Thanks to Penny Rennalt for these great photos  Quite the atmosphere in Jupiter last night as the Warriors get revenge for last year’s District championship loss via a 15-9 defeat of The Benjamin School.  Over 700 people were in attendance (and one Palm Beach Post Sports Writer . . . hallelujah!) and the spirited crowd saw once again the usual intensity these two teams save for each other. And when the dust settled there were two incontrovertible facts: Viper Scheele played a fantastic game and Jupiter’s experience mattered quite a bit That experience showed in a number of ways: The importance of trying to jump out to an early lead . . . and accomplishing it Staying patient on offense . . . and making their shots count Finding those extra groundballs . . . and winning them   Oh, and Viper Scheele had possibly the best game of his life (I did ask him that after the game).  14 saves.  Many on the doorstep.  One clean breakaway off a restart.   And it mattered not only in keeping Benjamin from going on a big run, because as the game went on the Benjamin shooting started getting wild and missed shots mounted.  As if they hoped brute force would make up for missed opportunity. One statistic to back this up . . . each team had 23 shots on net, not including posts.  But Jupiter did this on 32 attempts while Benjamin did this on 50. Efficiency.  Thy name is Jupiter last night. And in the end it was pretty simple, Jupiter ground out a victory you would expect to see when your seniors dominate.  And Benjamin was just not able to figure out how to stop the better offenses in the state.  Add those two together and you get this result. Denes, Flanary, Cox, Alexander, Cochran, Yates, Crotty, Lolmaugh, Foertmeyer. One more shot at winning it all . . . Just beat Vero, a northern foe, the SA-Stoneman-Oxbridge survivor, STA and the LHP-PV quadrant survivor. In a row. There will be no arguments then. Jupiter jumped out quickly and that lead was never relinquished.  Michael Dean started the scoring at 9:53 as he took a feed from Chris Cobo at X and found himself all alone in front, easily finding the net and that was followed at 8:36 as he took Jesse Foertmeyer’s left wing GLE pass on the right side and fired home to the low left corner to make it 2-0.  Foertmeyer then took off down the middle on a cut and Peter Cox found him from the right wing and Jesse hit the low left corner at 7:55 and just 14 seconds later Jake Lolmaugh popped a faceoff and found Foertmeyer on the left wing and his shot found the short side hip high for 4-0.  Foertmeyer completed the natural hat trick at 3:08 as he dodged in from the left wing into the middle and his right hand hit the low left corner to complete the opening blitz.  Benjamin’s Andrew Packer got one back 26 seconds later as he curled out from the left side and hit the top right corner, drawing a penalty too. At 10:27 of the second Patrick Clancy cut the lead to 5-2 as Cameron Thompson found him from right GLE as Clancy cut down the middle and he found the left corner and that was followed at 6:06 as Christian Cropp went down the left wing before spinning towards the net, hitting the low left corner to make it 5-3, giving the Benjamin crowd some extra life.  But at 4:55 Sean Denes went solo down the left wing, working his way towards GLE and then the front, beating his defender to the spot and going high to the right corner for 6-3 and at 3:09 Zach Crotty was able to work the left wing, trend towards GLE and then pulled up to place a low shot in to make it 7-3.  At 1:55 Griffin Bowie cut the lead to 7-4 as he scooped up a groundball way out and ran down the left wing, finding clear sailing to the net before beating Scheele to the right, hip high. At 10:05 of the third Benjamin’s Thompson brought the team within 2 as he curled from the right side and finished while diving in front, but also drawing a penalty for extra celebration, taking some momentum away (I couldn’t hear if anything was said but it did seem a little harsh if it wasn’t a verbal issue). But that was as close as Benjamin was going to get as Jupiter went on a four-goal run to break the game open at 11-5: 8:50 – Denes from Crotty on a crease feed from left GLE 7:25 – Denes on EMO unassisted, faking the shot up top and splitting two defenders as they came to him, and firing home 3:17 – Alex Derrico on the 4 on 3 fast break, finishing up top 0:38 – Foertmeyer unassisted, curling from the left and hitting the high right corner Benjamin made it 11-6 as Tanner Krul beat his defender down the right side, all the way to the goal and going low with the left hand with 22 seconds on the clock and we went to the fourth with Jupiter looking secure. The fourth opened slowly as neither team took advantage.  Benjamin was firing off target and Jupiter was taking their time.  But with 5:15 left Jupiter left no doubt as they exploded for four goals in 2:32 to close all doors.  Benjamin did respond with three late goals but it was all for naught at that point and Jupiter carried off a well-deserved trip to the FHSAA brackets.  Crotty potted two, Foertmeyer added his game-high fifth and Tommy Pinkham took an Aaron Van Keuren feed for Jupiter while Thompson, Krul and Will Nicklaus from Colin O’Hare closed out the scoring for Benjamin. Given the struggles these two teams have battled through over the years against each other a surprisingly mundane finish to this season,  Not from a lack of intensity of the players but almost a sense of resignation of the crowd as the final seconds played down, as if while there was hope early the reality of the differences set in earlier than normal, and acceptance that it was not going to be a repeat of last year’s incredible run to the final. Until the fresh scent of a new season next calendar year, when the renewal comes forward like the annual blooming of an orchid . . . to be cherished for the rare atmosphere this wonderful rivalry is. For the Benjamin seniors the best as they go forward with their lives at the next level and from then on.   Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  Benjamin 13-11 Shots:  Benjamin 50 – Jupiter 32 Shots on Goal:  23 each Turnovers:  Jupiter 13 – Benjamin 12 Penalties:  3 each   Individual Statistics   Jupiter Jesse Foertmeyer  5G/1A Zach Crotty  3G/1A Sean Denes  3G Michael Dean  2G Peter Cox  2A Alex Derrico and Tommy Pinkham  1G each Chris Cobo, Jake Lolmaugh and Aaron Van Keuren  1A each   Benjamin Cameron Thompson  2G/1A Tanner Krul  2G Andrew Packer, Patrick Clancy, Christian Cropp, Griffin Bowie and Will Nicklaus  1G each Colin O’Hare  1A   Viper Scheele made 14 saves for Jupiter and Kyle Vincent made 8 saves for Benjamin   Thanks to Coach Loftus and Coach Rye for talking to me before and after the game!