The Motor City will be rocking this weekend as some of the top boys' lacrosse teams from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois compete in the Showdown in Motown. The teams will play across three different campuses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to showcase some of the top teams in the Midwest.
We chatted with John Locy, who organized the tournament, to discuss how the weekend came together, preview the teams and games, and highlight some of the players to watch. Before we get started, here is a list of the teams participating this weekend.
| Team | 2023 Record | 2022 Results |
| Brother Rice (MI) | 9-1 | State Finalist |
| Detroit Catholic Central (MI) | 9-1 | State Semi-finalist |
| Forest Hills Central (MI) | 7-2 | State Champion |
| St. Xavier (OH) | 11-1 | State Semi-Finalist |
| Hudson (OH) | 4-8 | State Semi-Finalist |
| Hamilton Southeastern (IN) | 8-5 | State Champion |
| Loyola Academy (IL) | 9-1 | State Champion |
Bringing the Teams Together
Locy has a passion for Midwest lacrosse. In addition to help coordinating Brother Rice's schedule the last ten years, John is the voice of the University of Detroit Mercy lacrosse team and has called a number of games on The Prep. The Prep is Michigan's Premier Media Outlet for High School sports. Locy is a Midwest lacrosse junkie, in the best sense of the term. He has worked tirelessly to promote the boys' and girls' games on social media. The Showdown in Motown helped coordinate his passions and put on an impressive slate of games.
Last year, Locy put together a State Champions in the D event. The event had Brother Rice, Loyola Academy, Dublin Jerome, and Hamilton Southeastern come together for four games. This year, Locy brought in more teams from Michigan and grow the event. "My thought was, you know what, let's get some more Michigan flavor in here. I reached out to Forest Hills Central and Detroit Catholic Central. DCC went down and played St. X last year and St. X was making the return trip this year. Then we added FHC and it all really started coming together." Locy shared with me he would like to see the games expand from Detroit. He talked about how Cleveland, Columbus, and Chicago all have the possibility. to host future contests.
This weekend should no doubt be filled with plenty of excitement. Here are the schedule and team previews for each of the teams competing this weekend.
Schedule
Detroit Catholic Central 🆚 Loyola Academy
⏰ Friday at 6 p.m.
📍 Detroit Catholic Central High School
Cal Talubee (Defense)
Commitment: Jacksonville
Forest Hills Central 🆚 St. Xavier
⏰ Friday at 6 p.m.
📍 Lawrence Tech University
Forest Hills Central Preview
Players to watch:
Brother Rice 🆚 Hamilton Southeastern
⏰ Friday at 8 p.m.
📍 Lawrence Tech University
Hamilton Southeastern vs. Hudson
⏰ Saturday at 10 a.m.
📍 Brother Rice High School
Detroit Catholic Central 🆚 St. Xavier
⏰ Saturday at 11 a.m.
📍 Detroit Catholic Central High School
Brother Rice 🆚 Loyola Academy
⏰ Saturday at noon
📍 Brother Rice High School
Forest Hills Central 🆚 Hudson
⏰ Sunday at 12 p.m.
📍 The Oval at Cranbrook
Team Previews
Detroit Catholic Central
Although it's April, we're still in need of practice time to get some things in so we can get better. We're now playing Loyola and St X, which we've played in years past, but don't know much about this year. Each team will be a handful as they are traditionally good, and St X seems to be rolling right now with that offense. Seeing different teams is helpful for the playoffs. These out-of-state teams are annually at the top, so facing excellent competition should help us to try to make a deep run. With out-of-state teams, the goal is to still win, but it's the tight games and the learning experience that help the most-and if we should lose, it does not hurt our state standings. The experience is the most valuable thing here.
-Dave Wilson, Head Coach
Players to Watch:
Jack Cyrek (FOGO/Attack)
Cal Talubee (Defense)
Forest Hills Central
"We have played one of the most challenging schedules we’ve ever put together. This weekend will be a very tough test for our players but we believe in competing against the best competition we can throughout the season to prepare for our state tournament. You’ll be playing two very strong teams in 3 days, similar to playing 2 strong teams in 4 days if we’re fortunate enough to play in the semifinals and finals in the state tournament. There’s a quick turnaround time and little time to prepare when taking it one game at a time."
-Andy Shira, Forest Hills Central
Players to watch:
Crandall Quinn (Goalie)
Nolan Hartl (midfield)
Sam Sneider (LSM)
Brother Rice
We have played well but still a lot to work on before we reach the MHSAA tourney. Playing the top teams in the Midwest allows our players and coaches to see the best players and the best coaches. It allows our program to gauge where we are as a team and as individual players. But the biggest benefit is for us to face different styles of teams. Having these events gives our players the chance to showcase their talent with some media attention behind it.
-Ajay Chawla, Head Coach
Players to watch:
Hunter Polonkey (Attack)
Ben Eck (Midfield)
Christian McNulty (Attack)
Robert MacMichael (Defense)
Hamilton Southeastern
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down year. We started the season 5-0 beating several in-state opponents by 10 goal margin and then battled Moeller in a close 10-9 win. We left that game with four injuries, unfortunately two of them season ending. We went on a 0-5 skid playing top teams from Ohio and Michigan. After two more in state wins, we now sit at 7-5.
This weekend was a turning point for our 2022 group after a tough lost to Dublin Jerome, we adjusted and came out hot against an injured Brother Rice team and came away with a 11-8 victory.
-Scott Beesley, Head Coach
Players to Watch:
Owen O’Rourke (Attack)
Gavin Berry (Midfield)
Shane Gastineau (Midfield)
Colin Krekeler (Goalie)
Hudson
The Explorers have played a tough early schedule and have experienced growing pains with the amount of youth on the field. They are improving on a weekly basis and will look to have a solid weekend in Detroit. We're excited for the weekend because We want to be challenged and we want to face adversity so it is not known to us come OHSAA tournament time.
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Players to watch:
Ian Ludewig (Midfield)
Will Pollock (Midfield)
Jack Jenkins (Attack)
St. Xavier
Nate Sprong at St. X has been doing it for a number of years, and I've been blessed to get to know him and he just grinds right? He's as dedicated as you're going to get to the game, to the kids, and to the school.
-John Locy
Loyola Academy
They have a system in place, they know what they want to do. and it really starts on the defensive side of the ball. Regardless of what he loses from an offensive firepower standpoint, that defense is always going to be soli, he's gonna have good goaltending, he's gonna have good poles, and he's going to make teams work to score. When you start with that mindset, the goals will work their way into, and I think that's kind of what you're seeing right now, where you're seeing some lower scoring games.
-John Locy
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