Bloomfield Hills — When it came time for Jamie Hebden, and then his brother Andy a few years later, to decide on a high school, they deliberated between Novi Catholic Central and Brother Rice.

Brother Rice lacrosse: 105 consecutive wins Brother Rice’s record of 105 consecutive in-state lacrosse victories in the past seven years has come at the expense of 28 high schools. Here’s a breakdown: 19 wins vs. Detroit U-D Jesuit 15 vs. Novi Detroit Catholic Central 10 vs. Warren De La Salle 8 vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Troy Athens 7 vs. Birmingham Seaholm 6 vs. Bloomfield Hills Detroit Country Day 4 vs. East Grand Rapids 3 vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer and Novi 2 vs. Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook, Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern 1 vs. Brighton, Clarkston, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Hartland, Holland West Ottawa, Howell, Huron Valley Lakeland, Lansing Waverly, Macomb L’anse Creuse North, Plymouth Canton-Salem, Rockford, Royal Oak, Saginaw Heritage, and Walled Lake Northern Of note: Three of U-D Jesuit’s losses came in the Division 1 state championship game, two of those narrow 12-11 defeats in 2005 and 2009.

Both had played lacrosse since the fifth grade at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington. The sport has deep roots in the family tree: an uncle played lacrosse at Notre Dame, a cousin at Virginia. Their father, Jim, played soccer at Purdue, which is like lacrosse, only instead of kicking a ball, you use a stick with a net to catch and toss a hard rubber ball.

They were aware that not too far from their home in Farmington Hills was the No. 1 prep lacrosse team in the state, and one of the premier programs in the country.

“Reputation” was one factor in his sons’ decision to choose Brother Rice, said Jim Hebden, while keeping the scoreboard clock for the season opener between Rice and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

“Rice has a good feeder system, a kind of Little League lacrosse,” Hebden said. “Kids want to come to Brother Rice. They come from the tri-county area.”

“Stability” is another important ingredient, he pointed out. This is coach Rob Ambrose’s 20th season at Rice. Kids know he demands accountability and hard work.

“We do push the envelope in practices. There’s a lot of tension, pressure,” Ambrose said, adding that more than 100 kids come out for lacrosse. “There’s a lot of competition among them … Games should be the result of practice. It’s not how they (the opponents) play. It’s how we play, about making the right decisions to win.”

Winning is all the Warriors know. Since 2005, when the Michigan High School Athletic Association formally recognized lacrosse, Rice has won every Division 1 state championship, a total of seven straight. The Warriors also dominate the Catholic High School League, winning 14 of 15 titles.

And, since 2005, Brother Rice has not lost to a school from Michigan— a streak of 105 victories, including this spring’s season-opening 23-1 clobbering of St. Mary’s. Winning big is normal for Rice; of the 105 wins, Rice scored less than 9 goals in only eight games. Only five games were decided by one goal. In 2011, Rice won by an average score of 14-5.



Birmingham United was the last team from Michigan to beat Brother Rice, in 2002 in the championship game of the old Michigan Lacrosse League.

Since 2005, in overall action, Rice’s record is an incredible 148-12.

Great programs produce great players. Some 30 Warriors in the past seven years have won All-American honors, including three members of this year’s squad: midfielder Riley Kennedy, attack Henry Nelson, and defender Chris Walker, all of whom were selected as juniors last year.