See Districts 1&2 There are no bye’s this year in the road to the FHSAA State Championships.  With a total of 32 districts the brackets breakdown pretty straight forward.  So let’s take a look at the upcoming 2014 FHSAA Season here as we break down the four brackets. The North Bracket consists of Districts 1-8, below is a look at District 3 and District 4.  The winner of these two districts will play each other in the first round and then go onto play the winner of the District 1 vs. 2 match up in the Regionals. District 3

Episcopal continues to be the top dog of this district but Stanton prep will be pushing hard this season.   Episcopal will be led by returning goalie and Senior Captain Dominick Johnigean.  They also return promising junior goalie Trammel Evans from the 2013 campaign. On defense Senior Captain Zach Gerry, Junior Jonathan Killea, and Sophomore Mick UpChurch all started at close defense in 2013 and return with a great deal of experience, charisma, and an offensive mentality in transition. Coach Harnett commented, “We have very high expectations for our close defense unit in 2014. Mick UpChurch is considered the best prospect at his position to come out of North Florida and will be taking 80% of our face offs with a long pole.” At the midfield seniors Hunter Greenand Cam Whelan, Junior Will Singletary, and Sophomores Mark Weaver and Nick Jangro are all two way middies with a great deal of experience who will be expected to fill the roles of 2013 graduates John Grube (Colorado College), Matthew Stiefel (Sewannee), and RJ Raymond (Hobart College) in the midfield.

Two of Episcopal’s starting attackman from 2013 return. Junior Quinton Miller is a strong ball carrier, dodger, feeder, and finisher with great stick skills and a traditional box style of play around the cage. Senior Captain Jake Jangro is the heart of soul of this  program right now. “He is a silent leader with a truly fundamental approach that will be significant to our post season success.” Episcopal has several players on the team this year headed to play at the next level.  Dominick Johnigean will go on to play at MCLA University of North Florida, Jake Jangro has committed to play at DI University of Richmond, and Zach Gerry is currently making a decision on committing to Dartmouth, Florida Institute of Technology, or Rollins College. Head Coach Pat Harnett is understandably proud of the work his group has been doing off the field to further the game.  “Humility is the cornerstone of our program. Giving back each spring is a tradition of ours that we take very seriously. This spring our lower school and upper school lacrosse players have helped to stand up Duval Counties first organized youth lacrosse program at Venetia Elementary School in Orange Park. Every Sunday our coaching staff and athletes volunteer to direct and coach the Venetia Athletic Clubs inaugural lacrosse program. We are currently in our 4th week of this start up league which boasts 120 + boys and girls athletes from Duval County who have been introduced to the game of lacrosse by our lacrosse family at ESJ. It is amazing to watch the boys interact with the youth boys and girls each Sunday. They certainly show up every Monday with a new sense of purpose at practice… and also a great appreciation for their own coaches and our passion to educate. Its pretty special to see.”

Stanton College Prep begins its 10th season of boys’ lacrosse this year. It is Duval County’s longest continuously operating public high school lacrosse program. Colin Proudfoot will take over the head coaching job from Eric Hughes (head coach 2010-2013). Proudfoot is a Stanton graduate as well as a 2008 FSU lax program graduate. The 2014 season will be challenging for Stanton, with the graduation of 4-year stellar goalie Jake Patel to FSU.  Stanton team strength will be on defense with excellent senior defensemen Jake Story and Griffin Van and junior pole Jarrod Darrow being joined by talented Virginia senior LSM newcomer Jack Wannamaker.  The challenge of the upcoming season will be finding the next strong goalie and scoring enough goals to extend Stanton’s string of four consecutive winning seasons.  The attack will be lead by returning seniors Jacob Goodpasture and Sean Cavins with junior Jake Mathews. Returning middies Mac Hudson, Alex Story, Charlie Vancini and Matt Shinego will need help from several younger teammates to round out a midfield sufficient to achieve another winning season. Newcomer Bishop Synder, joins Paxon and Lee, to round out the five team District. District 4 Led by Head Coach Harry Nurse the two time defending District champions will have more depth than ever this season.  The Stallions had a JV team in 2013 for the first time.  Having graduated a moderate number of players (eight) they should be locked and loaded to defend their championship. Morgan Nurse, senior defensman, has committed to Shorter and will be looking for a solid finish to his high school career. Sandalwood, how finished second in the district last year, has has a good core returning. The group is highlighted by senior midfielders Andrew Romero and Hunter Holt. These two bring a lot of experience and leadership to the team.  Senior Dixon Stringer and junior Will Monlezun should provide added punch at midfield and attack. There are several newcomers who are looking to contribute. Mitch Aldrich, who was injured before the 2013 season started and was unable to play, has gained a lot of experience and is expected play well for the Saints.  Austin Sutherland and Grant Jackson should also play a prominent role this season.  Derek Pridham should also see some time as a Freshman on defense. Sandalwood will be celebrating their 100^th game at the final regular season game against Paxon. Fletcher and Atlantic Coast will both look to improve on four win seasons last year. See districts 5&6 See districts 7&8