In a potential preview of the state semifinals #1 STA held off #2 Jupiter 12-10 on Thursday night in Jupiter.  Two true heavyweights playing their particular styles.  And in the end the execution of the Raiders was just good enough to bring home the game. A large crowd from both sides.  Intensity all around on the field. A young man reminding everyone why he was a surprise All-American as a sophomore pairing up with one staking out his claim for this season after his injury last year opened the door. A senior core looking to build momentum for one last run together. A surprise appearance from an understudy who made some remember Wally Pipp. A pleasure to watch. A great way to put the cherry on top of the sundae of a regular season chock full of sweet surprise . . .     Jupiter only had one lead at 1-0 . . . and after STA scored three times to take a 3-1 lead after one Jupiter spent the rest of the game chasing on the scoreboard and even though they caught up three times in the second half they never took the lead and each time STA had the answer and the last nine minutes of the game became Louie Yovino time as his fourth quarter hat trick decided the game. Given this was the last regular season game for each and the desire to avoid injury, both teams went all out for the win.  Effort was not left in the locker room.  It was not an overly physical game but with enough to understand that each was interested in sending a message in case this was only the first meeting. But the biggest message sent was one that can’t be taught. Speed kills. STA has it in spades. And in my opinion it was the difference. Along with a kid name Louie.     Jupiter took the lead only 57 seconds into the game.  Zach Crotty found Peter Cox alone on the top right from behind the net and when the slide was slow he stepped down, finding the low left corner to open the scoring.  At 6:07 Yovino responded off a fast break as Joey Guglielmo found him cutting to the middle from up top and Yovino finished to the low right corner.  Just 29 seconds later JP Crowley worked the right side, as he backed down from the alley to GLE and then to the crease before finishing as he fell down.  Then with 2:51 left Crowley beat the double team on right GLE, spinning to the right crease area and hitting the high far corner for 3-1 after one.  STA goalie Michael Adler made six saves in the first quarter, many of the spectacular vintage. Jesse Foertmeyer brought Jupiter within one at 10:31 of the second as he went from left wing towards the middle, splitting two defenders before finishing with a bounce shot.  Yovino answered at 8:52 on a right wing face dodge towards the middle before hitting the low right corner.  But at 8:04 Crotty went down the right alley and found Kane Cochran all alone on the crease and it was 4-3.  At 6:55 Crowley found Jimmy Harrington all alone on the crease for the easy goal for 5-3.  With less than a minute to go Cox took the ball at the top left wing against a zone, drifted in and when the defender was slow to come out, ripped a low left hand corner shot to again make it a one goal game but Yovino took advantage of a turnover to create a fast break and nailed a top right corner bullet with 19 seconds left to take the teams to 6-4 at halftime.     The teams settled down defensively in the third quarter and it wasn’t until there was 5:17 left in the third that Jupiter took advantage of the EMO as Crotty found Michael Dean inside from the top middle and Dean turned right before going to the low left side for 6-5.  Dean and Sean Denes then teamed up at 2:42 to tie it up as Denes fed Dean in the same spot from the right wing and he hit the same corner.  But STA responded at 1:36 as Crowley curled from right behind, up the alley and his left hand hit the high short side and just 7 seconds later Alec Cumella popped a faceoff forward and finished the play in the low left corner and it was 2-goal game again.  But with 12 seconds left in the third Foertmeyer took advantage of a quick restart by Denes as he ripped home a left wing shot into the high right corner and it was 8-7 heading into the fourth. Early in the third Jupiter goalie Viper Scheele gave the home crowd collective heartburn as he took part in a clear and when he got near the mid line he took a hit and rolled his ankle, causing him to leave the game.  Tyler Kendrigan replaced him and shut down STA until the two late goals.  Kendrigan played a key role in keeping Jupiter close throughout the second half.     The fourth went back and forth early.  At 10:21, on EMO, Cox worked right GLE and found Denes on the crease and his quick stick tied the game up.  25 seconds later Alex Tumminello finally found a little space on the left wing as Crowley found him with a skip pass from the right side and his bullet found the far top corner to regain the lead.  44 seconds after that it was tied again as Crotty and Foertmeyer teamed on another EMO as Foertmeyer skipped a pass from behind the left side out to the right wing and Crotty hit the top left corner.  Just 26 seconds after that Yovino took a Cumella pass on the right wing and hit the cage up top for 10-9. At 7:09 Yovino replicated the play, this time taking Crowley’s left behind feed and it was 11-9.  Crotty got that one back at 5:04, curling from left behind and hitting the top right corner, setting up the last few minutes.  Although Jupiter had some good looks Adler came up with the answers and when Yovino was given the ball on the restart with about 20 seconds left in the back left corner he split the double team and beat everyone to the front, finishing with his 6th goal of the game to salt it away. And STA did the unthinkable from the beginning of the season . . . running the table in the regular season with a quality schedule. In the battle for number one we have a clear winner. For now . . . Next week we play for keeps. Sweet.   Team Statistics:   Faceoffs:  Jupiter 13-12 Shots:  STA 45 – Jupiter 36 Shots on Goal:  Jupiter 26 – STA 25 Turnovers:  Jupiter 16 – STA 14 Penalties:  STA 4 – Jupiter 0   Individual Statistics   STA Louie Yovino  6G JP Crowley  3G/3A Alec Cumella  1G/1A Alex Tumminello and Jimmy Harrington  1G each Joey Guglielmo  1A   Jupiter Zach Crotty  2G/3A Peter Cox and Jesse Foertmeyer  2G/1A each Sean Denes  1G/2A Michael Dean  2G Kane Cochran  1G   Michael Adler made 16 saves for STA and Viper Scheele and Tyler Kendrigan combined for 13 saves for Jupiter   Thanks to Coach Crowley and Coach Loftus for talking with me before and after the game.