First, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my son Alex . . . 28! The best son any father could wish for.

Second, an apology to Lola Mancuso, the American Heritage-Delray alum who also appeared in the IL Top 20 Freshwomen of Impact, at Xavier. We’ll cover her separately this weekend!

What a week for Florida kids at both the high school and college levels.

So much national recognition coming in . . .

And big wins against non-Florida teams:

St. Thomas travels to Coach Crowley’s alma mater on Long Island and comes away with the 12-11 OT win at Massapequa, one of the traditional powers on the Island! A second game with Kellenburg is today.

American Heritage-Delray Girls knock off nationally-ranked Stone Ridge (MD)

Bartram Trail Girls knock off St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (VA)

PV Boys over SS&SA earlier

SA Boys knock off Groton School (MA)

Bullis is in town to take on Jupiter and Oxbridge this week.

STA’s Ava Yovino leads D1 in scoring . . .

Of course, Miami and FAU . . . need to sneak that in . . . they COULD meet in the NCAA Title game . . . hmmm.

Rivalry on the River has a FULL day of lacrosse, you can watch by downloading the News4Jax+ app

*****

Friday Games

Holy Trinity Boys held off an upset challenge from Jensen Beach to stay undefeated

St. Edward’s Boys handled Montverde

Belen Boys get a big win over Bishop Verot

Pine Crest Boys look back on track with a big win over Columbus

Jesuit Boys go to Sarasota and take a 15-13 win over Cardinal Mooney

Lucy Beckham (SC) showed they are a heck of a program for 3 years

Niceville Boys get their signature win over Gulf Breeze

St. Edward’s Girls earn a very important win over Viera as they attempt to move up from Final Four Out status in Region 4 . . . funny how St. Edward’s Boys are in Region 2 while the Girls are in 4 . . .

Lake Wales Girls hold on for a needed win versus Lakeland

*****

Gulf Coast Referee Controversy

Palmetto Ridge Boys have had multiple games cancelled due to organizational/operational issues as games that were on the Arbiter website looked to be removed.

We’ll keep probing and try to piece together a fuller recap.

The last thing we need in the community is a continuation of cancelled games.

My area produced a very successful recruitment and clinic to restock our referee pool and it looks like we need to continue to do this around the state.

Kids, I’ve talked about this a lot . . . GET CERTIFIED . . . you not only gain a greater understanding of what the refs are looking for while on the field (which makes your approach to playing better), as well as putting some very nice spending money in your pocket during the summer and with youth programs in your area.

#TAFTAG

#LayOffTheRefs

#LacrosseFanAndDamnProudOfIt