UPDATE: Highlight Reel: Rivalry Soccer Matchup Is Game Of The Week

The Fall sports season really kicks into high gear after Labor Day weekend, but there was some great action in several sports his past week.

Highlights included a big time rivalry soccer game, an exciting football comeback and some of the state’s tennis heavyweights battling it out…

Varsity Boys Soccer

Andover and Lahser

The and it was definitely worthy of “game of the week” status.

After watching Lahser take it home for the past three seasons, a hungry Andover team was looking to recapture the axe. The Barons grabbed an early lead when Nick Shabino scored in the opening minute of the game.

Knights forward Eric Kelly tied the game with a header of his own with 31:14 left in the half.

Down 2-1 in the second half, Kelly would bail Lahser out again. The senior worked the ball down the field and beat the only defender between him and the goal. Instead of letting him take an open shot, Andover defender Emerson Misch tripped Kelly up.

Lahser was awarded a penalty shot with only 13:53 left in the game. Kelly knocked it in to tie the game 2-2, which is where the score stayed. The axe returns to the team to last win the matchup in the case of a tie, so Lahser celebrated like it was a victory.

“It’s huge,” Kelly said “It’s my senior year, this was my dream from freshman year. I’m ecstatic with this tie and that we get to keep it (the axe). This feels like a win.”

The Knights (2-3-3) closed out the week with their third tie of the season at Rochester.

Varsity Tennis

Various

The Brother Rice varsity tennis team had a solid first week of the season, picking up a win and a tie against two of the top teams in the state.

On Wednesday, the Warriors beat Detroit Country Day 6-2. They were a perfect 4-0 in doubles action and wins by Gunnar Peery in No. 2 singles and Johnny Cameron in No. 4 singles were enough to secure the team victory.

The Yellowjackets' Sven Kranz beat Charlie Dillion in two sets (6-1, 6-1) in No. 1 singles and Rishi Patel beat Chase Peery in three sets in No. 3 singles (6-3, 4-6, 6-3).

Brother Rice came back on Friday to tie last year’s Division 3 champion Cranbrook Kingswood 4-4. Doubles were again the major strength for the Warriors. They won three of the four doubles matches to force the tie.

Johnny Cameron picked up Brother Rice’s lone singles win, beating Will Dube in No. 4 singles in two sets (6-3, 6-1). Cranbrook Kingswood’s only doubles win was the No. 2 doubles duo of Taylor Ghesquire and Stephanie Teste.

The Cranes opened the week with a perfect 8-0 win over University of Detroit Jesuit. Not one single match was decided in three sets, all eight wins were perfect straight set victories. 

Football

Various

A second half comeback . The Knights didn’t grab a lead until there was only two minutes left in the third quarter, but two rushing touchdowns in the fourth helped them escape with a 22-14 win.

Running back Dajuan Burnley scored both of the touchdowns, capping  a huge game with 26 carries and 161 yards.

While the Barons kept the game close through the first half, the Maples pulled away in the second. They outscored Andover 35-7 in the second half and cruised to a 56-21 victory on a very hot and humid night.

“Our biggest thing is the numbers,” Andover head coach Jim DeWald said. “We knew going into the year, we got 19 kids and with the heat, they were gassed. We played this team with 40 kids on their roster and we have no opportunity to sub out. It’s frustrating.”

In other football action, Cranbrook Kingswood lost its first game of the season to Livonia Clarenceville 40-27. Weather delayed the game between Ann Arbor Pioneer and Brother Rice, which the Warriors eventually won 27-14. But not until Sunday.

The teams were playing at Berkley High School and nine minutes into the first quarter, lightening and rain delayed the game for over two hours. The teams decided to finish the game on Sunday at 5 p.m. Neither team had scored and they resumed at 0-0.