CLARKSTON – The Clarkston Everest Collegiate Mountaineers dropped a Catholic High School League crossover matchup to the Jackson Lumen Christi Titans, 56-45, at home Saturday afternoon.

The Mountaineers hung tough early, but a 10-0 run that bridged the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter put the Titans up 21-14, and Everest never led again.

Everest put up a fight to the end, finishing the game on a 7-0 run of its own and outscoring the Titans in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late for the hosts. They came into the game shorthanded, having only seven players available in their first game returning from the holiday break.

Nolan Alban and Dominic Walker each scored 13 points to lead Everest, while Sean Felix had nine points and seven rebounds. Additionally, Benjamin Sasak contributed seven points and six rebounds.

But the Mountaineers never really got an offensive rhythm in this one, and they also had rebounding trouble. The Titans piled up a 33-25 edge on the glass and were particularly effective on the offense boards in the middle two periods when they build their lead.

“That will be a big focus moving forward, just doing a better job on the glass rebounding,” Everest head coach Richie Cross said.

The Mountaineers also had no answer for Jonathan Morgan, who poured in 28 points for Lumen Christi.

After a 24-2 campaign last year that saw the Mountaineers reach a regional final (they lost to eventual D4 semifinalist Allen Park Inter-City Baptist), the Mountaineers are off to another solid start, sitting at 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the CHSL Intersectional 1 Division despite returning only three players who saw significant minutes last year.

“We have one starter from that team and basically two other guys who played a lot of minutes for us,” Cross said. “We’re really fortunate to have a lot of guys that are committed three-sport athletes. I think that really helps on the competitive side, and it really pays off for us,” he added.

Photos of Clarkston Everest Collegiate vs. Jackson Lumen Christi in a CHSL boys hoops crossover

That has not stopped the Mountaineers from scheduling tough games, often against much bigger schools.

“To us, this is just another opportunity to play kind of a crossover in the Catholic League and we're just grateful for Lumen Christi agreeing to play us (and) making the drive,” Cross said. “I think we’ll get there, but we’ve just got to keep getting as much experience for all the guys stepping into bigger roles this year.”

Next up for Everest is a road test against Detroit Douglass on Wednesday before hosting Marine City Cardinal Mooney next Friday to resume CHSL play.

“They (Cardinal Mooney) are always good. They are kind of a rival in recent years just because they’re another good Division 4 program. So you seem them not only in the Catholic League but you see them sometimes in a regional or in the state tournament,” Cross said.

ROCHESTER HILLS — Senior quarterback Ryland Watters threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as Rochester Adams dispatched Stoney Creek 43-18 in Friday’s district finals.

“We worked hard for this one. We knew it was a battle, especially last game,” Watters said. “It feels great to be Rochester champions, beating them twice. They’re a great football team, and beating Rochester (High) twice as well is a great feeling.”

Early on, the Cougars’ offense was moving the ball. Stoney Creek took the opening kick off and drove 53 yards in 14 plays before coming up short on fourth-and-goal.

Adams, by comparison, needed only three plays to score. Watters hit Matt Toeppner on a screen pass to the short side, and Toeppner picked up a couple of blocks, racing down the left sideline for a 93-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion gave Adams an 8-0 lead, and the Highlanders would never trail.

Stoney Creek finished its next drive, a 12-play possession capped by a 13-yard TD pass from Brandon Gergics to Jake Lantzy that made the score 8-6.

But Adams would roll after that. The Highlanders kept hitting big plays, including a 57-yard touchdown from Watters to Cameron Dawood on their next possession that made it 14-6. That was the first of three touchdown catches on the night for Dawood.

“That was the game plan going in,” Adams head coach Tony Patritto said. “They were trying to guess what we were doing and taking some gambles, and we made some good checks and made some really nice plays.”

Adams finished the game with 15 plays going for 10 or more yards. Meanwhile, the longest play for Stoney Creek covered just 14 yards until the Cougars finally hit for several big gains on their final drive. By that time, though, the visitors were down 43-12. Once the Highlanders got dialed in on defense, Stoney Creek’s offense ground to a halt. After running 26 plays on their first two drives and gaining 118 yards, the Cougars generated just one first down on their next six trips.

