FLN’s Top 15 For Class 1A & 2A for the Week Ending 3/14/2021! A New Team Ascends to the Top!
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Featured Posts, FLN Polls, Florida Lacrosse News, High School.
We’re getting near the halfway point in the season and just when you think you’ve started to figure out the answers, you’re hit with a new set of questions due to the scores you see.
One thing that is also becoming apparent is that matchups do matter this year, since I’m seeing talented, younger teams have difficulty with their more physically developed opponents, and that is very true so far in some Top 15 matchups I’ve witnessed.
Like Friday’s LHP-STA game, which looked so good on paper, but in person you could see how obvious the difference between a senior and a freshman truly is most of the time. This is not a sport for the faint of heart, and for that game I was able to watch from a table right next to the field, and it truly is a different game there from watching in the booth.
One of my beliefs about the incredible greatness of this sport is the courage it takes to play it. And if you doubt that, watch a game at field level and just listen . . . you don’t have to even see the ball, you just have to listen for the contact and the sticks. It’s all there.
Never mind how much more it takes to play the goalie spot, which requires a greater mental toughness than social media bullies could only dream about. After all, you can’t hide behind a user name out in the cage.
Think playing goal isn’t tough?
Try doing this in your living room:
If I tried that I’d be in traction for a week . . .WOW! An @sctop10 performance in Goal last night by Wharton's Jonah Dunlap. A huge tip of the cap!@QKessenich @WhartonWildcats @FloridaLX @JohnGalloway15 @LaxAllStars pic.twitter.com/GNReqqtRuC
— Alonso Lacrosse (@Alonso_Lax) March 13, 2021
Saint Andrew’s Hosts St. Thomas on Tuesday Night
Plenty of key games were played this week and most of you know by now that I read off close games and also note the easy wins by name on Morning Coffee and tomorrow I’ll run down the Boy’s scores from Friday and Saturday, as well as the Girl’s Top 15 results. Friday had four close Top 15 matchups. as well as my upset of the week, as you’ll see later. The biggest goal spread of the five was 3 goals, as play went down to the late stages in each. But one Top 15 matchup did not go down to the wire, and that result definitely moves the needle in my 2A Poll, as St. Thomas’ early season surge can no longer be glossed over. Their domination of Lake Highland Friday night was a message to every other top-ranked team in their Class. It took about 6 minutes for the Raiders to take over the game, but when they did . . . four goals in the last 1:08 of the first period was not a fluke. In the 2 games I’ve covered this year, they’ve shown dominance at the faceoff, poise on offense and grit on defense. And they travel to Boca on Tuesday to face 1A #1 Saint Andrew’s for the first time in the regular season in nearly 10 years. A constant regular season rivalry until then, they have not played since the infamous playoff game in 2012 (an FHSAA regional final) but now the regular season game is back, and just in time for local lacrosse fans to get out and watch. What makes this upcoming game so interesting is that after watching both, it will be a clash of styles, and the team that plays their style best should win. A story to watch is how does SA handle STA’s dominating Jared Chenoy at the faceoffs? Both teams have plenty of poles that like it physical, so neither team should get too many easy looks. STA’s athletecism has combined with a much better feel for ball possession. SA’s offense has always been more of a Maryland high school style and can they find inside looks? If your school isn’t playing Tuesday you definitely need to get over to the SA campus and catch that one. As you’ll see furthur on here, it’s also a rare matchup for any two schools that are ranked where they are.More Bonus Coverage! https://t.co/lvHpASTWe9
— FloridaLacrosseNews (@FloridaLX) March 12, 2021
Girls Top 15
I am going to try to make this a regular feature til the end of the season, and will target Tuesday’s Morning Coffee broadcasts for revealing the Poll each week. It will be based on the week ending Sunday, like the Boys, so don’t fret if a game on Monday changes anything, it will just be caught up with the next week. I’m trying to do this so the Girls have their own planned segment for this each week. Last week, this was the Poll of the combined classes (as I get more familiar with the Girls I’ll go with the two classes but that isn’t likely until the Final Poll this year. Here’s last week’s:- Lake Highland Prep
- American Heritage-Delray
- Vero Beach
- Ponte Vedra
- St. Thomas Aquinas
- Steinbrenner
- Bartram Trail
- Hagerty
- Ransom Everglades
- Gulf Breeze
- Pine Crest
- Community School of Naples
- Lake Brantley
- Edgewood
- Newsome/SJP II
LHP Head Coach Chris Robinson after the 12-7 Win over STA https://t.co/MV1awsJZxS
— FloridaLacrosseNews (@FloridaLX) March 13, 2021