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Heritage Media March 17, 2011

Sham-rocked

Photo by Jonathan Knight/A2 JOURNAL

The Huron boys’ basketball team can’t watch the waning moments of Monday night’s game against Detroit Catholic Central. The Shamrocks defeated the River Rats 67-54 and ousted them
from tournament play.

Catholic Central
with the two teams knotted up

Shamrocks end Huron’s

at 14-14.
Catholic Central’s Kyle
Cooper nailed a three-pointer to A long walk for Huron
T
open the scoring in the second
quarter and put the Shamrocks he sound of sneakers on a
GENERAL This was supposed to be an

bid for a state title up 17-14.

By Mike Larson
A2 Journal
With St. Patrick’s Day
approaching, it was only fit-
ting that the Shamrocks would
have an advantage.
Unfortunately for the Huron
basketball team, it was at the
River Rats’ expense.
On Monday night in Ann
Arbor, the River Rats took on
the Shamrocks in a regional
semifinal game at Pioneer
High School and fell 67-54.
The loss came as a huge
shock to Huron coach Walheed
Samaha and his team, who
were expecting to make their
second straight appearance in
the Class A finals.
“I’m so used to looking
After that, Catholic Central
tile floor never sounded lone-
lier than it did on Monday
night.
ADMISSION
unstoppable team.
But instead of a chance at the
glory that eluded them a year ago
led up until there was just about
forward with these guys,” two minutes left in the half. After the buzzer had in the state finals, the River Rats
Samaha said. “And looking at After taking a 24-21 lead, the sounded and the Ann Arbor Huron were stuck with a loss that will no
the next game and the thought Shamrocks let the River Rats basketball team had lost, the play- doubt become a hole in many of
of losing this game never back into the game. ers on the team were left with a their hearts.
crossed our mind.” Jeff Hugan scored twice and long walk. So they walked, trying desper-
Cold shooting and constant Kyle Baker added a field goal as They escaped the gym in a ram- ately to ignore and block out the
foul trouble, in addition to a Huron went on a 6-0 run to take shackle line, walking with their cheers and jubilation that was
fired-up Catholic Central team the lead. heads down. echoing down the long hallway
kept Huron from ever really It looked as if the River Rats Their sneakers squeaked ever so from the gym.
getting into the contest as were going to take a lead into slightly as they filed listlessly out Some players banged on the
the River Rats trailed for the the locker room at halftime, but of the gym. lockers that lined the hall. Maybe
majority of the game. Catholic Central would have They didn’t go right to the locker MIKE LARSON it was just to let out frustration
Huron took an early lead, none of it. room. Rather, they shuffled into an or maybe it was to drown out the
jumping out to a 6-2 advan- Shamrock junior Matt empty classroom to talk as a team; sounds of celebration from the
tage, but the lead was short- Doneth nailed a three-pointer to talk as a family. Catholic Central team that had just
lived. with just six seconds left in the They didn’t speak as they walked, looking defeated them in the regional semifinals, end-
Catholic Central scored four half to tie the game up at 27-27. more like refugees escaping a war torn land- ing their season. For some, ending their prep
unanswered points to take the In the second half, the scape than a basketball team after a rough careers all together.
lead back. Shamrocks came out on fire, loss. One by one the Huron players entered the
Things continued to go back starting the third quarter on a But who could blame them? classroom.
and forth for the rest of the This was supposed to be the year of the Rat.
quarter as the frame ended PLEASE SEE WALK/12-A
PLEASE SEE ROCKED/12-A