“We just didn’t make enough plays tonight, and that was the frustrating part for us. We had a couple of good drives early on to put the ball close to the end zone and just couldn’t capitalize on it,” Cougars head coach Rick Powell said.

Photos of Rochester Adams vs. Stoney Creek in a D1 district football championship

With the win, Adams improves to 9-2 and will take a six-game winning streak into next week’s regional matchup against Romeo. The Highlanders and Bulldogs met on opening night with Adams winning 39-7. But after dropping its first two games, Romeo has now won eight of its last nine contests, including a 56-0 destruction of Macomb Dakota on Friday.

“Romeo is just crushing people,” Patritto said. “We’re going to have to be at our very best to beat them. They’ve got to come here, but the first game means nothing. They have us on film, we have them on film, so it’s really just about execution now.” He added that, “High school football is a momentum sport, and it’s really what the kids believe in. Our kids are starting to believe in themselves a little bit more, and I think that’s the difference.”

Stoney Creek finishes 7-4 in Year 2 under Powell.

“We’re just trying to take it one step at a time,” Powell said. “Last year, we made the playoffs and lost to these guys in similar fashion. This year, we challenged our seniors. What were our seniors going to do? What would they make for the program and for the team? And they really stepped up. Our motto and our goal was '1% better,' and if you look at the season overall, as a whole, we got 1% better as a program, and the seniors did it all. They lead the way. They were true to who they were, and I thank them for everything they did."

The Cougars will graduate 24 seniors, but also return many key pieces from this year’s team.

SOUTHFIELD – The Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice Warriors defeated the Sterling Heights Stevenson Titans 24-15 Friday night to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2022.

“We just kept growing up,” Warriors head coach Aaron Marshall said. “I think what we saw these last three games is our younger kids grow up, our seniors start leading the right way. But again, that’s really how football works. You’ve got to keep stacking days, keep stacking days, and trust the process and fall in love with it. These boys believe. The senior group led, and I really truly believe they fell in love with the process, and it shows for the last four weeks, actually.”

Leading 21-15 with 10:07 to play, the Warriors took possession at their own 12-yard line. Brother Rice marched down the field with a combination of hard running from sophomore Deondre Hill and quick passing from junior quarterback Sam Eyde. Thirteen plays, 81 yards, and just over seven minutes later, Kadin Koza kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game with just 3:04 left on the clock.

“It was important,” Marshall said. “It’s always a group effort, always a team effort. But that definitely closed out the game when we needed that.”

Stevenson drove into Brother Rice territory on its next drive, but an interception by Caden Reid sealed the game for the Warriors and punched their ticket to the playoffs.

The game was a slugfest early on. A run-heavy offense out of the Titans had them moving the ball well, and a 78-yard burst by Landon Porter gave Stevenson the lead toward the beginning of the second quarter. But Brother Rice answered with a touchdown drive of its own, capped by a 1-yard scamper from Hill to tie the game. An interception on the Titans’ next drive led to another Brother Rice touchdown, this one on a 34-yard weaving sprint by Jacob Johnson, who looked like a video game character at times with some stop-and-start dodging that left a plethora of Titan defenders grabbing at air.

The teams continued to seesaw for much of the night. The Titans took the lead back on the opening possession of the second half, going 80 yards in nine plays – all runs – for a touchdown, then used a fake extra-point try, flipping the ball to kicker Pawel Surowiec, who made a beeline for the left pylon and lowered his shoulder to drive into the end zone for the two points and a 15-14 Titans’ lead.

But after that, Brother Rice’s defense made the plays it had to, keeping the one-dimensional Stevenson offense in check the rest of the way while the Warriors’ more balanced efforts yielded a pair of crucial scoring drives and 10 more points in the second half.

