May 25, 2005

When asked about the gold standard for boy's lacrosse in Michigan, the team everyone loves to beat, the first name leaping to the lips of those in the Wolverine State is Brother Rice. The Warriors are winners of nine of the last 11 Michigan High School Lacrosse Association championships -- and 11 total -- sending players to some of the power collegiate programs in the country like Duke and Loyola.

This spring, however, Brother Rice -- a school of 675 boys located in Bloomfield Hills, a leafy suburb northwest of downtown Detroit -- will be looking for its first championship all over again. This spring marks the first season lacrosse has been officially sanctioned by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the state governing body for prep sports.

"It's important to win the first state championship, the first `official' one, for our program and our school," said Rob Ambrose, the head coach at Brother Rice.

It means so much to the private school they decided to bump themselves up a level at the beginning of the season, ensuring they would playing for the toughest title. The MHSAA puts schools in their respective classes based on the size of the student body, but despite earning a Division II distinction, Brother Rice petitioned to be slotted in Division I. They wanted to play with the big boys.

Judging by their record, the Warriors have held up just fine, regardless of competition level. Brother Rice has rolled to an 18-0 record -- the only unblemished mark in MHSAA Division I -- and recently won the 'A' Division of the Midwest Lacrosse Conference championship, defeating two state of Ohio standouts, Case Western Reserve and Upper Arlington.

Having defeated many of the other top teams in both Divisions I and II -- including traditional powers Cranbrook (8-8), Detroit Country Day (14-4), Birmingham United (11-6) and University of Detroit (10-8) -- Brother Rice is the smart pick to win the title again this year, but Ambrose is trying to keep his team focused.

"I never think that," he said. "I can't. We just came off a huge Midwest victory and now we need to reenergize ourselves and concentrate on states. We need to execute our game. We have a chance to finish an undefeated season and that is an accomplishment for anyone."

The MHSAA tournament will start on June 1 with a four-team regional before an eight-team state tournament, which will start on June 7 and culminate on June 11 with the title game.

Ambrose's Warrior team is loaded with talent, some of which will be heading on the collegiate ranks next fall. Seniors Stephen Walters (MVP of the Midwest tournament), Riley Kearns (four-year starter) and Karl Zimmerman (lead goal-scorer) give Brother Rice an offensive punch scoring 12.7 goals per outing.

Charlie Henneghan is a face-off middie capable of strong offensive and defensive performances, and he is joined by Christian Hane and Charlie Ryan. On defense, poles Matt Frizzo and Mike Torriglia have allowed goalie John Haas to stifle opponents to a tune of 4.83 goals per game.

Henneghan is currently mulling offers from Denver and Penn State while Zimmerman and Frizzo will both be joining Ohio Wesleyan's lacrosse team next spring.

"We've got a core group of kids who are very good competitors and we've got a good group of seniors," and Ambrose. "We're obviously undefeated, but we've had a few trying moments. Lacrosse can be funny that way."

MICHIGAN NOTES: Brother Rice will be playing Farmington Hills (2-7) in the first round of the MHSAA regional tournament in what appear to be, on paper, a mismatch. Ambrose said he is looking forward to getting some of his younger players some quality minutes if some of his tournament games aren't close...as much as the sanctioning of the sport is a big step for lacrosse in Michigan, Ambrose feels it may also hurt some of the better programs because of the MHSAA "600-mile" rule. This bylaw stipulates no team can travel more than 600 miles round-trip to play an out-of-state team, which makes Pittsburgh and Chicago as the outermost limits of Brother Rice's schedule. Ambrose would like to play East Coast teams if he could -- the Warriors beat Landon a couple of years ago -- to see how his teams stack up and to get better...while some of the larger high schools in Michigan have added, or will be adding, lacrosse, Ambrose said it may take a little while for the sport to make the next jump. "In lacrosse, you don't need numbers, you need skill," he said.

NATIONAL NOTES: Due to the talent level and history involved in the event, the Maryland Intercollegiate Athletic Association boy's lacrosse tournament is seen as the top high school tournament in the country. The MIAAs wrapped up last Friday in a typically thrilling game. The McDonogh players won it for their departed friend and departing coach. If you like happy endings, read Gary Adornato's story from MIAAsports.com...and if you're one of those types that aren't sold on the MIAA being the top of the heap, here's one stat to take mull: at the Division I national semifinal games this Saturday, there will be 25 former MIAA-ers on the four rosters. Not bad...the Cherry Creek boy's lacrosse team finally recaptured the Colorado State championship last Friday night after a two-year slump, capping a 17-2 season by defeating Kent Denver in the title game. Check out Peter Jakel's story in the Rocky Mountain News about the game. The Kent Denver girl's returned the favor to Cherry Creek with a 10-8 victory in the title game over the defending champs (story by Adam Dunivan, RMN).... in Missouri, the Mary Institute Country Day School won the state title by defeating Parkway West, 9-7, to capture its fourth crown in five years (story by Tom Wheatley, St. Louis Dispatch).