Brother Rice overwhelms Catholic Central, 8-1
Among the many things lost in the spring of 2020 was the boys lacrosse rivalry between Birmingham Brother Rice and Detroit Catholic Central.
The two programs have met in the last six Division 1 state finals, with Rice taking five of the six.
On Wednesday, the two teams met for the first time in 2021, with the vast majority of the players getting their first taste of the varsity rivalry on the field.
While neither team looked in peak form, it was Brother Rice that showed more poise and confidence, storming past a shellshocked Shamrock team for an 8-1 victory.
“If you break down the film,
I think we had a lot of unforced errors (too), but the difference was I think we were unmatched in hustle and energy. We forced a lot of turnovers, we rode really well, we did really well in ground ball situations. When you do that, you look better,” Brother Rice coach Ajay Chawla said. “We are a very inexperienced team. We’re young and these guys haven’t played in a year like everyone else, so they are going to make their fair share of mistakes. But, as long as we bring that hustle and that energy that we did (Wednesday), we look better. We’re not nec
essarily playing a lot better, but we look better.”
Rice set the tone in the early stages, as sophomore Sam Klein scored the opening goal just 1:52 into the contest.
The Warriors would control possession throughout the first period, as the Shamrocks couldn’t execute on passes with the ball, putting up unforced errors that allowed Rice to dictate the pace of play.
“We haven’t been together in a long time and haven’t had a lot of practice, and it shows. We are woefully inexperienced all over,” Catholic Central coach Dave Wilson said. “All you can do is keep playing games like this so they can finally understand. That was their wake-up call. There’s a ton of room for improvement. It’s just onward and upward.”
Rice senior Luke Dudley scored a pair of goals in the first quarter to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead entering the second period. Dudley will be a key piece to the 2021 season, as he’s a player that has grown up in the Rice lacrosse program.
“Luke is an interesting case because he’s had two brothers play in the program. Both were All-Americans and both were great players for me. The family has been entrenched in the culture for a long time, so Luke gets it,” Chawla said of Dudley. “Luke was born into it. He’s helping the other guys really understand what it is about. He’s been instrumental in getting these guys going.”
The second period saw just one goal scored, as the Catholic Central defense did its part to keep the Shamrocks in the game. Senior goalie Brian Molchan made a number of saves to keep the score from getting out of hand. A Zach Rivers goal in the final minute of the period gave the Warriors a 4-0 lead at the break.
“We held our own in that regard,” Wilson said of his defense.
The key stretch of the match came in the first six minutes of the second half. Rice scored four goals from four different players to put the match out of reach.
Dudley started things off with his third goal, while Hunter Polonkey, Paulie Fortino and Robert Reaume also found the net.
Despite the lopsided win, Chawla felt his offense could have been much better, but understands that will be a work in progress.
“The offense is going to take a while. We didn’t shoot well at all (Wednesday), but that will come,” he said. “The execution is going to come. I care about what we put on the field from a heart and hustle standpoint and that showed (Wednesday).”
Catholic Central got the lone goal in the fourth period when senior Aidan Bishop found the net in the opening minute.
Throughout the game, the Brother Rice defense swarmed Catholic Central to create ground balls. When CC got shots at the net, senior goalies Tommy Kunz and Nate Randall were there to make saves.
“Our defense is really good and we have two world-class goalies,” Chawla said. “We are going to rely on our defense. They are athletic and fast. They can play a shutdown (defensive) game, which can help us in transition.”
The Warriors are now 6-1 on the season and will return to action on Saturday when they host Forest Hills Central at 5 p.m.
Brother Rice has won 14 of the 15 MHSAA Division 1 state championships in boys lacrosse history. The loss of the 2020 season has created some leadership challenges for a team comprised entirely of players getting their first year of varsity experience.
“Everybody doesn’t have the Brother Rice culture. To lose a year when you don’t have seniors carrying that culture down to the younger guys is a major, major loss for us,” Chawla said. “In 2019, we didn’t have one sophomore on our team, so not one of these guys has played for me. The leadership is coming and our seniors are stepping up and getting into the groove (of the program). They are understanding what the coaches expect and what the coaches want. It just takes some time. They missed a year.”
Catholic Central falls to 3-2 with Wednesday’s loss. The Shamrocks will take on Huron Valley United on Friday at 7 p.m.
Despite the 7-goal deficit on Wednesday, Chawla knows that the Shamrocks will still have a say in how the Division 1 title plays out this season. CC is the only program other than Rice to win an MHSAA Division 1 crown.
“To think we are not going to see these guys again is foolish,” Chawla said. “I have been coaching way too long to think that. They are going to get better and hopefully we are going to get better.”