It opened auspiciously for Oxbridge as they were going to be down a couple of players for the game . . . then they got off to a slow start as Jensen raced out to a 4-0 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first . . . the final regular season game that had no impact on anything, except maybe confidence going into the playoff season . . . a Jensen team looking to make a statement of their own about where they are now . . . A perfect test to see whether Oxbridge’s mental toughness is fully in place. Test passed . . . with an A grade. Watching this program grow has been an interesting experience.  Every year a gradual upswing, pointing towards 2016. When I covered their games this season I knew what I was getting from their core . . . the Hayeks would be tenacious and tough, Zach Ranta would create from midfield, Robert Bayless with an all around game, Ethan Randell solid, sometimes spectacular and sometimes not, but an underappreciated goalie in a region of the state with a number of really good ones.  A nice supporting cast that learned its’ roles . . . Riley Smith, Liam Lisec, Tyler Jerd, Austin Roca, Brad Cohen, Grant Wrightson and Skyler Saffer . . . all contributing in those roles.  Mostly seniors on this list. It was like clockwork.  I could almost visualize the game before it was played.  Every year the record got better and the schedule got tougher. But the difference later this year is not at the top of the senior chain, it’s those not named above who really have matured and contributed this year.  Terrell Seabrooks (who has really blossomed in the second half) and Ryan McCracken on defense, Austin Murphy at the faceoff.  Add a pair of Kilians and some kids on attack in Connor Davies and Benno Janssen and all of a sudden this is a very deep, very dangerous team. Jensen Beach has improved a lot too this year.  Coach Brent Mahieu took over for Matt Sofarelli, who moved on to the Pine School to be the AD over there and Coach Mahieu has some nice talent in the cupboard too.  LSM Jack Staab is continuing the South Florida pipeline to Bryant (one thing to note . . . JB has a neat way of celebrating their players in that each lacrosse commit has their own banner on the field with their college choice on it . . . I’d love to see other schools do that too, it’s a terrific visual).  Goalie Landon Salie, middie Kai Seymour and Matt Laird are all committed to Sunshine State Conference teams and others are also being looked at.  It was Senior Night and it was nice to see Coach Sofarelli also paying his respects to the kids he helped mold. Jensen started the year with a loss to Boca Raton and a spanking from Benjamin, then turned the season around.  A 2-goal loss to Jupiter was followed by a narrow win over Martin County and an OT win over Vero and they carried on to this game on a roll.  This loss was not a bad one. Last night Oxbridge earned their #4 ranking the hard way. Mental toughness is now here.   Earlier in the year SA handled Oxbridge pretty easily at our LNN event.  Since then, SA has looked a little less dominant and Oxbridge has improved a lot. Three years ago I watched a rapidly improving Columbus Catholic take down a St. Thomas team that had easily beaten them early in the season.  Not saying it will play out the same way . . . but the hair is standing up a little on the back of my neck . . . The FHSAA first round playoff is Friday, the 15th. In all likelihood the first round pits Oxbridge hosting Saint Andrew’s . . . #4 vs. #1 In the FIRST ROUND of the FHSAA playoffs.  Up the road about 60 miles or so, we will likely see the Vero-Jensen winner hosting the Jupiter-Benjamin winner.  About 30 miles south you will likely see Stoneman Douglas hosting St. Thomas Aquinas. This is the FIRST ROUND in the FHSAA playoffs.  All on the same day. With all the youth players in this 100-mile path, there should be 1,000 fans at EACH GAME.  AT LEAST. Those eight teams named are ranked #1, #2, #4, #5, #10, #11, #16, #17 in the last poll. The greatest day of lacrosse at the high school level in this area in history. I can’t believe I only get to go to one. If you are a lacrosse fan and you are not at one of these three games . . . turn in your lacrosse fan card, you don’t deserve it. A Friday night.  Tax deadline will be behind you. No excuses . . .   The game, as noted, started with Jensen Beach jumping out to a 4-goal lead as they were able to get open looks after getting the Oxbridge defense moving.  Over time the Oxbridge team defense settled down and those open spaces pretty much went away the rest of the game, forcing outside shots.  In the 1st quarter JB hit the net with 8 of their 10 shots; the rest of the game the numbers were 7 for 17 and the percentage fell each quarter.  Eventually, when a good look appeared the shooting started to get too fine.  Hitting a couple of posts didn’t help JB either. Oxbridge didn’t shoot all that well either, in that 17 of 34 shots hit the net, but they were able to get inside looks and their EMO played a big role in turning the game around.  And it didn’t take long for them to do so.  Four minutes to be exact.  Kind of disheartening for Jensen.  They hung around the entire game, as the score indicated.  But they were shut out the last 20 minutes of the game and one basic truth is that if you trail you aren’t catching up if you can’t score. Before I get into the details of the game like normal, a quick note to show how far Florida has come as a lacrosse destination.   Richard Speckmann is an assistant on the Oxbridge Academy for the second year and Joe Cuozzo has continued his position as an assistant at Jensen Beach. For those who are devout, long-time lacrosse fans those names are not unknown. For the unknowing, this will be an eye opener for you. Coach Speckmann is part of the inaugural IMLCA Hall of Fame Class for college coaches.  One of 9.  That’s a big deal.