Irish come alive

when it matters most
After rough regular season,
FGR wins at regional
By Mike Larson
A2 Journal
There were no doubt fans
who laughed at the Gabriel
Richard basketball team and its
five-win regular season.
But the only folks laughing
now are fans of the Fighting
Irish.
After a regular season which
Photo by Todd Sexton/A2 JOURNAL
yielded just a handful of wins,
Gabriel Richard’s Donnie Eaton guards an Olivet player Monday night. The Irish won the game and just one victory in the
77-72 and advanced to Wednesday’s Class B regional final. Catholic High School League,
the Irish are, as of Tuesday
afternoon, the only team in
Ann Arbor still playing basket-
ball.
On Monday night in
Fowlerville, Gabriel Richard
shocked Olivet, defeating the
team 77-72 in a Class B regional
semifinal.
Free-throw shooting was
key for the Irish, as the game
featured 79 free-throw attempts
between the two teams.
Gabriel Richard rose to the
challenge, especially down the
stretch, converting 21-of-27 free-
throw attempts in the fourth
quarter.
Kamari Davis played a big
part in that barrage of free
throws, as he made all 10 of his
free-shot attempts in the final
quarter.
“We really made it happen
from the free-throw line,”
Richard coach Pete Schoch said.
“After that, we made good use of
the clock and moved the ball.”
Davis scored 18 points to lead
the Gabriel Richard team in just
his second game returning from
injury.
PLEASE SEE IRISH/12-A
Page 12-A 
ROCKED
FROM PAGE 11-A
9-0 run.
Trailing 36-27, the River Rats River Rats a toppling blow with
went on a small run of their
own.
With Hugan, A.J. Mathew
and Dante Williams all scoring
points, Huron cut the Shamrock throw.
lead to just two points.
However, the River Rats just
couldn’t take back the lead.
By the end of the quarter,
Catholic Central still clung to a ing in,” the coach said. “They
42-38 lead.
As the fourth quarter started, when reality really started to
the River Rats continued to flirt sink in.”
with taking control of the game,
but they just weren’t able to.
It seemed as the Shamrocks
were always just a step ahead.
With five minutes left in the and advance to the regional
game, Catholic Central took a
50-42 lead.
The River Rats continued
Photo by Todd Sexton/A2 JOURNAL
Sophomre Kamari Davis, in just his second game back from a lengthy injury, scored 18 points
to lead the way for Gabriel Richard Monday night against Olivet.
IRISH
FROM PAGE 11-A
“He’s not 100 percent yet,”
Schoch said of Davis. “He’s
been out with an injured foot,
but he really stepped up for
us.”
The Irish also got a standout
performance from Luther
Page, who scored 17 points
for Richard, while Myles
Lockridge chipped in with 15.
On defense, the Irish were
charged with the daunting task
of shutting down Olivet senior outscored the Eagles 16-9 and
Jay Cousineau, who led all
scorers with 29 points.
“He’s a tough matchup,”
Ann Arbor teams dominate Brighton district
Skyline takes down
Dexter
The Skyline boys’ basketball
team got to celebrate its first
year of varsity competition
with a pretty nice honor; the
Eagles earned the chance to
play for a district champion-
ship.
Last Wednesday night in
Brighton, the Skyline team
took on Dexter and beat up the
Dreadnaughts 46-35.
The loss ended Dexter’s
season.
After a first quarter where
both teams scored eight points,
the Eagles exploded in the
second.
Skyline started the quarter
on 14-0 run which was high-
lighted by three-pointers
from Peter Bakker and Sakthi
Sambandan.
In the end, the Eagles out-
scored Dexter 21-7 in the sec-
ond to take a 34-15 lead at the
half.
Dexter played one if its
worst offensive games of the
season as the Dreadnaughts
converted on just eight field
goals for the entire game.
“We didn’t have it
tonight,” Dexter coach Randy
Swoverland said. “Sometimes
that’s just the way it goes. It’s
just too bad that we went cold
in the tournament.”
Both teams struggled in the
third and fourth quarters,
as Skyline only scored two
field goals in the second half.
However, the Eagles still took
the game 46-35.
“I told our guys that we can’t
take (Dexter) for granted,”
Skyline coach Mike Lovelace
Thursday, March 17, 2011 • HERITAGE MEDIA/A2 JOURNAL
to struggle on offense as the
Shamrocks just kept putting the
ball in the basket.
After scoring four unan-
swered points and taking a 59-49
