BOYS SOCCER: Rochester Hills Christian claims eighth MACS state title in surprising fashion
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — Not even a rash of injuries, transfers and even players who opted out of the season could derail Rochester Hills Christian’s run to a state championship.
The second-seeded Eagles stunned top-ranked Clinton Township Faith Christian 1-0 Saturday at Rochester Adams, giving the school its eighth Michigan Association of Christian schools Division I state title.
The Eagles were supposed to bring back eight starters from last year’s state runner-up squad, but with a few starters opting out of the season or transferring away from the school last spring — that changed the complexity of the side. Plus, the Eagles had a revolving door of key players go down with injuries, including junior attacking midfielder Ian Hamminga, who missed the postseason and was on the bench during the championship run.
Rochester Hills Christian celebrated its eighth Michigan Association of Christian Schools state title following a 1-0 victory Saturday over Clinton Township Faith Christian. Courtesy Photo | Rochester Hills Christian Athletics
“We had five guys last year that scored at least 10 goals, but a couple of those guys graduated, another one transferred away and then we had some injuries,” said RHC head coach Jerry Slota. “We had a different starting lineup in each of our tournament games and really most of our games this season. As soon as we had someone come back from an injury, another player would get hurt. That’s why this one is so (gratifying) because we were so young at he beginning of the season and inexperienced at certain positions. We had to shuffle so many guys around because of the injuries and a lot of players were not playing their natural positions.
“I don’t think very many people gave us a chance, but we proved them wrong,” added Slota, who was a starting goalkeeper on the school’s very first state title-clinching team 32 years ago. “I don’t think much was expected of this team. But we came tougher as a team, played for one another, and got the job done. We didn’t really have any superstars to carry us like in some of the other state championships teams.”
The first state title came against Roseville Calvary Christian (2-1) back in 1989, which began a break of five straight MACS state titles for the Eagles (1989-1993). Rochester Hills Christian also claimed titles in 2012, 2018 and now 2021, while the school also finished as the MACS state runner-up in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2020.
Overall, Rochester Hills Christian is 8-4 all-time in MACS state championship games.
“We’ve had a great history, but a lot of those teams had great players and had high expectations,” noted Slota, who took over the program in 2009 after serving as an assistant coach for several years. “If we brought back all of those guys from last season and didn’t have all of those injuries, we would have had higher expectations. We also didn’t have a bunch of club players on this team. Faith of Clinton had 4-5 club players in its starting lineup. But we were able to overcome that difference with hard work and determination.”
The game was an all-Wolverine Christian Conference Red Division affair, as the two league rivals tied twice in the regular season. Faith Christian won the league title outright with a 4-0-2 record and 14 points, while Rochester Hills Christian (13-3-2 overall) finished second in the standings at 3-1-2 and 11 points.
“We beat them when it counted the most,” added Slota.
In the 21st minute, senior midfielder Bradley Mix served a cornerkick into the box. Senior midfielder Landon Westerby was able to flick the ball back into traffic and junior forward Logan Burrick cashed in the close-range opportunity in the box for the game’s only goal.
Sophomore Tyler Hightower finished with seven saves — including three from point-blank range — for his team’s sixth shutout of the campaign. Hightower did not allow a goal in the Eagles’ final three games, as his team previously beat Hudsonville Libertas Christian (4-0) and Temperance State Line Christian (1-0) to reach the finals.
Rochester Hills Christian’s backline, anchored by junior Evan Patton, shut down the Patriots’ talented attack, in particular senior midfielder Ben Johnson.
“We really paid attention to him in the second half. They were really coming at us late in the game being down 1-0 but our defense held strong,” said Slota. “And our goalie, Tyler Hightower, really stepped it up. I can think of three really good saves he made when we were up 1-0. He’s just a sophomore but he keeps getting better and better.
“Their goalie made an incredible save midway through the second half. That would have put us up two goals if it went in,” continued Slota, whose team lost in the finals last season to Midland Calvary Baptist. “We had some nice, chances, too. As it turned out, the one is all we needed.”
Junior Nathan Johns made seven saves for Faith Christian (13-3-1), which carried only three seniors. Rochester Hills Christian had five seniors on its championship roster.
“We’ll still bring back most of our team (on paper) next year,” said Slota. “We had a couple of kids that were home-schooled last year transfer in and they helped us out. And we have some nice young players in the lower grades that helped out this year and we’ll be counting on in the future.”
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