Author’s Note: Corrected the first PV goal, it was Wil Corbett (#19), not Ryan Smith (#18)

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had a big hit with “Oh What A Night” and that fit like a glove last night.

What a game . . .

What an atmosphere . . .

Oh, What A Night . . .

#1 vs #1 lived up to the hype

Didn’t really matter who you rooted for, or even who won to be honest.

A game like this, on the last weekend of the season, for teams that aren’t going to meet in the playoffs in the two-class system, gave the coaches a chance to gear their teams up for a state title run.

It also gave this writer a chance to sit back, have fun watching, and absorb what was clearly the best atmosphere I’ve ever seen in the ten years of writing for FLN.

Funny, but it took a pandemic to bring the pieces together.  SA had missed a few years of homecoming, normally run in the fall as part of football season, but it was moved to the spring, and the lacrosse Gods handed the community a gift in the matchup.

Food trucks, kiddie rides, fireworks at halftime

I knew this was special because of where I had to park.  99+% of the time it would be right in front of the Gym, with an easy walk to the field.  Last night it was closer to Delray than the field.  I didn’t know how far back the school stretched, but I do now.  A drive and a 3-wood in a previous life.

One amazing fact I came across while researching this article . . . this is only the SECOND time these teams have met.  And that meeting was back in the 2011 FHSAA Final Four, when the Scots gave the Sharks a 12-1 lesson.  That’s hard to believe.  You’d have thought there would have been another game, but so be it.

Ponte Vedra’s growth as a program has not been smooth.  There’s been success and heartache; none more than the FHSAA tournament losses when the program was striving to get past the Lake Highland machine.  Then Head Coach Tom West, current Head Coach Chris Polanski and then LHP Head Coach Chris Spaulding all worked together during the Club season, so it wasn’t unusual to see both programs running a similar offensive system.  It took Ponte Vedra quite a number of years to finally get past that mountain climb.  I remember in 2012 watching their semifinal game online and seeing PV with the 4-goal lead with about 6 minutes left, only to see the Sharks get reeled in and lose by one goal.  In 2013, it was LHP again defeating them in the semifinals of the Final Four.  Another painful loss was the first year at Boca Raton, when the Sharks were downed by Bishop Moore, who went on to lose to Jupiter in the title game.  A similar roadblock for them over the years was Lake Mary, which took FHSAA playoff games over them twice, including a game where the Sharks led 6-1 early.

But in 2019 they finally got over the hump with their easy title win over St. Thomas, after a close scare in the semifinals against Jupiter. The shortened season of 2020 was also painful, as they were looking at a great chance to repeat.  Last season they failed to get out of District, being upset at home in OT by Creekside, which itself was in a similar situation with PV that PV had with LHP over the years.  This year the team is certainly again in the title mix, with the transition to Chris Polanski as head coach.

Saint Andrew’s history is well known, but Ponte Vedra has arguably had the better of the run the last ten years, albeit by a small margin.  And that was mirrored on Friday too.  I thought PV had the better of the game but that isn’t a guarantee of a victory in this sport.  Statistically, the game showed a LOT of interesting perspectives.

The faceoffs were basically even, at 6-5 PV. The Sharks took 29 shots to SA’s 21, hit the cage with 18 of them to the Scot’s 11 and took 5 penalties to SA’s 4.  Both teams turned it over a LOT, and I think that a lot of that was the breakneck pace the game was played at in transition.  There were not many slow clears and a number of times the possession changed hands two or three times in a 30-second span as each team tried to get a shot off before the defenses could set up.

Where the game was won in my opinion is that SA’s Gunnar Schwarz saved 14 shots, mostly rockets, on the 18 shots that hit the cage.  Not all of them were handled cleanly, as a number were more of the hockey save where the rebound was deflected away.  PV does not have a lack of shooters.  On the other side PV goalie Nolan Parlette was only credited with 6 saves, but none of the goals that got by him where bad goals, although he did get unlucky on one early goal that squirted through on an equipment failure.

Another interesting item about this game is that Schwarz is a Navy commit, while Parlette is an Air Force commit, so even though they can’t meet again in high school, I think we have a good chance of this not being the last time they will face each other in competition!  Boys, if you think SA-PV is intense, get ready for a whole extra level at the Academies . . .

The defenses really deserve the attention in this one.  Every single goal was ‘earned the old-fashioned way’, as John Houseman would say.  Sorry kids, that’s one from my generation I don’t expect you to get, but it rang true.  The biggest names on offense for the two schools were actually held off the scoresheet and it was the long poles and defensive middies who won that battle.  Most of the goals were unassisted; SA had one assist and that is not their normal game.  PV had three and their assists were a little out of the norm too, since they love downfield dodging.

