We transition to a new sponsor for the FLN Polls this season!  Prospects Lacrosse Inc. is sponsoring a new event for Florida school teams on an invitational basis as a showcase for college coaches to attend.  The Florida event is scheduled for May 23rd-24th in Vero Beach.LINKOkay, two weeks are in the books and we can start to see some trends.But first, some bad news from Friday night:https://youtu.be/fxlqgOcknjMThis was the last event to take place in the Carrier Dome (yeah, old habits die hard on names) before major renovations take place.  I watched it at Yard House in Mizner because XFinity pathetically won’t carry the ACC Network yet since they don’t want to pay the carriage charge.Hey Comcast, offer it A LA CARTE so we lax fans can get it.  Get off your high horse.A one goal game late into the 3rd until (believe it or not I’m going to say this) we got hosed by the refs.  Even Syracuse legend Ric Beardsley was calling out missed calls on the broadcast.  Okay, last time for that.And all you Orange fans out there, look out for a rematch in the NCAA 1st round . . . it might well happen.During the game, and I assume through many broadcasts in the area, they asked for ‘Memories of the Dome’.  I only saw the lacrosse memories on the broadcast, of which there were many, including 2013 and 2006, both road wins for the good guys . . . but one thing that always stuck out in my memory were the amazing Big East basketball games that drew 30,000+ . . . Ewing vs Pearl the biggest memory.  I’m sure there will be plenty more in the near future.There were some great games over the first two weeks but the one that caught my eye the most was on Wednesday the 26th when Evans beat Jones 5-3.  If MaxPreps is accurate on this Evans had lost their first 28 games at the varsity level over 2-plus years and over those 28 games had scored only 23 goals.  Jones is in their 2nd season as an Independent and had not won a game yet either according to the site.  So someone was getting their first and that night it was Evans, so congratulations to them and I hope this leads to some great things down the line.Key Game Results Over the Past Two Weeks2/18Nease 14-8 over LincolnAll Saints 13-7 over Windermere PrepCardinal Mooney 14-9 over CanterburyPlant 14-6 over SteinbrennerBishop Moore 14-4 over HagertyCalvary Christian (Ft Laud) 20-6 over WesternLakewood Ranch 13-9 over Riverview-SarasotaLake Highland 17-6 over BooneOxbridge 7-5 over Boca Raton2/19Ponte Vedra 12-4 over Montverde Academy2/20Martin County 13-10 over WT DwyerAmerican Heritage-Plantation 11-9 over St. Edward’s2/21American Heritage-Plantation 7-4 over CanterburyRiverview-Sarasota 3-2 over PlantWest Florida 13-6 over ChilesTampa Jesuit 12-8 over MitchellSTA 15-6 over VieraSA 9-2 over OxbridgeBoone 9-4 over OviedoKing’s Academy 10-6 over BenjaminBishop Moore 7-6 over Winter ParkPonte Vedra 11-8 over Walton (Ga.) – the defending champions of each state2/22Ponte Vedra 11-3 over St. Edward’sMacaly 23-9 over Gulf Breeze2/25Mitchell 14-12 over WhartonOxbridge 9-8 over Pine CrestCardinal Mooney 8-7 over Tampa JesuitSA 7-6 over JupiterWest Orange 10-9 over Winter Park2/26Chiles 8-5 over LincolnEvans 5-3 over Jones2/27Maclay 14-10 over Oak HallSt. Edward’s 12-6 over Martin CountyViera 13-6 over Martin CountyJupiter 8-4 over OxbridgeAll Saints 8-7 over Montverde AcademyNaples 8-7 over Ft. MyersWellington 15-6 over Vero Beach2/28Plant 10-6 over AlonsoBenjamin 12-7 over Boca RatonSTA 19-1 over ColumbusLake Highland 12-11 over Lovett (Ga.)SA 7-5 over Pine CrestLake Mary 11-6 over VieraCreekside 9-8 over Cardinal Mooney2/29Fleming Island 12-9 over Nease in the Moe’s ClassicBerkeley Prep 6-5 over CanterburyPonte Vedra 14-3 over Cardinal Mooney in the Moe’s ClassicSt. Edward’s 9-6 over Gulliver PrepCreekside 12-8 over Bolles in the Moe’s ClassicGulf Coast 11-8 over Riverview-SarasotaMiami Country Day 6-5 over Key WestLast week I highlighted King’s Academy and their schedule and I wanted to mention two other schedules that are worthy of looking at.The first one:

