Updated June 5 2008

   Novi -- University of Detroit Jesuit came back from two goals down early to run away from Ann Arbor Pioneer 10-4 on June 4 to advance to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 finals against defending champion and the top-ranked team in the entire Midwest Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice.

 

   Sophomore Alexander Van Tiem scored three goals and senior Michael Degenhardt and junior Connor Carey added two goals each for the Cubs. Junior MacKenzie Olson, and added goals for Jesuit.

 

   Pioneer lead 2-0 until late in the first quarter when junior Joshua Nemes found the net with 1:23 left to make it 2-1. Carey scored his first goal at the 11:04 mark of the second to tie the score. Goals by sophomore Stephen Degenhardt Van Tiem made the score 4-2 with 4:09 left before half. A Pioneer goal with 1:41 left made it 4-3 at half.

 

  The second half was all Cubs, as they outscored the Pioneers 6-1 to take home the 10-4 win.

 

   Brother Rice had no trouble beating Troy Athens 26-3 in the early semifinal. Devim Peurach led the Warriors (22-0) with six goals. Nick Dolik scored three goals and added three assists. Patrick VanDugen had three goals and two assists.

 

   Rice used a strong defensive performance to beat Ohio's Western Reserve Academy 9-4 to capture the 2008 Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association Championship on May 18 at Detroit Country Day and has not lost a game in Michigan for more than six years. They beat Novi Detroit Catholic Central for the 2007 and 2006 MHSAA titles and defeated Jesuit 12-11 in the 2005 final.

 

  The Warriors look to win their sixth straight Michigan state championship and finish their season undefeated for the first time since 2005, when they went 23-0. The MHSAA began sanctioning lacrosse in the 2005 season. The Warriors have won 10 of the past 12 state championships and 14 overall.

 

   The Warriors hold two wins this season over the Cubs, 17-9 on April 29 and 12-6 on May 10. The closest any team has come to Rice in 2008 was a 9-6 win over Ohio powerhouse Upper Arlington on May 17.

 

  Jesuit Head Coach Sean Leary feels his team has a chance against Rice in the final. "We just have to come out and play hard and play our game," he said. "They put on their shorts the same way we do. If we are able to possess the ball, then we have a chance. We have to put together a full 48 minutes, which we have yet to do. But if we try and do something different and get out of our game just because we are playing a team in orange, we're going to be in trouble. We're just going to keep it simple and play hard."

 

   Leary was a three-year varsity player for Country Day and was an assistant coach under longtime Country Day Head Coach John Kenny. The Yellowjackets won the MHSAA Division 2 Championship in Leary's last year as an assistant in 2005. He also won a state title as a player for Country Day.

Leary guided Jesuit to a regional title last year in his first year as a head coach before falling Brother Rice in the state semifinals.

 

  The Cubs improve to 14-8 on the season and are ranked at No. 5 in the state in the latest www.LaxPower.com computer rankings. The Division 1 final is Saturday at 5 p.m. at Troy Athens.

 

Division 2

   Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central beat Grosse Pointe South 12-8 and defending champion East Grand Rapids topped Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 12-3 to make it an all-West battle for the Division 2 championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Troy Athens.

 

   Senior Corbin Ralston netted four goals and Joe Glendening scored twice for the Pioneers. William Miller, Ben Momon and Dean Stanton scored for Cranbrook (16-6).

 

   East beatCranbrook in last year's state final. Cranbrook won the title in 2006 over East. The Pioneers improve to 15-4 on the season.

 

   Kevin Delana scored five goals for Forest Hills Central (18-3) in their win over Grosse Pointe South.