It was a tale of two very different halves for the Rangers as the boys varsity lacrosse team used a 12-0 second half to triumph over the Fighting Scots of Caledonia 17-4. Only leading 5-4 at the half, head coach Andy Shira was disappointed with the Rangers’ effort and mentality in the early stages of the game.

“I didn’t like our play yesterday. We were flat and just expecting to win,” Shira said. “I thought we learned our lesson after Saturday’s showing [against Hartland], but we didn’t. The first half was one big cluster of no one wanting to play Ranger Lacrosse and just wanting to do whatever they wanted.”

In the first half, it just appeared to be a lack of effort and focus that let the Rangers down. Offensively, the Rangers failed to even get into the right parts of the field to run our systems correctly. On the defensive side, FHC continuously allowed a weeb ball-handling team to dictate the pace, which is something the FHC staff emphasizes the Ranger defense doing by setting the tone as a defense. The boys let guys get over top of them and into the middle of the field, and the first half performance warranted a fiery halftime speech.

Thanks to assistant coach Tate Ferris lighting the team up at halftime and Shira making the team run some sprints, the Rangers came out much stronger in the second half. They were executing, and the effort level was completely unlike the first half. As the defensive performance picked up, the goals started to pour in. Junior John Tomsheck recorded his season-high in goals, racking up six goals and adding two assists. His fellow attackmen in senior Collin Ward and sophomore Rowan Clay each recorded at least a hat trick as well, with Collin scoring three goals and recording an assist while Rowan had four goals and an assist. 

Senior Luke Matelic scored two goals for the second consecutive game, recording an assist as well. Sophomore Magnus Salmon played more of a facilitator role in this one, notching three assists throughout the contest. Senior Mason Corcoran was another bright spot for the Rangers with a goal and an assist, and senior Brady Nolan also got on the scoresheet with a goal of his own. In total, the Rangers racked up 17 goals to come out victorious 17-4. 

After this win, the Rangers advance to 5-2 on the season. Capping off the week of three-straight away games is a trip on Saturday to Bloomfield Hills to take on Brother Rice, the number one ranked team in the state and the defending Division 1 State Champion from 2019. In a matchup of both of the reigning champs, the Rangers will need to avoid the lapses in concentration and effort that they encountered in the first half of the matchup with Caledonia.

“I’m hoping the second-half effort carries over into practice Thursday,” Shira said. “It’s going to be two really hard days on them on Thursday and Friday both mentally and physically to prepare for Brother Rice. If we come out flat, it’s going to be over in a hurry on Saturday.”