Date	Opponent	Result
2/20	@ American Heritage (Plantation, FL) Location: American Heritage High School	(L) 11 – 9
2/22	@ Ponte Vedra (Ponte Vedra, FL) Location: Ponte Vedra High School	(L) 11 – 3
2/27	Martin County (Stuart, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	(W) 12 – 6
2/29	@ Gulliver Prep (Miami, FL) Location: Gulliver Prep	(W) 9 – 6
3/3	Benjamin (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	Preview Game
3/5	@ Jupiter Christian (Jupiter, FL) Location: Jupiter Christian High School	Preview Game
3/7	Ransom Everglades (Miami, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	Preview Game
3/17	@ St. John Paul II Academy (Boca Raton, FL) Location: St. John Paul II Academy	Preview Game
3/20	Riverview Sarasota (Sarasota, FL) Game Details: Sticks4Soldiers Event at Cardinal Mooney HS	Preview Game
3/21	@ Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, FL) Game Details: Sticks4Soldiers Event at Cardinal Mooney HS	Preview Game
3/24	@ John Carroll Catholic (Fort Pierce, FL) Location: John Carroll Catholic High School	Preview Game
3/26	Berkeley Prep (Tampa, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	Preview Game
3/28	@ South Fork (Stuart, FL) Location: South Fork High School	Preview Game
3/31	Jensen Beach (Jensen Beach, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	Preview Game
4/2	@ Pine (Stuart, FL) Location: Pine High School	Preview Game
4/4	IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	Preview Game
4/7	Merritt Island (Merritt Island, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School	Preview Game
4/9	Bolles (Jacksonville, FL) Location: St. Edward’s High School

This is Saint Edward’s and Head Coach Doug Bailey has put together one of the better programs in the state that no one talks about.  I try to catch them each year and they never disappoint.  They are now in the same district as Benjamin and that will be a doozy in the district final.The other schedule is for the team that will likely face the St. Ed’s-Benjamin winner in the Class 1A first round and they responded to my critique of their 2019 schedule in style:

2/25	@ West Shore (Melbourne, FL) Location: West Shore High School	(W) 19 – 4
2/28	Rockledge (Rockledge, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School	(W) 19 – 0
3/5	@ Jensen Beach (Jensen Beach, FL) Location: Jensen Beach High School	Preview Game
3/6	Edgewood (Merritt Island, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School	Preview Game
3/10	Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy (Melbourne, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School	Preview Game
3/12	@ Merritt Island (Merritt Island, FL) Location: Merritt Island High School	Preview Game
3/17	Castle View (Castle Rock, CO) Game Details: Austin-Tindall Sports Complex	Preview Game
3/20	@ Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, FL) Game Details: Sticks4SoliderCardinal Mooney High School, Stadium	Preview Game
3/21	Riverview Sarasota (Sarasota, FL) Game Details: Sticks4Soldiers Event at Cardinal Mooney HS	Preview Game
3/21	@ Ridgeview (Orange Park, FL) Location: Ridgeview High School	Preview Game
3/24	American Heritage (Plantation, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School	Preview Game
3/27	@ Bishop Moore (Orlando, FL) Location: Bishop Moore High School	Preview Game
3/31	Satellite (Satellite Beach, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School	Preview Game
4/1	Cocoa Beach (Cocoa Beach, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School	Preview Game
4/7	Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) Location: Melbourne Central Catholic High School

This is the schedule for Melbourne Central Catholic and they will be prepared for the brackets this year.  Congrats to Head Coach John Combs for this and good luck this season.  By the way, I think John still does the color commentating for the Florida Tech Men’s broadcasts too.Intermission TimeI came across a YouTube channel called Alex and Andy by accident a month ago.  They are a couple of musically oriented kids who decided (they are not the only YouTube channel now doing this) to start listening to music from the Headbanger rock genre and I find their reviews quite interesting since they were choosing songs that a) they didn’t know about and b) were favorites of mine.  I thought this review was pretty typical and a lot of fun to hear:They seem to have a great affinity for The Who and Fleetwood Mac, among others.The Underdog Upset of The Week (well, 2 weeks this time)The 3 games that jumped out to me were:Lakewood Ranch over Riverview-SarasotaRiverview-Sarasota over PlantWest Orange over Winter ParkWhat made this tougher is that Plant handled Lakewood Ranch pretty easily.Ah heck, it’s the first week and just say all of these were great accomplishments.I came across another series of videos for parents to watch that shows how US Lacrosse trains their refs.  The videos might be helpful to you while watching to understand why interpretation and context sometimes make a call different from what you see in the stands.Here’s the first one:https://youtu.be/UU5b-rcQavk?list=PLSJXRN8rpn9bY8A9DTe7ib0zA2J54dPKLThere are ten of these in total and they should automatically play one after the other.  Again, understanding the rules and how they are applied might well save you the cost of blood pressure medicine at some point.  Take the time to review these!And of course, our other major sponsor . . . their legend grows by the day.  On Saturday I covered Immokalee and Pompano Beach (story tomorrow) and a friend of mine, University School (Ft. Laud) Girls HC Patrick Timothee mentioned he’s heard of them and the next time he comes to Boca Raton I will be taking him there!INSTAGRAM LINKOkay, time to get to this week’s poll and I thought the intro music this week could be another of the Surf Music songs that I first used last season.  Those who watched the movie Pulp Fiction might recognize it . . .Dick Dale & The Del Tones with Miserlou!

