OKEMOS - Wednesday, May 31st was a historic night in the MHSAA boys Lacrosse Playoffs as cross-conference opponents, the Okemos Chieftains took on the Haslett/Williamston Vikings, in the Regional Championship at Dewitt High School. Both teams came in determined to win after having almost a week off to prepare for this game.

Entering the stadium you could feel the intensity from both teams develop as they were warming up on the field and even from the crowd in the bleachers, as they were cheering on their schools respected teams. The game was physical right off the bat as the opening face off between the Chieftains and the Vikings, as you could hear the cracks and pops from across the field.

The start of the game was again very physical as both teams held each other scoreless in the first 5 minutes of play, creating turnovers and difficult shots. However, #23 of Okemos, Mario Gonzalez, struck first with the opening goal of the game, giving the Chieftains the first lead of the game 1-0. With stellar goaltending and hard defense, the Vikings weren't able to score until the 6 minute mark of the game, being able to tie it up. Then with 31 seconds left on the clock, the Vikings took the lead closing out the quarter with a 2-1 lead over the Chieftains.

With some adjustments after the 1st Quarter, the Chieftains were able to score in the first 1:30 of the 2nd Quarter to tie the game back up 2-2. Okemos was able to keep Haslett/Williamston out of the goal for the majority of the quarter until the 3 minute mark, where they took back the lead. The Chieftains then answered back with 2 quick goals in 33 seconds, taking the lead back and being up 4-3. The Vikings were not going down that easily as they were able to score one last goal in the final minutes of the 1st Half and making the score 4-4.

The 2nd Half was underway with some refocusing and a few halftime adjustments from both teams. The Chieftains yet again struck first in the opening minutes of the half as they scored the first goal and taking back the lead. From there Okemos blew up on offense, scoring 4 unanswered goals, and keeping Haslett/Williamston scoreless in the 3rd Quarter. It didn't stop there for the Chieftains as they extended their lead with 2 more goals in the beginning of the 4th Quarter, creating a 10-4 lead for the Chieftains.

It seemed all was over for the Vikings as the time was winding down and were still held scoreless in the 2nd Half until the 4 minute mark of the 4th quarter. At that point the Vikings had a spark of life as they scored 2 more unanswered goals with less than 2 minutes left, shortening the lead to only a 3 goal lead. Unfortunately that spark wasn't enough for the Vikings as the Okemos Chieftains came out on top with the final score being 11-8.

The victory made the Chieftains the Regional Champs for the 2nd year in a row and are now headed to the Quarter Finals of the MHSAA Boys Lacrosse. The Okemos Chieftains travel to Lansing Catholic High School for the Quarterfinals, where they will take on East Grand Rapids, Friday, June 2 at 6 PM.