goal by senior James Spicuzzi. 

Following a throw-in into the box by senior Max Wyszczelski, the ball deflected off the head of a Unity Christian defender to the foot of Spicuzzi, who buried the chance to make it 1-0 De La Salle. 

“I was kind of anticipating it coming to me,” Spicuzzi said. “It definitely was just composure. That was really it.” 

De La Salle then took a 2-0 lead with 3:41 to go in the first half when senior Nikolai Zacharko converted a penalty kick after Wyszczelski was fouled in the box. 

Unity Christian had a golden chance to get back in the game with 21:36 remaining in regulation as De La Salle was called for a foul in its box, giving Unity Christian a penalty kick.

But Pilots junior goalie Dominic Baldarotta saved the kick and the ensuing rebound to keep the score 2-0. 

“I knew right when he placed the ball down where he was going,” Baldarotta said. “He placed on the other side so I just went the other way. It was a lot of momentum. It really changed the entire course of that second half.”

From there, De La Salle held firm defensively, preventing Unity Christian from getting quality scoring chances as the clock ticked down. 

Berghuis gets up high to stop a shot headed toward his team’s goal. “Once a team gets a lead, the other team knows they have to get it done and they throw everything at you,” Mukhtar said. “We weathered the storm and settled the ship down a little bit. The game worked out the way we wanted it to work out.”

Unity Christian, which won the Division 3 title two years ago, finished its season at 19-1-4. 

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Unity Christian head coach Ian Billin said. “They play very similar to us. Just a lot of high pressure and try to make things chaotic. Kudos to them. They get one early, and that changes the dynamic of the game.

“For us, I was really proud of our guys in the second half. To go down 2-0, we really settled in and we created in the second half quality corner kicks, free kicks and we got the PK as well. We just couldn’t get the back of the net today. But I’m really proud of this group and what they’ve done all season.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) De La Salle’s James Spicuzzi (5) and his teammates celebrate during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Pilots’ Andrew Corder (14) controls the ball with Unity Christian’s Landon Crump (19) and Kyler Berghuis (3) working to gain possession. (Below) Berghuis gets up high to stop a shot headed toward his team’s goal. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)