By Rick Samuel | Special to The Michigan Catholic
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Metro area – Here’s a roundup of the fall sports’ season opening weeks:
Cross country
Brother Rice (Beverly Hills) kicked off the year winning a boys invitational at Oakland University. Tom Girardot (second overall), Garrett Bixler, Torin Wile, Jay Woods and Al Girardot paced the Warriors. Marian (Beverly Hills) was sixth in the girls race at OU. Ashley Wile, Liz Lelli and Annika Johnson led Marian. Notre Dame Prep (Pontiac) was two points back, led by Sara Berron (sixth overall).
Field hockey
Marian is the three-time defending league champion. The Mustangs improved to 4-0 with a 6-0 win over Regina as Rachel Michalski and Sarah Michalski (the team’s leading scorer) each scored twice.
Football
St. Mary’s Prep (Orchard Lake), ushered in its first home night game since 1938 with a 27-6 win over Highland Park. Grant Niemiec scored three touchdowns and Spencer McInnes rushed for 131 yards and a score. The Eaglets are 2-0, with Dylan Zerki (13.5 tackles) leading the defense...Gabriel Richard (Riverview) matched last year’s win total with easy wins over Urban Lutheran, Detroit (32-8) and Lutheran Westland (55-8) to open the season. Quarterback David Ritchie has thrown for six touchdowns. Gino Darin, Dylan Stackpoole and Dan Webster have all scored three TDs. The Pioneers get tested Friday when they host Our Lady of the Lakes (Waterford).
- St. Mary's Prep of Orchard Lake played, and won, its first home night game in decades on Sept. 3. | Photo by Mr. Mack Photography
Golf
Ten schools are competing in golf this year. The defending champion is Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills). Junior Sarah Dilts is one of the team’s top players. She was co-medalist with teammate Bess Quick in the 2009 league meet. Sacred Heart is ranked fourth in Division 4 among all teams in the state.
Soccer
Divine Child (Dearborn) has started strong, going 4-1-1 early. Ben Scheuer scored five goals in a three-game tournament at Temperance Bedford. Jason Collins, Chris Murray and Nick Posh all have three-year leaders for the Falcons.
Swimming
League action kicks off next week. Mercy (Farmington Hills) is the defending champion and opens against Notre Dame Prep (Pontiac).
Tennis
The host Warriors finished second to Catholic League newcomer Cranbrook Kingswood (Bloomfield Hills) in a tough early-season tournament at Brother Rice. Parker Gradolph and Taylor Macks teamed to take the No. 1 doubles title for Rice, which faces Cranbrook Monday to open the league season.
Volleyball
Despite losing several key players from last year’s C-D champion squad, Cabrini (Allen Park) seems to be off to a solid start. In a recent tournament at Schoolcraft College, Emily Bodnar and Elisa Harcek combined for 41 kills. Setter Amanda Obrycki had 38 digs and 38 service receptions and Diana Ferraiuolo led with 36-of-39 from the serve line. Alessandra Dietz had 35 kills and Alex Lovell 32 kills as Marian topped Mercy (Farmington Hills) in an early tournament at Macomb Dakota. Mary Henry notched 79 assists for Marian.
