Irish Celebrate Homecoming Sky High
October 4, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
You’ve got to see this – from high in the sky – to believe it.
The disappointing news for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep from its Homecoming game last Friday was that the Fighting Irish fell to Detroit Catholic League AA leader Detroit Loyola by seven points.
But the Irish will remember fondly (and probably click on frequently) the video of this sky high view of the game including the team’s entrance to the field.
Thanks to a camera attached to a helicopter-like apparatus flown by local Aerial Imagery Works, Notre Dame was able to capture a rarely-seen view. See more by watching the brief video embedded at the bottom of this post.
SLC-TV Rolls 300
It's fair to assume few television stations in Michigan have been as dedicated to the local football team as South Lyon's SLC-TV, which will celebrate a milestone broadcast Oct. 11 when South Lyon faces South Lyon East.
SLC-TV has followed South Lyon football home and away games for 31 years and will broadcast its 300th game that night. SLC-TV’s games appear on WOW network channel 19 and Comcast Southfield channel 90, which reaches 33 communities in metro Detroit.
Sports director Tedd Wallace will have done play-by-play for 298 of those games, and said he believes no station in America has done TV broadcasts of a team’s home and away games as consistently. Check out more about the network’s weekly work on its Facebook page.
Friendly gesture to opponent in need
One of the most heart-warming parts of following high school sports is experiencing the camaraderie among athletes from opposing teams they likely know nothing about except for what they learn during competition.
Concord’s volleyball team shined especially brightly in this way last week.
Amazingly, Union City junior Marissa Mead played in her team’s match against Concord on Sept. 24 despite her home being destroyed by a fire that morning. As told by the Jackson Citizen-Patriot’s Leanne Smith, Concord’s players had heard about the tragic event and were surprised to then see Mead take her place as defensive specialist that night.
On the bus ride home, the Concord players decided they needed to do something to help Mead and her family. As a team, the players collected $80 – and then pushed the total to $300 with the help of teachers, parents and administrators. They delivered the funds in a card to Mead at Union City’s home match two days later.
It’s a gesture that might seem small, but speaks loudly to the awesome way our athletes relate to each other not just on, but off the court as well. Click to read the entire report.
Official of the Year
Marcy Weston, Central Michigan University’s Executive Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Administration and a longtime contributor to MHSAA officiating initiatives, has been named the Naismith Women’s College Official of the Year.
Weston spoke at the 2001 MHSAA Officials Banquet and has served as part of the association's officials committee and with the National Federation of State High School Associations as a liaison to its Basketball Rules Committee.
She also served as NCAA national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating from 1991-2005 after working as a women’s college basketball official from 1964-84. Click to read more from CMUChippewas.com.
Preview: Familiar Foes Meet Again in Ann Arbor for Boys Lacrosse Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 6, 2025
Tonight’s MHSAA Boys Lacrosse Finals will be rematches both of championship games past and meetings this regular season.
In Division 1 at 4 p.m., Detroit Catholic Central and Bloomfield Brother Rice will meet in a Final for the 11th time – and third time this season, with DCC winning 10-9 and 12-11 in overtime.
Following in Division 2, Detroit Country Day will face East Grand Rapids in a championship game for the third time and first since 2011 – with the Pioneers winning their faceoff this March 25, 10-9.
Both games will be played at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium, and below is a glance at all four contenders. Rankings as part of “best wins” are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.
Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
BLOOMFIELD HILLS BROTHER RICE
Record/MPR: 18-5, No. 3
League finish: Second in Catholic High School League Central
Coach: Ajay Chawla, 12th season (191-48)
Championship history: 16 Division 1 titles, two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 9-8 over No. 2 Rockford in Semifinal, 13-5 (Quarterfinal) and 9-4 over No. 9 Brighton, 15-6 over No. 11 Romeo in Regional Final, 9-6 over Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids.
Players to watch: Theo Ley, sr. A; Hansen Polonkey, sr. A; Payton Fortino, sr. G.