For the Titans, it was all about the running game, largely a combination of Landon Porter and Jaiden Hill-Alston. Stevenson amassed 205 yards on the ground, though the Titans managed just 28 yards passing against an active Brother Rice secondary. They were threatening every time they ran the ball, but eventually the Brother Rice defenders made enough plays to finish drives.

“We ran out of juice there at the end,” Titans head coach Justin Newcomb said. “But I’m proud of our kids. Landon Porter played his heart out on three days of prep to come out and spark us like he did as a senior, laying it on the line for his team. I’m so proud of him and the rest of the guys for how they came in and competed. The game plan was really to hold on to the ball, suffocate it as much as we could. And we had some drives we were able to do that.”

Photos of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice vs. Sterling Heights Stevenson in football action at Lawrence Tech University

Brother Rice, on the other hand, had more yardage and more balance. Eyde completed 18 of 26 passes for 204 yards for the Warriors to balance a ground game led by Hill that amassed 142 yards. The intermediate passing game was very good to Eyde and the Warriors. Johnson (six catches) and Christian Marshall (five receptions) were Eyde’s favorite targets.

The win improves Brother Rice’s record to 5-4 overall and clinches them a Division 2 playoff spot, just two years removed from a team that went 0-9.

“It feels great. I just get memories from freshman year and our long run we had in the playoffs. I’m so excited to be out there with my team,” Warriors senior captain Brady Thomas said. “With a head coach and all our coaches that are preparing us, we really turned it around, and we’re prepared for every competition. We’re just believing and competing."

Stevenson (5-4) is also preliminary into the D1 postseason field, though both teams will await the official release of the brackets on Sunday to see where their next game will be and against whom they will play.

“We knew that our seeding wasn’t going to change based on a win or loss, but we wanted a good show. You’ve got to build some momentum going into the playoffs,” Newcomb said. “But we’re fairly confident that we’re going to be local next week.”

OXFORD – The Oxford Wildcats came from behind to beat the North Farmington Raiders 27-14 on Senior Night on Friday.

“It feels great,” senior quarterback and three-year starter Jack Hendrix said. “All our fans showed out again. We went down at first, and everybody stuck with it and had a big win.

“This is my last guaranteed one (home game), so I’m feeling all the emotions right now. But I’m definitely happy with the outcome of the game. I think we’ve just got to keep chugging along and we can get another one.”

The Wildcats roared back from down 14-0, scoring 27 unanswered points, including 20 in the second half.

Trailing by one score at halftime, Oxford was a much different team over the final 24 minutes. The Wildcats took the opening kick of the half and marched straight down the field for a touchdown, capped by a 7-yard pass from Jack Hendrix to Brady Hasselbring.

Although the extra point was blocked, bringing the hosts within a point at 14-13, the Wildcats would go on to score touchdowns on their next two possessions. Seth Tabert finished both drives with short rushing TDs, giving him three overall as the Oxford offensive line, anchored by captain Liam Samborski, started to push around the North Farmington front.

On the other end, after having the Raiders run all over them in the first half – particularly quarterback Elijah Cobb and tailback Terrance James – the Oxford defense was dominant in the last two quarters, holding the Raiders to just one first down and 18 total yards.

“There were a few schematic changes,” Oxford head coach Trevor Potts said. “But it was just getting back to details, tackling the ball well. Their skill guys are talented guys that made us miss quite a bit, but the kids played well.”

With tight end Jonathan Majcher sealing the edges, the Raiders’ offense dominated early as they were able to run the ball almost at will on their first two drives. They took the opening kickoff and methodically drove the field in a possession that featured a slew of penalties by both teams. Eventually, the Raiders punched it in for a touchdown, using almost eight minutes off the clock before Cobb scrambled in from seven yards out. After Oxford turned the ball over on downs, the Raiders needed just four plays to go 64 yards, highlighted by a 50-yard touchdown pass from Cobb to James that gave North Farmington a 14-0 lead with 10:24 to play in the second quarter.

“Those guys did a great job in the first half,” North Farmington head coach Jon Herstein said. “Both guys are really talented guys.”

