Michigan's Brother Rice wins 11th straight state title
A high school in Michigan has what might be the most dominant streak in high school sports. Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) has won every state lacrosse title since the Michigan High School Athletics Association started sponsoring the sport in 2005.
On Saturday, the Warriors added the school's 11th-straight title. Brother Rice defeated Detroit Catholic Central (Novi, Mich.), 16-7. The two schools have met in the finals five times. It looked a lot like previous title games in many ways, but one: This year's squad did it without a superstar leading the way.
"We don't have a superstar on this team," Brother Rice coach Ajay Chawla told MLive. "We have a lot of very, very good players and we're unselfish. That's what we've been preaching all year. You've got to look for the next shot, look for the next guy open ... They haven't been selfish all season."
Morgan Macko led the title defense with five goals. Riley North, John Lockwood and Bo Pickens each scored a hat trick, and Brendan Kennedy scored two.
"We really had to come together as one this year," Macko told MLive. "When one of us is down, another one picked it up. That's what we did today, just all around great play."
The Warriors jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first 15 minutes, but then gave up three goals within a minute. The comeback didn't last long, with the Warriors adding seven more before the half, for a 15-4 lead.
"That's how it's been all year," Lockwood said. "Every guy, we've had different guys step up from sophomores to seniors, whoever it is. Whoever has the hot stick that day, you just got to keep giving them the ball."
For the seniors, high school would not have been complete without this title. It's become tradition at Brother Rice, one they were determined to keep going.
"My family has been at Rice for 15 years," Pickens said. "All of my brothers have gone through Rice. It feels good to take one and just give it to (Catholic Central) one last time before leaving. It's just one of those things that I'll look back and remember for the rest of my life."
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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or find her on Twitter and Facebook.
