Joey Kamish proved during Wednesday night's MHSAA Division 1-Region 4 boys lacrosse final that he can come at you from all angles.
The junior attack talliedseven goals, including one of his patentedbehind-the-back shots, to go along with one assist as Novi Detroit Catholic Central captured its fifth straight regional crown with a 17-8 victoryover South Lyon Unified at Walled Lake Northern.
Kamish nearly reached his season high of eight goals as the Shamrocks, who got off to a bit of a slow start with a 4-3 first period advantage, improved to 17-2 overall.
But in the second period CC went on an 8-3 run to lead 12-6 at intermission.
"We really started to trust our offense," Kamish said. "At the beginning we were having too many guys trying to dodge through everyone. Then most of our goals started coming off cuts and picks, and a lot of off ball movement, and then our offense started working really well."
Other CC goals came from Peter Thompson, who contributed three; Ryan Birney andEthan Pattinson with two apiece; and one by Justin Petouhoff.
Ryan Sullivan finished with three assists, while Thompson had two. Pattinson also contributed an assist.
The Shamrocks outscored SLU 4-2 in the third period to take a commanding 16-8 advantage as Kamish scored three in a row.
"He's pretty slick, has a lot of moves and he's just very fluid, finds his way in the back of the net," CC coach Dave Wilson said of Kamish.
Here's four other takeaways:
Kudos to SLU
The Lakes Valley Conference champions finished the year with an 18-3 overall record.
South Lyon got at hat trick from junior Nick Harvath, along with two goals apiece from Silvio Scappaticci andMitch Tashman.
Junior face-off man Hunter Sutton also had a goal and stood out in the face-off circle along with senior Makoto Roy as they combined to win 14 draws against the Shamrocks' seven.
"I thought South Lyon played very well and they came out and they played very hard the entire game," Wilson said. "I don't think we matched their intensity and that was a bit of a problem for us. So I think when we were actively engaged, started hustling to ground balls and challenging things, that's when some things started droppingour way."
Solid effort
South Lyon junior goalie Quinn Uphoff also stood out with 13 saves in a losing cause, but it wasn't enough to stave off the state's top-ranked team in Division 1.
"Our defense got tired," SLU coach Justin Boughton said. "And that's what Itold you last week,the best defense is going to be a good offense. They (CC) just held possession for a little bit and were able to work it around. Our boys played their tails off. It was a great game, it was a great season. These young men have a lot to be proud of and it was an awesome game. I'm glad we got here and glad we got to back-to-back regional finals. It was an awesome experience."
Next opponent
The Shamrocks advance to the state quarterfinal beginning at6 p.m. Friday at Birmingham Seaholm against Wednesday's Region 7 winner Troy Athens (11-6).
"We just need to take care of the ball, do the things we do well and some of that will be ironed out," Wilson said. "I think when our interest level is high, then we play well. So we have to make sure we're actively engaged. I have to make sure they're energized and ready to go."
And Kamish echoed those sentiments.
"It's going take how we got going that last game," the junior said. "Everyone has to be on full energy, playing their best . . . and when some people get going, it makes everyone a lot better and that's what we're going to need."
Looking forward
After four years of being a unified program consisting of players from both South Lyon and South Lyon East high schools, the Lakes Valley Conferencehas mandated the teams will have to be split up for the 2019 season.
This year's combined SLU roster consisted of 36 players including 12 seniors, 19 juniors, five sophom*ores and one freshman.
"I'm sure it will happen again, we'll be back, we'll be strong," Boughton said. "It's unfortunate it's ourlast year of unified. We're trying to make a push, regional finals again is awesome. We were hoping for a little bit more,but these boys have a lot tohang their hats on and be proud of."
Next year's numbers, minus the incoming freshman class, currently project 34 players at South Lyon and 18 at East, according to Boughton.
"I have yet to decide," said Boughton, who was in his second full season as the unified coach. "I'm going to now take some time, I'll take a photo real quick and let you know."
But despite the regional final setback, Boughton will take home a slew ofmemories.
"The experience, the bond, the brotherhood that these young men showed," the SLU coach said. "It was a great, great time, something definitelyI'm going to miss and it's going to be tough to replacingthem."
Contact Brad Emons: bemons@hometownlife.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BradEmons1.