Photo gallery of North Farmington vs. Oxford in OAA crossover football action

But the Wildcats scored on their next possession, then escaped the half down only seven when the Raiders missed a field goal on their next drive and ran out of time after taking over with only 29.5 seconds on their last possession of the half.

With the win, Oxford improves to 6-2 overall and realistically guarantees itself a playoff spot in the D1 field. Despite being picked last in the OAA Red to start the season, the Wildcats finished 2-2 in the division and have a chance to host a playoff game if they can beat a tough Macomb Dakota team on the road next week.

“It feels good to get to 6-2 in our last home game for our seniors. It’s really good to have those guys celebrate a little bit here,” Potts said. “It’s been a lot of years we’re picked last in the OAA Red, and our kids kind of wear it as a badge of honor here. We just go out and work every day and try to get better. The stark reality is we get to go play Dakota at Dakota, and so that will bring things back down quickly. They’re a great football program, and we’re just excited to go compete with the state’s best."

North Farmington (5-3) will be looking to improve its playoff seeding when the Raiders travel to Troy next week to take on the Colts.

“We had chances. We didn’t capitalize. To play and beat good teams as you move forward, you’ve got to capitalize on those opportunities,” Herstein said. “We’re going to close out our OAA schedule for the year. We’ve got Troy High School. I know they’re working hard. Coach (Chris) Frasier has always done a great job getting those guys ready. I’m sure they’ll come out and be ready for their final home game of the season."

ROCHESTER HILLS – Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett backed up its status as No. 1 in the state in Division 4 by defeating fifth-ranked Royal Oak Shrine 4-2 in the Catholic High School League Cardinal Division Championship Wednesday evening.

“We had our best game ever,” Liggett head coach David Dwaihy said. “I think Shrine is such a quality opponent and they work so hard, and they are organized. We knew we had to bring our best game, and I think the boys were extra-motivated. This was a magical night, a night I hope everybody will remember fondly. It’s a beautiful facility (at Oakland University), such a cool venue, and we really appreciate the Catholic League for putting on a show.”

Liggett dominated the game from start to finish, but for all its possession, it took them a while to break down Shrine. Finally, Brady Ancona found the net midway through the first half, taking a quick pass and slotting home an equally quick shot to give Liggett a 1-0 lead with 19:51 until halftime.

University Liggett doubled its advantage just after halftime when Liam Gady found the net barely two minutes into the second half.

That seemed to open the game up a bit as Shrine had to take its chances to get back in the game. Both teams would take advantage. Liggett got a pair of second-half goals from Brendan Logan that alternated with a pair of Shrine goals scored by Caesar Soma.

But ultimately, the quick-strike Shrine offense found itself stymied more often than not by the play of Liggett’s midfield.

“Ollie Cooley and Landon Wysocki as our two defensive midfielders were all over the field. I thought they made it really hard for Shrine to play the game they wanted to play. Brady Ancona was as dynamic as I’ve ever seen him tonight,” Dwaihy said.

Photos of Royal Oak Shrine vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the CHSL Boys Soccer Cardinal Division Championship

“I don’t think we strung more than two or three passes together the whole game. You’re not going to win a game when you aren’t aggressive, aren’t physical, aren’t talking, aren’t stringing passes together,” Shrine head coach Mark Soma said.

With the win, Liggett remains unbeaten on the season at 13-0. University Liggett will have a few final games to prepare for playoffs before facing Hope of Detroit Academy next Wednesday to open districts.

“It’s gone really well. We’ve won a lot but we’ve dealt with some adversity along the way, and we had some tricky games we had to push through,’ Dwaihy said. “But it all changes in the state tournament. Every game is going to feel like this. Every game is going to be super intense, and a lot of the teams in front of us are going to be very difficult to break down, so we’ve got to enjoy a moment like this when we can because it’s all fleeting.”

Royal Oak Shrine falls to 16-2. Up next for Shrine is Plymouth Christian on Friday before opening the playoffs next Thursday against Southfield Manoogian.