But, in the end it came down to a simple formula. 

A game of runs.

SA with the first two in the first nine minutes.  PV with the next four in the next 20 minutes.  SA with the last three in 22 minutes after PV scored with 10 minutes to go in the third.

Usually, a total of nine goals and 41 turnovers would be likely boring; not a chance with this one.

Certainly, all of us who watched this one won’t forget it for a long time.

Oh, What a Night . . .

Caleb Fox opened the scoring for the Scots at 5:01 of the first, as he worked the right wing, spinning left, and his left hand found the short side high for 1-0.  Kurt Schwarz made it 2-0 at 3:23 as he took advantage of a scramble near the right crease to scoop up the ground ball, and potted it into the open net with the left hand.  The Sharks got one back just 32 seconds later as Sean Caracciolo found Will Corbett on the left wing from behind, and Corbett found the top of the net with a right hand step-down to end the 1^st with SA up 2-1.  Schwarz saved 5 of the 6 shots on goal he faced.

PV pretty much dominated the 2^nd quarter and scored twice to take the 3-2 lead at the half, as they held the Scots to only 3 shot attempts and 1 on goal.  Jack Reed tied the game at 7:40 as he dodged from the left wing towards the middle, finishing to the top left of the cage.  Canon Hauseman gave the Sharks the lead with 2:22 left in the half as he dodged from top right towards the goal, taking the feed from Brendan Nace and finishing low left with the right hand.  The PV lead could have been greater, but they only hit the net four times on their nine attempts as they started to get outside looks.

Halftime was longer than normal, as the Homecoming ceremony and the fireworks gave us almost a Super Bowl-like feel . . . well, without the singing act.  I took advantage and talked to a number of Ponte Vedra fathers and had some fun.  I should have asked whether their wives chose to sit in the bleacher.  I know in my own family that my wife sometimes is ‘punchy’ when things go against the team . . . it’s not always easy watching your kids play and Friday would have been a tough one to watch and stay calm at.

Two minutes into the 3^rd it was the Sharks taking the 2-goal lead, on Man-up, as Nace found Caracciolo from the top left to the low left for the low shot.  But then the Scots got going and it was a gutty inside dodge by Zach Brent, as he took a feed about 10 yards in front and bulled his way into a low left shot that eluded Parlette, making it 4-3 with 6:50 to go.  Then it was another individual lightning bolt courtesy of Sean Jordan that tied the game.  While Man-down, he turned the ball over with an intercepted pass, went straight down the field and lasered one from about 15 yards, hitting the top left corner with 13 seconds left in the quarter.  Schwarz saved 5 more shots in the quarter to allow the Scots to start to flip momentum, as PV had an opportunity to fully seize control.

Back and forth the fourth quarter went, tension building.  The two teams starting to get a little fine with their shooting, as the Scots only hit the cage once on five shots and the Sharks going two for five.

It only took one though.

With 5:55 left it was Cole Hofbauer finding Eric Stiefel, briefly given a few feet inside, and the left wing pass was one-timed into the top right of the net with the left hand, with the SA coaches telling me after it might have been ‘his first left hand shot ever’. . . sometimes extraordinary games require an extraordinary moment . . . and the Scots had regained the lead.

Ponte Vedra pressed for the game-tyer and was awarded a one-minute Man-up with 1:23 to go, but the Scots held on, eventually turned the ball over, and found a way to run out the remaining time to end one heck of a game.

After the game I talked with a lot of people, including fans, and it was one of those times where no one went home disappointed.  The players got their game tested, as did the coaches.  The parents, even in defeat, were happy with how their kids played.  And I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight.

Oh, What a Night!

Team Statistics

Faceoffs: PV 6-5

Shots: SA 29-21

Shots on Goal: PV 18-11

Turnovers: SA 22-19

Penalties: PV 5-4

Individual Statistics

SA

Caleb Fox, Kurt Schwarz, Zach Brent, Sean Jordan and Eric Stiefel with 1G each

Cole Hofbauer 1A

Gunnar Schwarz with 14 saves

PV

Sean Caracciolo 1G/1A

Will Corbett, Jack Reed and Canon Hauseman with 1G each

Brendan Nace 2A

Nolan Parlette with 6 saves

Thanks to Coach Seaman and Coach Polanski for talking to me before and after the game . . . as well as all the parents who I talked to