Harbor Springs freshman Juneau already one of state's best scorers

CHARLEVOIX — In most cases, freshmen enter their first season just hoping to work their way into some playing time at the varsity level.

Eyeing school records already? Ha, earn your stripes first young pup.

But Harbor Springs freshman Henry Juneau has nothing about his game that puts him in that latter category.

From the opening week of the season, Juneau was peppering opponents with goals and it didn’t take long to realize he would be a problem for most and one heck of an asset for the Rams.

But even the season Juneau has put together is one he never expected.

“No,” he said smiling, dripping in rain following Thursday’s 3-0 victory in their Division 4 district championship match in Charlevoix. “I’m surrounded by a great group of guys. They can feed me the ball and I can finish it.”

Those big early season games never slowed for Juneau and the scoring total grew from 15 goals, to 20, then to 25. Then, when his team needed him the most Thursday against Charlevoix in that district final, it grew again and again.

Entering the game with 33 goals for the season, Juneau bent in a free kick that gave him another. Then, in a 2-0 game in the second half, another came, bringing him to 35 goals for the season.

Needless to say, everyone around the Harbor program is glad to have Juneau playing well beyond his years.

“He’s made an instant impact, it’s pretty cool,” Harbor senior Niko Reskevics said. “He’s already part of it and the chemistry is great. He’s been a perfect fit.”

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Relatively new to the town and school system – let alone the varsity team – Juneau honed his skills while living downstate, before moving north a few years back.

Before entering the varsity this fall, he got some prep time in with who would be his future teammates through club soccer in the offseason.

It’s clearly paid off.

“I’ve had a bond with them for a few years now because of club, but they’re great,” added Juneau on the seniors around him. “They’re amazing. They’re great leaders and great friends.”

Harbor Springs head coach Jeff Suffolk knew what he had right from the start with Juneau and was excited to get him into the lineup.

Last season, Suffolk liked the progress his team made in his second season leading the program, as they bumped up to 10 wins. Now, in a 15-win season and after the Rams ended their district championship drought Thursday of seven years, everything has clicked and Juneau has played a major role in that.

“He really has put it all together for the team,” said Suffolk. “The ball movement came together last season, then this season it really changed adding a goal scorer to it. We’ve always had the possession. He makes other guys score too. He’s unselfish and it’s going to be an exciting four years with him.”

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Thursday’s title on Charlevoix’s field – celebrated in the dark and as the rain intensified into a downpour – was big for the Harbor program, though Juneau feels just the same as the rest of the team: it’s only the start of what they really want.

The dynamic freshman is still nine goals away from even tying a 2006 Harbor Springs single-season scoring record of 44 goals by Terrence Frank, though he’s not all that focused on that at the moment.

If scoring goals brings the Rams more wins in the postseason, that’s what Juneau is after and he’s excited to put in the work to get there with a regional semifinal ahead at Clare against Roscommon on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

“We’ve got to keep working, it’s not over yet,” he said. “We can’t give up. We have the goal to win a state championship.”

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Springs' Henry Juneau in the midst of a dynamic first season with Rams