OKEMOS - To the next stage of playoffs they go.

The Okemos girls varsity lacrosse barely snuck by Bloomfield Hills, but clinched the win, 12-11, to move on to the next stage of post-season play.

Leading the Blackhawks, 6-1, in the first period, the Chiefs had room to breathe and play slow.

"I definitely liked the way we came out," said Okemos Girls Varsity Lacrosse head coach Bill Prahler. "We came out very, very fast, played our game, executed the fundamentals, came out six, got up 6-1."

Bloomfield Hills powered up their offense and crept up to Okemos, making it an almost even game, 10-9, with five minutes left.

"You gotta give Bloomfield credit. That's a good team," Prahler said. "They battled back, made it close, all the way to the end here tonight. You know, I really didn't like that we fell off on our fundamentals."

From then on, scoring was like ping pong.

One for the Chiefs, then one for the Blackhawks.

And again.

With two minutes until the end, the Chiefs sped past their opponents, getting around to the sides of the field and passing it in.

Reaching the front of the goal, Bloomfield Hills fouls the Chiefs and it was a free pass for the victory.

Okemos makes it 12.

The last minute of the game gave way to rough play and a few fouls for both teams.

Another foul, but this time by Okemos, gives way to one final goal by the Blackhawks.

The 12 seconds left on the clock don't give Bloomfield Hills enough time to even it out.

The Chiefs take the ball and run toward the Blackhawks goal, keeping it away from their own side until the whistle announces the end of the game.

"You'll get games like that, especially against good teams is the abs and flows of a good lacrosse game, so you just deal with them, roll with the punches and hope you can come out on top like tonight," Prahler said.

Next step for Okemos?

They take on the No. 1 team in the state, Rockford, on Friday.

"You know, that's a team where you know, if we don't execute the fundamentals, we're gonna be in trouble, so we've got to stick to Okemos brand of lacrosse, execute the fundamentals for 50 minutes and do our best defensively," Prahler said.