Prospects Lacrosse Inc. Class 2A Top 15 for the week ending 2/29/20

1) Ponte Vedra – just keeps rolling along, they travel north to play Gilman and Boys’ Latin back to back!2) Jupiter – one goal road loss to SA and home win over Oxbridge means no change here3) Creekside – Cardinal Mooney home win keeps them here4) St. Thomas Aquinas – stunned by how easily they handled Columbus5) Lake Mary – the schedule is weaker than in past years so there’s a cap right now, but taking care of business6) Lake Brantley – moves up one slot as Plant loses to Riverview-Sarasota7)  HB Plant – Let the bases full in the top of the 9th against Riverview-Sarasota . . . oh, wrong sport . . .8) Newsome – really not much on the schedule until the 24th, 4-0 start is impressive on paper, can’t move higher until the meat of the schedule comes up.9) Gulf Coast – As many know I ignore IMG results so they are off to a 4-0 start and move up nicely10t) Winter Park – one goal loss to Bishop Moore and a one goal loss to West Orange.  Huh?10t) West Orange – could they be better without Mikey Berkman?  Hard to fathom.  4-0 start12) Riverview-Sarasota – I guess we can wait until further results come in, plenty of solid opponents coming13) Boca Raton – falls some after tough early slate14) Fleming Island – Creekside game postponed, we’ll know more after Friday’s trip to Maclay15t) Hagerty – bad Bishop Moore result followed by three easy wins leaves them here15t) West Florida – 6-0 start gets them on the mapAlso Considered:  Western, Columbus, Viera, Mitchell, Steinbrenner, Stoneman Douglas, Alonso and Martin County.

The Prospects Lacrosse 2020 FLN Preseason Class 1A Poll

1) Saint Andrew’s – not ‘co’ anymore.  Wins over Jupiter and Oxbridge make them the clear favorite in the state but the path to Kissimmee is hardly pre-ordained2) American Heritage-Plantation – No reason to think differently.  Wins over St. Edward’s and the next day at Canterbury after a 2+ hour bus ride is impressive3) King’s Academy – . . . not only beat Benjamin but went wire to wire while doing so.  HUGE game Tuesday at AH-Plantation4) Bishop Moore – keeps playing at a high level5) Lake Highland Prep – the next thing for them is beating the top schools, something they’ve struggled with the last 2 years6) Cardinal Mooney – lost weekend in the northeast, injury issues to overcome7) Oxbridge – really by default they move up, two losses to top teams in the state.  Offense needs to pick it up.8)  Benjamin – very few easy games left.  District #1 seed on the line Tuesday9) Maclay – great start, tough to see moving too much further for now.10) St. Edward’s – Tuesday is big, they need to beat a top team11) Melbourne Central Catholic – not much more upside until the Sticks For Soldiers weekend12) Oak Hall – road loss to Maclay hurts but not too much13)   Calvary Christian – great start, interesting road game on the 10th14t) Berkeley Prep & Tampa Jesuit – play Tuesday to decide this.15) Pine Crest – can’t ignore a team that goes to Oxbridge and loses by 1 and loses at home to SA by 2.  Potential to move up rapidly.16) All Saints Academy – I’m adding this slot here to acknowledge their 8-7 victory over Montverde, but that’s the cap in all likelihood.  Next year PLEASE put some more meat on the bone!  Montverde will be the toughest opponent until a bracket game and that’s not good enough if you want to make noise.  You’ve got PLENTY of opponents within 50 miles to choose from.Also Considered:  Montverde Academy, Belen Jesuit, Canterbury, Gulliver Prep, BollesHave a great week at the games!#TAFTAG – Take A Friend To A Game#LacrossePutMyButtInThisSeat!#LayOffTheRefs!