ROCHESTER HILLS – The Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks claimed another Catholic High School League Bishop Division title with a 4-0 win over the Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood Cranes Wednesday evening.

“It feels great. We worked so hard for this, and finally for the first time, we can see our hard work paying off. It feels amazing,” Catholic Central co-captain Grant Mooradian said.

The Shamrocks came out hot, scoring twice in the first nine minutes to take control.  Adrian Palushaj got things started when he juggled a ball once, then volleyed it in for a spectacular opening goal.

Less than a minute later, Kei Zarco found a rebound in front of the Cranbrook goal and deposited it in the net to double Catholic Central’s lead.

“Obviously, not the best start,” Cranbrook head coach Jacob Nunner said. “But it is what it is. You can’t go back and change anything. You just have to take it on the chin and be ready for districts and everything up ahead.”

It was a stark reversal from their last game against Toledo St. John’s Jesuit when the Shamrocks fell behind early and could not claw their way back.

“It doesn’t take much. If you get off to a poor start, that’s what happened there,” Catholic Central head coach Gene Pulice said. “That was exactly our meeting. At this time of year, every game counts. Every game is going to be a dogfight, so you just have to come out, play your best, do your best, leave it all on the field, don’t have any regrets on the field with your play, and get through it,” he added.

Cranbrook settled in after the slow start and played better for the remainder of the half. But they could not dent the scoreboard. With Kai Xu leading the breakout, the Cranes were able to get forward a bit more, though they never possessed the ball very well. Their transition attack often showed promise, but what it couldn’t do was figure out a way past Shamrocks center back Ralu Ibegbu, who just swallowed up every counterattack that came anywhere near him – and with the range he displayed, that was most of them.

“Ralu is unshakeable. He’s got nerves of steel,” Pulice said. “Ralu has been fantastic all year. I can’t say enough good things about Ralu.”

Once Catholic Central added on two more goals early in the second half – one each from Grant Mooradian and Gavin McLenaghan – the Cranes were down four goals and had no way back into the game.

Photos of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood vs. Detroit Catholic Central in the CHSL Boys Soccer Bishop Division Championship

Detroit Catholic Central improves to 12-3-3 on the season and claims its first Bishop title since beating the Cranes for it in overtime back in 2022. The Shamrocks will play Troy Athens on Monday as they finish preparations for the state tournament which starts next Wednesday. They'll will face South Lyon in the opening round of the playoffs.

“Let me start by congratulating Jake for getting Cranbrook over here. They were a well-trained team. They were very organized. They were great kids. I thought it was a well played, clean game. So congratulations to Jake and Cranbrook for putting together a great squad and coming out,” Pulice said.

Cranbrook (10-2) suffers just its second loss of the season. The Cranes get an opening-round bye before playing the winner of Pontiac and Waterford Mott in the district semifinals.

“The goal is to be here every year, which obviously we’re a successful program," Nunner said. "But I think a lot of guys came into this game with stage fright. So now that we’re here, we have this experience, especially (when) we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the roster. So when we’re back again next year, they’ll be able to walk with their chest out a little bit and have a bit of confidence.

”We just need to reset, hit the drawing board. The goal is to grow from this game and to remember this feeling and use it to fuel the trainings for all the games coming up."

WHITE LAKE – Some teams are just built for knockout soccer.

Walled Lake Northern edged its way past the White Lake Lakeland Eagles 1-0 in the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Final on Monday night.

It marks the third time that the Knights have won the tourney this decade despite not being the league’s regular season champion.

“It’s been two or three years since we won it, and it feels great. We played a really hard brand of soccer today, and we’re really happy with the win,” Northern tri-captain Nate Bruss said.

The game was a defensive battle from the start. It took over 20 minutes for either team to get a shot off – let alone one that was on frame.

Eventually, the game opened up a little bit and the teams started to create some chances in the later part of the first half. That was when the game’s only goal was scored. Lucas Wilson slipped a diagonal ball behind the defense and Ryan Donato ran onto it, quickly one-timing the ball past the goalkeeper with 15:03 remaining in the first half.

