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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:

A Detroit Catholic Central golfer hits an approach shot during the LPD1 Final.

Okemos' Masih Completes Homecoming, DCC Finishes Finals Repeat Under New Leader

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

June 7, 2025

EAST LANSING — Two years ago, Ian Masih of Okemos was envisioning high school golf success in Michigan, although he wasn’t even living in the state at the time. 

Masih grew up in Michigan, but spent his freshman and sophomore years of high school living in the Orlando, Fla., area with his grandpa. He took online classes and enjoyed the luxury of being able to play golf year-round with a coach he had there. 

But before his junior year, he decided to move back to cold-weather Michigan in spite of his golfing ambitions.

“I wanted to come back for family and friends,” he said. “It was good to be down there practicing all the time. But it was nice to come back.”

Masih was really thankful he came back to Michigan on Saturday after he won the medalist honor at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West.

Not surprisingly, the team championship was once again claimed by Detroit Catholic Central, which won its second-straight title and third over the last four years. 

Back to Masih, he shot identical scores of 69 for a two-day total of 138 – one shot ahead of Catholic Central junior Jack Whitmore (139) and two shots ahead of Warren De La Salle Collegiate senior Julian Sinishtaj (140). 

A Rochester Adams golfer tees off during the LPD1 Final.Signed with Grand Valley State, Masih had five birdies and just two bogeys and finished his day by birdieing the par-4, 386-yard third hole. 

“Patience,” Masih said of the key to his round. “There were a lot of times I wanted to hammer it at the hole. But I stayed patient and made the putts I needed to.”

Masih said he didn’t know he needed a birdie on his last hole to sew up the title. 

“I tried my best not to look,” he said. “It worked out.”

All of that certainly made coming back to the cold of Michigan worth it, even as he had to readjust to hitting balls in a dome during the winter. “A lot of (simulator) golf also,” he said. 

Behind Masih, Catholic Central had two players finish among the top 10 – Whitmore and senior Dillon Che, who placed as part of a five-way tie for 10th (146).

Juniors David Krusinski and Collin Davis flanked those two with identical two-day totals of 151 for the Shamrocks, who had to deal with a little bit of a transition this year.

Head coach Mike Anderson retired after leading Catholic Central to five Finals titles over 10 years, but the train kept rolling behind new coach Mike Fras, an assistant with the team the past three seasons. 

Catholic Central finished with a final team total of 587, seven shots ahead of Rochester Adams, which finished as the runner-up for the second-straight season with a total of 594.

“It was definitely a change with Coach Fras coming in,” Whitmore said. “We did things different. We actually had team practices this year. There really wasn’t any pressure. Just have fun, go out there and play good.”

Catholic Central entered the day 11 shots ahead of second-place Brighton and 15 shots ahead of fourth-place Adams.

The Highlanders had a strong second day, shooting a team score of 296 to climb into second position. But it wasn’t quite enough to make up the difference with Catholic Central. 

“We only cared about the team, and that is what our priority has been all season,” Fras said. “Our first tournament of the season, Rochester Adams beat us pretty good. We knew Adams was going to be right back and we’d be going back and forth all season. Fortunately we had a really good first day, because Adams had a really good day today.”

Brighton (601), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (602) and De La Salle (602) rounded out the top five. 

Click for full results.

(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)