Author’s Note: Between this game and SA-Stoneman it becomes evident why it is a shame that Florida High School lacrosse can not seed their playoff rounds.  32 teams started play this past week and 4 or our Media Poll’s Top 10 met in that round.  And now #5 and #8 are no longer playing in the Sweet 16.  It’s really too bad but this isn’t solely a lacrosse issue so we fans just need to take it and make sure we get out to a game that interests us no matter when it shows up on the playoff schedule.   A constant theme of this season in this area is the issue of senior leadership in winning important games and that showed up again in last night’s contest.  The first half certainly did not play out the way I felt going into the game.  Just a couple of weeks ago Jupiter traveled north to Vero and won the game 10-6 and frankly going into last night’s game the thought for me was could Vero score enough goals to win the game.  If you had told me Vero would put up 12 last night I would have said they had a great shot at winning but Jupiter’s offense continued their late season offensive explosions with 8 goals in each half and the odds of their defense giving up 16 are slim and none, and slim is pretty much walking out the door at this point.  Jupiter’s seniors on offense are playing out a 4-year mission right now.  The Warriors host Melbourne Central on Tuesday (MCC defeated Merritt Island at home last night) that should be a mere formality to move on to face the winner of SA-Oxbridge in Boca, a game that will be played at the home field of the winner unless MCC pulls off the upset. A second theme that played out the last two nights was the size of the crowds in attendance.  Last night inclement weather in the afternoon in Jupiter’s area meant a late-arriving crowd but when the skies cleared before game time the crowd certainly showed up, from both sides and once again we saw how fast the popularity of this sport is growing down here.  It’s a shame that so many members of the local media are so slow to pick up on this and shift their resources to ensure more coverage.     Last night the seniors of Jupiter finally wore down the Vero team and eventually stretched out a lead that Vero could not overcome.  Statistically the game was pretty close in most of the major categories but one and it made the difference in the end.  Jupiter’s Jake Lolmaugh led the Warriors to an 18-14 faceoff advantage but went 4-5 in the third quarter when Jupiter was able to stretch the lead.  Shot attempts were 38 each and shots on goal were 25-23 Vero.  Turnovers were even at 14 and penalties were 6-4 Jupiter.  Viper Scheele made 13 saves for Jupiter and Brad Heckman made 7 for Vero Beach and as you add up the small differences it’s easy to see that those little differences told the story.  A few more plays made by the Jupiter squad and a few less made by Vero. And in playoff lacrosse that’s all it takes. One excellent team hands in their equipment and one cleans their’s for next week’s use. 16 teams doing each of those today.  13 of the 16 remaining appear in our last Top 20 poll. It gets harder from here.     As they have so often recently Jupiter jumped out early, as Peter Cox scored at 11:19 unassisted, on the restart, going down the right alley before hitting the low left corner to make it 1-0.  Vero tied it at 1 at 9:36 as Bennet O’Brien overpowered his defender down the left wing, getting to GLE then spinning to the crease, finishing to the low right corner but just 37 seconds later Sean Denes answered for Jupiter as he picked up a Vero turnover in his own end and went the distance down the right wing and hit the low left corner for 2-1.  Tyler Martin tied it at 2-2 at 4:01 as pick up the rebound of his own shot and went to the crease to score.  But Jupiter responded twice in the last 13 seconds of the first to take the 4-2 lead.  Jesse Foertmeyer dodged from behind and as the slide came over he found Denes cutting all alone in front and Denes made no mistake.  Then with only 2 seconds left Cox went down the right alley and his bounce shot kicked up into the top left corner to make it 4-2. Early in the second Jupiter took advantage of an early VB penalty to make it 5-2.  At 10:55 Zach Crotty’s left wing pass found Foertmeyer at left GLE as he was coming from behind and Foertmeyer hit the top right corner but just 13 seconds later Vero responded as Dalton Connelly’s alley dodge opened up the crease and Dalton Stokes cut to the crease, taking the wide open pass and finishing all alone for 5-3.  