Watch Spring Finals on Comcast
June 7, 2013
Arrangements have been finalized to have MHSAA spring tournament finals in baseball, lacrosse, soccer and softball shown on a delayed basis on Comcast Channel 900.
The package starts with the airing of Saturday’s (June 8) Lacrosse Finals. The Boys Finals will be shown on Tuesday, with the Division 1 match-up of defending champion Birmingham Brother Rice and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern at 7 p.m. followed at 9:30 p.m. by the Division 2 title tilt between defending champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood. An encore presentation is set for June 15 in the same time slots.
The Girls Lacrosse Finals will debut on Wednesday at 7 p.m., with Rockford facing Bloomfield United in the Division 1 championship followed at 9:30 p.m. by the Division 2 finale pitting defending champion East Grand Rapids against Livonia Ladywood. Those games will get a second airing on June 16, with Division 1 at 3 p.m. and Division 2 at 6 p.m.
The Lacrosse Finals will be available on the Internet Saturday with live dedicated video (MHSAA.tv) and audio (MHSAANetwork.com) streams of the championship games at East Grand Rapids and Rockford. Here’s the complete live schedule:
Boys Lacrosse at East Grand Rapids
2 p.m. – Division 1 – Birmingham Brother Rice vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern
4:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbroo-Kingswood
Girls Lacrosse at Rockford
2 p.m. – Division 2 – East Grand Rapids vs. Livonia Ladywood
4:30 p.m. – Division 1 – Rockford vs. Bloomfield United
Next weekend, MHSAA Network coverage will include live streaming audio of the Semifinals and Finals in baseball and softball and live streaming video of the Finals in both of those sports as well as girls soccer. All of the video also will be shown on Comcast Channel 900. The complete schedule can be found on the MHSAA Website.
Division 3 Final: Eaglets Fly Again
November 29, 2011
Five times since its most recent MHSAA football championship, Orchard Lake St. Mary returned to the championship game – and lost.
Saturday night there was no stopping the Eaglets – or their running attack – at the Division 3 Final at Ford Field.
St. Mary rushed for 478 yards – and after near-misses the last two seasons won its first championship since 2000 with a 45-7 win over top-ranked Mount Pleasant.
"I knew what it felt like to lose, so it gave me the fire and other teammates the fire to win,” St. Mary senior running back Spencer McInnis said. “It’s unexplainable. It’s awesome. It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a kid. I always knew I was going to go to St. Mary’s. It’s just a great feeling.”
The Eaglets (12-2) had fallen by eight and three to East Grand Rapids in the last two Finals, and in a five-overtime classic in 2007. They entered the playoffs ranked No. 4 by The Associated Press – but as champions of the Detroit Catholic League Central, which sent three teams to Ford Field this fall.
“It was great to win again,” said St. Mary coach George Porritt, who finished his 23rd season leading the program. “It’s a collective effort from these kids, and it’s been all year long.”
McInnis ran for 213 of the team’s 478 rushing yards, and took three of his 23 carries into the end zone. Junior brother Parker McInnis ran for 96 yards and a score, as did junior fullback Grant Niemiec. Senior James Ross added another running touchdown.
“We were in position to make some tackles, and it wasn’t a scheme thing or guys getting blocked. It’s just that their athletes made our guys miss, or we couldn’t tackle them,” Mount Pleasant coach Jason McIntyre said. “I’ve never seen backs that we couldn’t tackle one on one or two on one. A lot of teams will have one great back, and you can focus and rally there. But they had three and four.”
The Oilers’ usually-strong running game finished with just 122 yards, led by senior quarterback Ryan Elliott’s 40. He also had Mount Pleasant’s lone score. It was the team’s first Finals appearance – and only loss this fall as it finished 13-1.
Junior defensive back Cory Williams led the Oilers with nine tackles. Senior lineman Dylan Zerki led the Eaglets with 11, and Ross had 10.