lead the Shamrocks dealt the
just about a minute and a half
left.
Cooper put down a dunk and
got fouled and made the free
At that point in the game,
Samaha knew it was over.
“With about a minute thirty left
some of the reality started sink-
went up 12, and I think that is
Huron tried desperately
to pull off the miracle, but it
just didn’t happen, as Catholic
Central held out to win 67-54
final against Orchard Lake St.
Mary’s.
Schoch said of Cousineau. “We the fourth quarter when Olivet
really had to pull out all the
stops to keep him in check in
the fourth quarter.”
Despite the defensive effort,
Cousineau still scored 17 points
in the final frame.
Although the Irish finished
strong and took the game, the
early goings were not easy.
“We just didn’t come out to
play in the beginning,” Schoch
said. “We were sloppy and we
had a lot of bad turnovers.”
After the first quarter
though, Richard bounded back. press time.
In the second frame the Irish
held a one-point edge at half-
time.
The lead remained in the
hands of the Irish until late in A2JournalSports.
2011 DISTRICT TOURNAMENTS: A LOOK BACK
said. “They are too good of a
team. We knew we couldn’t let
up, but we just didn’t come out
the way we wanted to.”
Despite the low scoring in the
second half, Lovelace said he
wasn’t surprised that his team
would be making an appear-
ance in the district finals.
“I knew we had a lot of athleti-
cism and a lot of talent,” he
said. “We have just been trying
to get better and better and I
think we have.”
Skyline’s Theron Wilson was
the game’s high-scorer with 14
points and 10 rebounds, while
Bakker and Jarrius Mann each
added 10.
Dexter senior Dave
LaMore led the way for the
Dreadnaughts with 10 points.
Fellow seniors Matt Muchmore
and Tyler Dunham each added
a field goal in the loss.
Huron downs Pioneer
for third time
It came right down to the
wire, but at the end of four
tough quarters, the Huron
River Rats had won again.
Last Wednesday in Brighton,
the Huron basketball team
defeated cross-town rival
Pioneer 56-52 in a district semi-
final game.
This marked the third time
this season the River Rats had
defeated their rival.
“It’s never easy to beat a
team three times in one sea-
son,” Huron coach Waleed
Samaha said. “And Pioneer is
a great team. They really came
out and showed what they
were made of.”
The last time Pioneer and
Huron seemed at a constant
disadvantage all night as the
Shamrocks seemed to get plenty
of opportunities from the free-
throw line.
In fact, Catholic Central
attempted 33 free throws while
Huron shot just 15.
The Shamrocks were led by
a trio of scorers as Brandon
Tammaro scored 18 points,
Doneth added 17 and Cooper
scored 14.
Huron was led by Mathew
with 12 points. Hugan added 11
and Williams added 10.
With the loss, Huron’s run to
the state title game ends.
The River Rats finished the
year with a 21-2 overall record.
Mike Larson can be reached
by email at Mlarson@A2Journal.
com. Follow him at www.face-
book.com/A2SportsGuy and
www.Twitter.com/
A2JournalSports. Photo by Jonathan Knight/A2 JOURNAL
Huron senior A.J. Mathew focuses on his defense Monday night against Catholic Central.
WALK
FROM PAGE 11-A
And, like most important
family meetings, this one was
private.
The team met alone, presum-
ably to talk about their year and
their futures.
Very early on in this season
it became iridescently clear
that anything less than a state
championship was going to be a
disappointment for this team.
This team was battle tested.
With a squad full of juniors, the
team played for a championship
last year and faltered.
This season, with all those
juniors now seniors, this team
was ready. This team was sup-
posed to go all the way.
Led by A.J. Mathew and
Dante Williams, the team
ran roughshod through the
Southeastern Conference.
The team literally struck
fear into its opponents with a
defense that is the basketball
equivalent of being at sea dur-
ing a hurricane.
They were good.
They drew strength from
senior Kyle Baker, is arguably
the best cheerleader in the his- Photo by Jonathan Knight/A2 JOURNAL
hit a string of free throws. tory of sports.
Richard was unfazed though, He would stand in the middle Huron’s Kyle Baker backs down a defender Monday night.
as the team took the lead right Baker was Huron’s emotional leader all season.
of the paint, flapping his 6-foot,