At 8:52 Foertmeyer and Crotty teamed again as Crotty went cross-field to Foertmeyer and Jesse moved in to fire into the top right corner for 6-3.  Vero answered with two of their own to cut the lead to one.  At 7:33 Stokes took advantage of a fast break pass from Kevin Heckman as he slipped to the left crease for the goal and at 5:21 O’Brien bulled in from the left wing, splitting defenders to score from about 5 yards out for 6-5.  At 3:23 Michael Dean answered for Jupiter, taking an Alex Derrico feed from behind on the right wing, going to the low left corner with the shot.  VB responded on EMO as Chris Britton took Ryan Overholt’s right wing feed up top and stepped into one, hitting the top left corner.  The teams then traded last minute goals to make it 8-7 Jupiter at the half.  Denes unassisted at 0:59 on an individual effort that started on the right wing and ended up as a curl from behind the left, splitting defenders and finishing from in front.  But Austin Scheppers took advantage of a turnover and went down the middle and his bounce shot found the net with 42 seconds left for the end of an exciting first half.     Jupiter again jumped on the defense early in the third as Lolmaugh popped the opening faceoff forward and found Foertmeyer on the left wing and Foertmeyer unleashed a bullet into the top right corner just 9 seconds into the half.  Then at 8:17 the lead went to three as Foertmeyer eluded Heckman behind the right side, finding Cox up top and Cox hit the open net before Heckman could get back for 10-7.  Then at 6:48 Chris Cobo finished off a fast break as Dean found him about 5 yards out on the right side from up top and Cobo went short side for 11-7.  Jupiter had a chance to stretch it further late in the period but a shot attempt by Denes on the fast break was not backed up and the ensuing Vero possession found pay dirt with 54 seconds left as Kevin Heckman went to the left alley from the middle and his left hander found the low left side to give Vero hope going into the fourth at 11-8. Jupiter again scored the first goal of the period to blunt the momentum as Dean went unassisted at 9:52 as he curled from the left side, drifted to the alley and hit the short side high to make it 12-8.  Martin responded for Vero at 7:49 as he picked up a rebound in front and easily finished but then Jupiter went on a 3-goal run that basically put the game away.  Cox with his fourth at 7:25 unassisted, Crotty from Cox on the EMO at 5:42 and Foertmeyer at 4:48 with a balletic spin away from the defense to make it 15-9.  Vero struck back quickly with two goals in 8 seconds as Martin scored from the left alley after working from GLE at 3:57.  The next goal was so fast I couldn’t get the numbers (could a Vero source please let me know who scored and assisted please so I can update this?) as the feed from right GLE found the open cutter on the crease to make it 15-11 and Denes and Harry Wood traded goals afterwards to make the final 16-12. Making those who played the ‘over’ happy . . . which pretty much was no one who prognosticated this one.     Again, a shame that so many top teams and players get eliminated this quickly but the memories they produce will last a lot longer than a playoff season.  And as always best wishes to the kids who graduate and move on to college and wherever their life’s destinies take them. For those that continue on . . . If it’s Tuesday, This Must Be Playoff Season (let’s see if that cultural reference is too long ago . . . ). For all the fans out there . . . keep going to the games!  Beats Dancing with The Stars anytime . . .   Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  Jupiter 18-14 Shots:  38 each Shots on Goal:  VB 25 – Jupiter 23 Turnovers:  14 each Penalties:  Jupiter 6 – VB 4   Individual Statistics   Jupiter Jesse Foertmeyer  4G/2A Peter Cox  4G/1A Sean Denes  4G Michael Dean  2G/1A Zach Crotty  1G/2A Chris Cobo  1G Alex Derrico and Jake Lolmaugh  1A each   VB Tyler Martin  3G Bennet O’Brien and Dalton Stokes  2G each Kevin Heckman  1G/1A Chris Britton, Austin Scheppers and Harry Wood  1G each Dalton Connelly and Ryan Overholt  1A each (TBD – 1G and 1A)   Viper Scheele made 13 saves for Jupiter and Brad Heckman made 7 saves for Vero Beach   Thanks to Coach Loftus and Coach McCarthy for talking to me before and after the game