Team Preview: Brother Rice

<strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Overview</span></strong> Brother Rice is undoubtedly one of the most storied Michigan High school Football programs ever, asserting their dominance under Michigan Sports Hall of Fame coach Al Fracassa. Under Fracassa, who coached Brother Rice from 1969 - 2013, they won a whopping 9 state championships sending many athletes to D1 colleges and the NFL. Since winning 3 straight state championships from 2011-2013, Brother rice has come under new leadership. Brother Rice’s current head coach is Adam Korzeniewski, a Brother Rice alumni going into his 5th season. Although Brother Rice isn’t the dynasty they used to be, they’re still a solid team sporting a 6-2 2020 record losing to Chelsea in the 3rd round of the playoffs. With a grueling 64% opponent win percentage, and facing multiple teams in contention for a state title, Brother Rice has their work cut out for them. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Schedule/Games to watch</strong></span> <strong>August 26 @ Dakota</strong> I remember playing youth football when we’d have to play the Macomb Mustangs, a team whose youth players ended up with Dakota High School. Their players were always stronger, faster, and incredibly well-coached. Not a thing has changed with Dakota as they’re one of the best teams in the state. The Cougars finished 6-2 in 2020 being upset by Romeo in the playoffs. Brother Rice is going to have to come out of the blocks fast if they want to avoid an early-season loss. September 3 vs East Kentwood September 10 @ UofD Jesuit September 17 vs De La Salle <strong>September 26 @ Catholic Central </strong> Two of the most prolific programs in Michigan meet up yet again to play out this legendary rivalry. Catholic Central has dominated Brother Rice winning the rivalry 6 years in a row to this point. After an incredibly close 17-12 contest last year, Brother Rice can smell blood in the water as they hope to take their revenge. If I were in Metro Detroit at the time I would surely go see how this one plays out. October 1 @ St. Mary Prep <strong>October 15 @ Traverse City Central</strong> Brother Rice travels 3.5 hours to Traverse City central in this big non-league matchup. Last season, Traverse City Central played incredible football winning the Big North (5-0), and losing to Mona Shores in the DII semifinals. With big potential playoff &amp; League implications, I may have to make a weekend trip to Traverse City if this game turns out to be as big a deal as I think it will be. If Brother Rice can win just 2 of the 3 against Dakota, Catholic Central, and Traverse City Central, they should be in great shape for the 2021 playoffs. October 22 vs Detroit Country Day <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players to Watch</strong></span> <p class="uni-headline--1"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[player_tooltip player_id="30262" first="Cole" last="Lacanaria"], WR - A slot receiver, Lacanaria displays elite quickness, separation, hands, with impressive open-field vision. In terms of speed, he runs an 11.4 100M, and a 1.58 40 makings him significantly faster than most athletes on the field. With his hands, Lacanaria displays incredible 50-50 ball skills while only being 5’8". I expect many more speed-in-space opportunities for Lacanaria in 2021 as he helps lead the Warrior offense. </span></p> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11310748/Ryan-Ervin">Ryan Ervin</a>, ATH - Ervin is the definition of a swiss army knife as he can play almost any skill position on the field. On defense, he’s seen usually lining up as an OLB/DB. He shows great block shedding ability as an edge rusher and can really stuff the run in addition to being a ball hawk. On offense, Ervin typically lines up outside and shows good ball skills with great moves once the ball is in his hands, though he sometimes jumps for balls he could catch with his feet planted. Oh, and Ervin can also kick and has made plays in the wildcat. After a torn ACL in 2020, I’m very interested in seeing how Ervin is utilized in 2021. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13133958/Charles-Mackley">Charles Mackley</a>, OL - Getting starts on the Varsity offensive line as a sophomore in 2020, Mackley is looking to be the full-time varsity tackle in 2021. At 6’2, 227 with likely much time spend in the weight room, Mackley has a solid build for a High School tackle who already shows flashes of elite potential in run and pass blocking. As long as Mackley has put in the work during the offseason, I believe he can be one of the best offensive linemen in the Catholic Central League. For more insight on Brother Rice athletes look at<a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/brother-rices-top-players-for-the-2021-season/"> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brother Rice’s Top Players For The 2021 Season </span></a> <strong>X-Factor: Getting over the hump</strong> I truly believe Brother Rice is close to being great again, and I know they have the athletes and coach to do so. Adam Korzeniewski actually coached me during my Freshman year at Seaholm High School (2015), and there’s one speech he made that I’ll never forget. The entire Seaholm team was watching film of an abysmal performance we just had, and the entire room was feeling very down. Some players were frustrated, others were falling asleep, others not caring. It was obvious that the team didn’t believe in itself, and that’s when Defensive Coordinator Adam Korzeniewski and Head coach Jim Dewald made a speech. The gist of the speech is as follows: We have the potential to win a state championship. It doesn’t matter that we’re a bunch of kids from Birmingham. Brother Rice had a dynasty with athletes from our exact area, so WHY NOT US? I’m not sure how the speech resonated with the rest of the team, but it surely changed my perspective on the game of football as well as life. So why not Brother Rice? &nbsp; &nbsp;