GROSSE ILE — Death, taxes, and Grosse Ile High School winning district championships in boys soccer.
Though it doesn’t have the guaranteed life span as the first two, district titles have been an annual tradition at Grosse Ile for nearly two decades. With that comes a commitment to keeping said tradition while embracing a certain level of pressure.
“The standard is high, “Grosse Ile head coach Jon Evans said. “There’s a little bit of pressure on us also. You don’t want to be the team that breaks the streak.”
Fortunately for Evans, that streak won’t be at risk again until the fall of 2027 after his Red Devils pitched a 2-0 home shutout of in a Division 3 district title game Wednesday night.
The win gives Grosse Ile an incredible 18th straight district title in the sport, 11 of which have been with Evans at the helm. The longtime coach saw his latest edition of islanders on the pitch use a strong start to the game to fuel the eventual trophy-hoisting victory.
“I think we played a fairly solid first 40 minutes there,” Evans said. “I think we created close to double-digit chances. It’s unfortunate that we did not put the game away earlier, but (Ida) came out to battle, especially in the second half. That made things more difficult for us.
“Kudos to our back line and everyone in front of them,” Evand continued. “Was it a perfect performance? Absolutely not. We have to be able to finish our chances and put the ball in the back of the net more. That’s something we can look back on as we get ready for (regionals).”
Albeit closer than Evans would’ve liked, the final score was the 16th of its now 21 games played in which Grosse Ile has held the opposition to one goal or less, including now 10 shutouts.
Wednesday was also a game where the Devils led for a majority of the night after cashing in on what would be the de facto game-winning goal late in the ninth minute.
It came on one of the half dozen corner kicks for the islanders in that first half. The third of those opportunities was sent on into the box through a lot of traffic from both teams. An initial shot attempt was turned away before junior Connor O’Donnell capitalized on a second-chance try to give his team the early lead.
The No. 14-ranked Grosse Ile boys soccer team earned an 18th consecutive D3 district title with a 2-0 win over Ida on Oct 21, 2026. (ALEXANDER MULLER — MediaNews Group)
O’Donnell’s efforts ended up being the lone marker of the entire first half, though Grosse Ile was not without other scoring chances.
Senior Matteo Gatti had a penalty kick denied late in the 30th minute. A potential header was misdirected and turned away by the Ida defense, while another shot attmped with the Bluestreaks goalkeeper out of the box was blocked at the last minute by a trailing defender.
Grosse Ile not only had to settle for the one-goal lead going into halftime, they also found itself more on its heels in the latter 40 minutes. Though it did not amount to many looks on net, Ida very much evened out the playing field to, at a minimum, slow the Devils’ chance to further put the game away.
That coupled with the slim lead on the scoreboard made it a balancing act of sorts game plan wise for Evans and company.
“You have to remained disciplined and keep the ball in front of you,” Evans said. “You have to transition well and you cannot take breaks. Ida is a very hard-working team, they have some dangerous players and have enough of them to win the game. I think though we had a game plan and the boys executed it very well.”
It took until there were less than three minutes to go in regulation but, eventually, Grosse Ile got its much-needed insurance score.
A clear-out in its own side of the field followed by a ball over the top from the midfield set up Carson Twiner the other way towards the Ida net. The senior and former two-time all-News-Herald honoree was able to bury into the back of the twine and put the game on ice for the islanders.
“He’s had a rocky season, fighting off some injuries early,” Evans said of Twiner. “He’s getting back to it now. We’re playing our best soccer in late October when we want to be, and he’s a big part of that.”
Senior Carson Twiner (red) scored one of the two goals for Grosse Ile in its 2-0 win over Ida on Oct 21, 2026. (ALEXANDER MULLER — MediaNews Group)
Wednesday was the third time in the last five years that Grosse Ile has matched up with Ida (15-5-2) in the district finals for boys soccer, including now each of the last two seasons.
It’s a Bluestreaks program, only in its 10th year of existence, that has won five consecutive Lenawee County Athletic Association regular season tropies and won over 70 percent of its games during that span.
“They’re organized and hard to break down,” Evans said of Ida. “I have to tip my hat to them. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. Every year, they are chomping at the bit to get here and make it more difficult for us each time.”
UP NEXT
Grosse Ile (16-5) with the win now advances to the regional semifinal round of the D3 state playoffs, which will take place on Tuesday, Oct 27. In the first of two games held at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (5 p.m.), the Devils will oppose Brooklyn Columbia Central.
Photo gallery of No. 14 Grosse Ile hosting Ida in a D3 boys soccer district final
Wednesday was the latest step in Evans and company continuing that aforementioned standard.
“We got back to winning the Huron League championship this year,” Evans said. “We’re looking to make a run, and you can’t win a regional championship without winning a district championship.”