back a few possessions later. 6-inch wingspan like a giant And the list isn’t short. out of that classroom, still sul-
“It was a great comeback,” bird, beckoning his fans to rise Back-to-back-to-back district len and still crestfallen.
Schoch said. “It is just a credit to their feet; beckoning them to championships. For the next several days and
to this team and the senior scream. Back-to-back conference perhaps even weeks or longer,
leadership. It says a lot about And scream they did. Right championships. the walks are going to be long
what strong kids these are. I’m up until the very end. Going undefeated at home and lonely for the Huron play-
very proud of them.” But by the time the River Rats twice in three years. ers and coaches as they try to
With the win, the Irish convened in that classroom, Last year’s run to the finals. cope with the disappointment.
advanced to play No. 5 Lansing those screams were nothing They clung to all of those But eventually they will
Sexton in the regional finals. more than echoes. things. come to see what all of us
The game was played after With an early and unexpected But even more importantly, already know, that champion-
exit, the Huron basketball they clung to each other. ship or not, this team and this
Mike Larson can be reached team was forced to come to the As their meeting ended, they family was special.
by email at Mlarson@A2Journal. realization that they would not all put their hands in and yelled Mike Larson can be reached
com. Follow him at www. hoist that championship trophy. the only word that was audible by email at Mlarson@A2Journal.
facebook.com/A2SportsGuy Rather, they would have to from outside the room. com. Follow him at www.face-
and www.Twitter.com/ Family. book.com/A2SportsGuy and
cling tight to the things they did
have. After that, the players filed www.Twitter.com/
Huron faced off, Huron blew
out their rival, defeating the
Pioneers 60-29.
In the latest installment
of the rivalry, though, the
Pioneers refused to be stepped
on.
The score of the game was
close throughout at Huron held
just a 19-16 lead at the end of
the first quarter.
In the second, Huron got
some strong play from senior
A.J. Mathew, who scored six
points in the frame to help
Huron take a 31-25 lead at the
half.
After the break though, the
Pioneers came out on fire.
After four points from senior
James Kelly, including a thun-
dering dunk, Pioneer senior
Jeremiah Strode hit back-to-
back-to-back three-pointers to
give his team a 38-35 lead.
On the next possession,
Pioneer’s Aaron Schoenfeldt
hit a jumper to cap off
Pioneer’s 13-0 run.
In the fourth quarter, the
two teams continued to play
evenly. Photo by Mike Larson/A2 JOURNAL
In fact, with just 1:50 left in The Huron basketball team celebrates its third consecutive district title last week. Huron,
the game, the score was tied at Pioneer and Skyline were the last three teams alive in the Brighton district.
50-50.
With a minute and a half Lewis hit both free throws to done.”
seal the win for Huron. Pioneer graduates 10
Huron downs Skyline
left, Mathew scored to put
the River Rats up by two, and “All I was thinking about seniors, and Stanczak said it in finals
was getting to the line and would be hard talking to them.
then with just thirty seconds Sometimes David just
making those shots,” Lewis “It’s never easy,” he said. doesn’t have it.
remaining, River Rat Matt
Hastings nailed a pair of free said. “I just wanted to get the “But I’m going to tell them that Sometimes Goliath does
ball and make those shots.” I’m proud of them and that I
throws to make the score 54-50. what everyone is expecting
With the loss, Pioneer’s sea- love them.” him to do and completely oblit-
Pioneer wasted no time
getting down the floor as son was ended. Lewis scored 14 points for erates his opponent.
“It’s hard to be upset after Huron, while Mathew added
Schoenfeldt hit a jumper just That’s what happened
a game like this,” Pioneer’s 13. Friday night in Brighton when
10 seconds later.
Trailing 54-52, Pioneer was Rex Stanczak said. “We came Pioneer was led by Strode the underdog Skyline Eagles
out and played as hard as we with 16, while Kelly added 11.
forced to foul, sending Huron’s took on the championship-or-
could. We just couldn’t get it
Mike Lewis to the line. PLEASE SEE DISTRICT/13-A