The teams traded a few more good chances with both keepers coming up with a couple of good saves each before halftime. Lakeland goalie Elijah Bohanon and Northern keeper Chase Colasanti did some of their best work of the game as it neared the interval.

When the teams came out after the half, it was back to a defensive battle. The teams once again were shutting down anything that resembled an efficient offensive chance. The Eagles put on a late push, trying to force the issue and find a late-tying goal, but the Knights were able to do enough to see off Lakeland and capture their first LVC Tournament title since 2022 — they also won it the year before that — after going out early in the LVC Tournament the last two years.

“I think we’re all connected as a team,” Knights senior tri-captain Brandon Honkala said. Everyone is friends with each other. We all have laughs with everything. Everyone is included in everything. I think our chemistry is at another level besides the other two or three years I’ve been a part of this program.”

Photo gallery of Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Northern in the 2025 LVC Boys Soccer Tournament Championship

“Being a part of this team for four years now, I think that what makes this team so different from the other teams playing in this tournament is just our grit, solely our grit. No matter how many times we get kicked down, no matter how many times we get scored on, we always keep our goals set high, and we always come out with a win,” added Tim Udovichnko, another Northern tri-captain.

Now 10-3 on the year, Lakeland's only losses in LVC play this season have come to the Knights. Northern beat the Eagles 5-0 in Walled Lake back on Aug. 28. Lakeland's only other defeat was at the hands of Holly, 3-1, in the team's season opener.

Both teams will now prepare for the state tournament, which starts next week. Walled Lake Northern (9-3-2) opens the playoffs at home against West Bloomfield next Wednesday. The Eagles host North Farmington on the same evening. If both teams win, they would play each other for a third time this season in the district semifinal.

OXFORD – The Birmingham Seaholm Maples dominated the Oxford Wildcats 9-1 in Oakland Activities Association Red Division action Thursday night.

It’s the most goals the Maples have scored in a match as far back as MHSAA’s online records go, which is at least a dozen complete seasons.

The Maples started hot and never looked back. Seaholm opened the scoring just under five minutes into the game when Leo Ballini Piedrahita’s corner kick found Maxwell Collins in front, and Collins powered a header home to make it 1-0. Seaholm doubled its lead on a penalty kick goal from Patrick McCarthy with 29:46 to play in the first half then added another goal when McCarthy crossed a ball that Rowan Hanoosh one-timed home. That gave the Maples a 3-0 lead at halftime.

The Maples had been in a similar position on Tuesday when they faced Berkley, only to give up the lead and lose 5-4. This game was different. Seaholm stayed focused, kept the pressure on, and kept pouring in goals. Any thought of an Oxford comeback fizzled out when Bryan Pohl tapped in a loose ball less than two minutes after halftime to extend Seaholm’s lead even further.

Oxford had flashes of offense, including hitting the inside of the post early in the second half. But outside of a late penalty kick goal from Ryan Clark, the Wildcats’ offense did not find the net as they struggled to consistently threaten the Maple goal.

Seaholm, meanwhile, was getting goals from everyone. McCarthy and Collins each added second-half goals to their first-half tallies, and Marco Rodrigues, Carson Wilner, and T. J. Kotila also scored in the second half.

“I didn’t expect that, obviously. I don’t think anybody did. We just needed a reaction because, to be quite honest, they are no worse than Berkley,” Seaholm head coach Greg Perkins said. “We talked the other day just about how anything can happen. You’re up 3-0 and end up losing 5-4, so there is never a time you can rest. It couldn’t be any better.”

With the win, Seaholm stays on the heels of division leading Troy Athens. The Maples (8-2-2 overall, 2-1-1 OAA Red) host second place Clarkston in another key league game on Tuesday.

Photo gallery of Birmingham Seaholm vs. Oxford in OAA Red boys soccer action

“We’ll go in and try to do what we can. It’s going to be a very different kind of team to play against, and we know a bit about them,” Perkins said. “We’ll be ready, and we’ve got a few days to prepare, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Oxford (5-6-1 overall, 2-2 OAA Red) will now attempt to regroup after dropping two straight league games. The Wildcats host Grand Blanc on Monday and then face Berkley on Tuesday in their next league game.

