Purple People Eaters......NHS LAX Downs Pioneer

     After enjoying a well earned bye in the first round of the State Lacrosse Tourney, the Northville Mustangs gave notice that they will be a force by handing the Pioneers from Ann Arbor a crushing defeat.  It was the best weather night so far for the fans who enjoyed a great afternoon in the sunshine and cheered for the home team.  The music was loud and the Coke was cold as the bleachers filled early in anticipation of a tough game.  Although Pioneer scored first, there was a lot to cheer about as the Mustangs reeled off the next 10 straight to put the game out of reach before halftime.  Final tally: 17-9

     It has become customary for LAX halftimes to be trivial in Northville.  The voice of Northville LAX, John Melucci, has entertained and amazed the crowd with all sorts of LAX trivia.......occasionally awarding valuable prizes to those able to answer the questions accurately.  Tonight was no exception as one lucky couple won an all expense paid cruise on the Toledo River for correctly identifying the answer to the tricky bonus trivia.  The answer, by the way, was Johns Hopkins in 1974.

    Playing without Senior Greg Stewart who suffered an untimely broken jaw ending his season prematurely, the Mustangs relied on their great depth and their speed the stall the Pioneer offense and get the ball to the Mustang end.  Junior Alec Melucci took it from there and handled the scoring duties almost singlehandedly.  "Mooch" had a nearly unthinkable double-double hat-trick, scoring 6 goals and earning 6 assists for a total of 12 points....WOW!  Senior Jimmy Steslicki, celebrating his birthday today, was a beast at both ends of the field as well.  In fact, everybody on the roster got into the act tonight as Coach Durham used his whole squad in preparation for a huge Regional Semifinal next Tuesday night.  The game will feature Northville vs. the winner of tomorrow night's tilt pitting Saline against the Mustangs arch-rival, Novi.  The game will be hosted by West Bloomfield High, so come out and support the Stangs as they go for glory.