Outlook: After missing the Division 1 championship game last spring for the first time since boys lacrosse became MHSAA-sponsored in 2005, Brother Rice is back in the season finale. Nine of the Warriors’ game this season were against out-of-state opponents, against whom Rice finished a combined 6-3. Ley made the all-state first team last season.
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/MPR: 23-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Catholic High School League Central
Coach: Dave Wilson, 20th season (293-100)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2024 and 2018, nine runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 12-11 (OT) and 10-9 over No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 22-4 over No. 5 Grand Ledge in Semifinal, 18-0 over No. 6 Ann Arbor Pioneer in Regional Final, 18-8 over No. 2 Rockford, 20-0 over No. 11 Romeo, 11-5 over Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Lachlan Moffatt, sr. A; Luke Zajdel, sr. M; Connor Lukas, sr. M. Outlook: Much of the nucleus that carried DCC to its second Division 1 championship last season came back this spring, with Moffatt, Zajdel and Lukas all returning all-state first-team selections from a year ago, senior defenders Luke Taylor and Joey Ramirez back after making the second team and senior attack Francisco Williams a third-team all-stater in 2024. The Shamrocks have won 33 straight games dating back to May 7 of last season and breaking Brother Rice’s record of 29 consecutive victories during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. DCC’s four shutouts also have tied an MHSAA single-season record.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/MPR: 20-3, No. 1
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Coach: Chris Garland, sixth season (100-25)
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2024), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 20-11 (Semifinal) and 18-6 over No. 7 Mattawan, 19-1 over No. 4 Temperance Bedford in Quarterfinal, 15-2 over No. 6 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 19-9 over Division 1 No. 8 Seaholm, 14-3 over Division 1 No. 9 Brighton, 15-3 over Division 1 No. 4 South Lyon East, 17-8 over Division 1 No. 10 Hartland, 14-13 over Division 1 No. 2 Rockford, 13-11 over Division 1 No. 5 Grand Ledge.
Players to watch: Keke Yearego, jr. A (93 goals, 13 assists); Mason Gal, jr. A (55 goals, 19 assists); Luke Fisher, soph. A (46 goals, 7 assists); Kellen Curby, sr. G (5.7 goals-against average, .580 save %).
Outlook: Country Day will be playing in its fourth-straight championship game, this time carrying a 14-game winning streak and having won its first five playoff games by an average of nearly 14 goals per game. Yearego has set the program’s single-season goals record at the end of May and made the all-state second team last season, while senior mid Joe Norton (45 goals, 22 assists) made the first team in 2024 as did Curby and junior defender Andrew Gryzenia.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/MPR: 19-3, No. 2
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Kyle Osipoff, fourth season (61-19)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 10-9 over No. 1 Detroit Country Day, 20-7 over No. 8 Dexter in Regional Final, 13-7 over No. 6 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 14-3 over No. 3 Haslett, 21-7 over Division 1 No. 10 Hartland, 17-3 over Division 1 No. 9 Brighton, 20-8 over Division 1 No. 5 Grand Ledge.
Players to watch: Gavin Buck, sr. A (54 goals, 28 assists); Luke Starck, jr. D (4 goals, 3 assists); Bennett Winkel, sr. A (66 goals, 46 assists); Quinn Irwin, sr. G (6.19 goals-against average, .550 save %)
Outlook: East Grand Rapids has won Regional titles every season under Osipoff and is returning to the Finals for the first time since 2021. The Pioneers have won 11 straight games with its three losses by a combined six goals to Rockford, Brother Rice and Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.). Starck made the all-state first team last season, and Buck and Irwin made the second. Senior attack Oliver Owen (40 goals, 48 assists), junior attack Dylan Buck (40/12), junior mid Ethan Pfeiffle (39/11) and senior mid Owen Stropkai (24/16) are among others supplying significant offense.
PHOTO Detroit Country Day’s Keke Yearego (22) pursues into the midfield during last season’s Division 2 Final win over Ada Forest Hills Eastern.