“Everything they (Seaholm) touched turned to goals. They’re a great team,” Wildcats head coach Adam Bican said. “We won’t have any problem with motivation. We’ll be alright. We’re just a brand new team figuring stuff out,” he added.

ORCHARD LAKE – Henry Dezler won the race to a loose ball and slammed a rebound into the open net with 2:40 to play, giving the Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood Cranes a 3-2 win over the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Eaglets in a key Catholic High School League game Tuesday night.

“We knew it would be like that going in, especially after the history we had with this team last year,” said Cranes head coach Jake Nunner, referring to three one-goal games. “Keith runs a great program. They have a lot of good players.

“We prepared for that. The boys were just mentally switched on. They weren’t getting too high by the highs, too low by the lows. Then we just tried to do what we do best and enjoy it. They deserved it, and I’m really happy for them.”

Cranbrook and St. Mary’s came in occupying first and second in the CHSL Central Division. The Cranes were unbeaten and ranked No. 5 in Division 2 while St. Mary’s was unbeaten in the league and ranked No. 11. Add in a developing rivalry fueled by some close games and both teams up near the top of the division the last few years, and on paper this looked like a fantastic matchup.

The game itself lived up to the billing – and then some. Big goals, big saves, big tackles – this one had a little bit of everything.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, St. Mary’s dominated the early part of the second half. Evan Porter tied the game for the Eaglets with 24:56 to play when he found a loose ball on the back side for a tap-in after a cross had deflected through a crowd. Barely five minutes later, St. Mary’s would take the lead when Owen Shippy’s shot from 30 yards out on the left wing hit the inside of the right post and went in.

The teams would trade chances the rest of the way, but it was Cranbrook who would find a way to convert.

Jackson Ober’s free kick with just under eleven minutes to play found its way to the back post where Wyatt Smith redirected it into the net, tying the game at 2-2.

St. Mary’s nearly scored a carbon copy of Shippy’s goal just moments later, but this time, the ball hit the post and spun along the goal line long enough for the goalkeeper to reach back and snatch it off the line, preserving the tie and setting the stage for Dezler’s game-winner.

“We played a much better second half. We weren’t passive at all. We were more aggressive,” Eaglets head coach Keith Jeffery said. “But at the end of the day, kudos to them (Cranbrook). You can’t give up goals early or late in the half, and that’s what happened.”

The Cranes had been the better team for much of the first half. In fact, Cranbrook dominated the early going, but it was to no avail as St. Mary’s goalie Mason Lafnear was outstanding, robbing Cranbrook outright on multiple occasions, including a fantastic leaping save on a shot through traffic that few goalies would have even seen in time to make a play on.

Photo gallery of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in CHSL boys soccer action

“Mason is a heck of a goalie. We’re lucky to have him. He’s only a sophomore, so he’s only going to get better,” Jeffery said.

St. Mary’s would play better as the half wore on and started to create some chances of their own, but eventually Cranbrook found a goal late in the half. Apolo Markus fired a long switching ball from the left side of midfield near the center stripe that landed on the right wing for Charlie Gold to run onto and slot past the charging goalkeeper with just 3:59 left in the half.

With the win, Cranbrook (6-0 overall, 6-0 CHSL Central) takes firm control of the divisional race and stays unbeaten in the early season. The Cranes put their winning streak on the line Thursday when they travel to face Toledo Central Catholic in another league test. The Cranes last won the division in 2022 and finished second in each of the last two years.

“Honestly, it was a team effort from front to back. Everyone that came in, the entire program just guys were supporting each other, performing on the field,” Nunner said. “I’m really proud of everybody.”

St. Mary’s (4-3-1 overall, 3-1-1 CHSL Central) still sits in second place. The Eaglets will try to get back in the win column on Thursday in a road match against Ann Arbor Greenhills.