Hartland lacrosse senior who considered football scores 5 goals in win over Brighton
HARTLAND — Barring a rematch in the state tournament, it was the last time Hartland senior Jacob Ross played in a rivalry lacrosse game against Brighton.
The Eagles are hosting a regional, so he could have as many as five games remaining at a stadium in which he has been a standout in football and lacrosse.
Whenever Hartland’s season ends, however, it won’t be the last time Ross plays with some of his long-time teammates.
The attraction of continuing his lacrosse career with familiar faces was a key reason Ross has stuck with his commitment to play that sport for Northwood University.
Northwood will be getting one of the top offensive players in Michigan. Ross continued his huge senior year by scoring five goals and two assists Wednesday during the Eagles’ 17-6 victory over Brighton.
It’s the fourth time in 11 games that he’s scored at least five goals, giving him a team-high 47. He surpassed last year’s total of 44.
After a football season in which he earned Livingston County Defensive Player of the Year, Ross considered switching to the gridiron in college or trying to play both sports at Northwood.
He’s all in on lacrosse now, thanks in part to the bond he has with past and current teammates.
“Right now, I stand at just playing lacrosse at Northwood,” said Ross, who led the county with 96 tackles. “That’s really my main focus right now. I think football might be out of the picture for me.”
Some of Hartland’s top players, past and present, will be joining Ross at Northwood when the program begins competing at the NCAA Division II level in the next school year. Northwood had a program from 1992-2000 before it was disbanded.
Ross, Drew Lockwood, David Bulloch and Dylan Ayotte will be heading to Northwood in the fall. Former Eagles Brett Bastionell, Evan Phillips and Mac Tognetti are already at the Midland school. They were all members of Hartland’s 2022 state Division 1 championship team.
“The lacrosse guys being up there, they’re like my boys, they’re my family,” Ross said. “It’s going to be a blast. We’ve already got chemistry building. I can’t wait.
“It’s gonna be great, considering Northwood is a newer program. It’s starting up next year. We’ve already got some chemistry built. It’s not just the Hartland guys; we’ve got some club guys that have played together.”
Ross hopes to also continue the team success he’s experienced in high school.
The Eagles are 12-2 this season, the only losses coming against defending state champion Birmingham Brother Rice and Cincinnati St. Xavier. Hartland has beaten Brighton nine straight times since losing 7-5 on May 4, 2016.
"I still don't think we've played our best lacrosse yet, but we're getting there," Hartland coach Nick Levanti said. "We're just taking it one day at a time and trying to be the best version of ourselves, whether it's at practice, in a game or whatever. We want to go out and continue to take steps forward. That's really the focus every day with these guys."
Hartland led 6-1 after one quarter before back-to-back goals by Ryan Bell and Zach Watkins drew Brighton within 6-3 with 8:20 left in the second. Ross then scored three consecutive goals to trigger a run of nine straight goals for the Eagles.
“We started rolling,” Ross said. “The boys started moving the ball pretty well and I just got good looks. Brighton’s a pretty physical, good team. To beat a team like that is great for us. It’s great to get some more teamwork in and keep rolling.”
Max Kotsilidis had three goals and one assist, Lockwood one goal and five assists, Ayotte two goals and two assists, Jake Lewis two goals, and Connor Gilbert one goal and two assists.
Lukas Aurandt scored twice for Brighton (11-4).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland extends win streak in boys lacrosse rivalry with Brighton
