For the first half of the game, all the stars appeared to be in proper alignment for Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice to get the best of archrival, Novi Detroit Catholic Central, in lacrosse — again! — as it had done in 28 previous confrontations in a span of 13 years.

Sparked by three blistering goals fired by sophomore Pat O’Hara, the Warriors went on a 4-0 binge in the closing six minutes of the second quarter to take a 6-3 lead into halftime.

“There was no reason to yell or scream,” CC coach Dave Wilson said about his locker room pep talk. “I told them to turn up the intensity, the pressure. I could see in their faces they weren’t intense, something we practice every day.”

Rice opened the third quarter by increasing its margin to four goals. Then, the complexion of the game changed. CC’s defense stiffened; its offense was energized. The Warriors’ confidence evaporated in the heat of the rejuvenated Shamrocks.

Junior Joe Kamish and sophomore Ryan Sullivan found the back of the net to close the gap to 7-5. Senior Ethan Pattinson whipped in three goals in a row. The second one tied the score at 7-7, the third put CC in front 8-7 to complete a wild 5-0 run.

The teams traded goals before Cullen Zarek kept Rice’s hopes alive, tying the score at 9-all with just 57.2 seconds to play to send the contest into sudden-death overtime.

Catholic Central maintained possession throughout the OT that came to an abrupt conclusion in about two minutes when Kamish directed a grounder from the left wing about 16 yards out for a 10-9 victory. It was his fourth goal of the game.

“CC is a very good team. They outhustled us,” said Rice head coach Ajay Chawla. “We have a young and inexperienced team. I start mostly sophomores and juniors. We’ll slowly get better and learn how to survive and develop the poise to handle this kind of competition.”

Wilson, in his 13th year at CC, joked, “I think it was 1994 the last time we beat them. Eventually, I knew we would win. We just had to keep kicking the door in.”

No school in the state’s high school athletic history has been as dominant in a sport as Brother Rice in lacrosse, dating back to 2005 when the MHSAA gave its official recognition. The Warriors have an overall record of 265 wins, 36 losses, under coaches Rob Ambrose (2005-2013; 185-19) and currently Ajay Chawla (since 2014; 80-17).

Brother Rice is 189-2 against schools from Michigan, 76-34 against schools from six states and Canada.

With their win, the Shamrocks achieved a trifecta:

First, they snapped a string of 28 losses to the Warriors, which included seven state championship finals, including the last four years in a row. Brother Rice has won all 13 Division 1 crowns.

Second, CC’s win snapped an astounding streak of 99 losses Brother Rice has administered to their Catholic League rivals. Here’s how the others stand: Detroit U-D Jesuit, 31 losses; Warren De La Salle 18; Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 16; and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 6. The Warriors have won 20 of 21 CHSL lacrosse championships since 1997. De La Salle won the 2002 title.

Third, Brother Rice has won 189 times against 36 in-state schools — and been defeated just twice. Both losses were in overtime: CC’s last week and an 8-7 decision to Detroit Country Day in April 2014. The Warriors had won 133 games in a row before the Country Day loss, and 56 straight before CC’s dramatic win.

Odds are favorable that CC and Rice will face each other again Saturday, May 12, for the CHSL championship. The girls play lacrosse, too. They’ll decide their champions that same day.

Footnote: About six weeks ago, CC played spoilsport by beating Brother Rice for the CHSL swim title, which the Warriors had taken home for 26 consecutive years.

Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].