“Richard Speckmann (Nassau) retired from Nassau Community College after completing his 40th season at the helm of the lacrosse program. In 40 years as the Head Coach of the Lions his teams participated in 39 of the 40 NJCAA championships and won a record 20 National Championships. Coach Speckmann compiled a won-lost record of 477-158-1 during his tenure.” (Author’s Note: TWENTY National NJCAA championships in 40 years?  That beats John Wooden . . . )

Joe Cuozzo is pretty much as famous on Long Island as Richard is.  A member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

“In 1969, Cuozzo became the head coach of the fledgling lacrosse program at Ward Melville High School. From 1969 to 2006, Cuozzo amassed a 699-73 record at Ward Melville, for a .905 winning percentage. In 2007, he became head coach at Mount Sinai High School, coaching four years before retiring following the 2010 season. He finished his career with 747 total wins and a winning percentage of .882.   Cuozzo was the first member of the United States Lacrosse Coaches Association’s 400 Club for winning 400 or more games. As a head coach, his teams have won eight state championships, 16 Long Island Championships, and 33 Suffolk County championships.”  (Author’s note: A winning percentage of .882?  John Wooden’s was .804 for his career.)

If you are a kid playing this game down here and you run into either of them . . . introduce yourself and ask what you can do to get better.  They will likely be able to answer the question.              In case you need to recognize them kids . . .   An interesting aside on this. I haven’t fully verified this, but because they were separated on Long Island by the high school-college divide, last year’s JB-Oxbridge game might have been the first time they ever coached against each other in a sanctioned game (as opposed to an all-star type contest or a potential youth event). That would be something special.   Back to the game . . . JB took the lead at 8:39 as Seymour went down the right alley and his right hand low shot bounced up on the short side of the cage for 1-0.  Two goals 19 seconds apart made it 3-0.  At 4:34 Colin Walsh went down the right wing and drifted towards the middle and his left hand found the mid right side and 19 seconds later Salie’s save led to a fast break the other way, with kyle Vanwagner finishing off Jake Ferguson’s up top feed on the left wing, with Vanwagner ripping the top left corner.  Then with 1:35 left it was Vanwagner feeding Liam Walls in stride behind the net and Walls beat the defense up the alley before hitting the short side for 4-0. Oxbridge cut that to 4-1 on the ensuing faceoff as a fast break led to Davies finding Smith all alone on the low left wing for the high shot, and OB drew a penalty on the play.  Ranta and Davies combined on the ensuing EMO as Ranta finished a wheel pass sequence that finished with a feed inside and Ranta hit the low right corner with the left hand and it was 4-2 after one. An early penalty to JB in the second gave Ranta a chance to take advantage of a poor clear and he was able to intercept the pass in the middle, drift in and fire low from 5 yards out for 4-3 at 10:35.  Just 1:10 later it was a tie game as Ranta completed the natural hat trick up top down the right alley and his right hand found the top right corner.  JB took their last lead at 6:52 as Walls and Vanwagner again combined, off a fast break, and Vanwagner found Walls low left from the top left for the high far corner shot.  Oxbridge tied it just 38 seconds later as Benno Janssen took a Colin Hayek feed on the right wing off another fast break and the left hand rip found the top short side and that was it for the half. OB went back in front at 10:35 of the third as Lisec went down the right wing, spun left and went between Salie’s legs for 6-5.  JB came back to tie it at 8:34 as Walls scored his third, from Seymour, as he fired from the left wing into the top right corner for 6-6 but OB took the lead for good as Jack Kilian scooped up a groundball off a huge scramble at the center line, creating a 3-2 break down the middle and he hit the low left corner from straight away at 6:54 to go.  Oxbridge took their first two goal lead just 21 seconds later as Davies worked the left GLE area before cutting up the alley and hitting the short side for 8-6. After playing a very disciplined but fast-paced second and third Oxbridge got a little careless with the ball to start the fourth and that kept them from being able to put the game away, but after every turnover the OB defense and Randell repelled each attempt to cut the lead to one.  And finally, with just 2:05 left on the clock Smith and Janssen combined to put the game away as Janssen drew the slide behind the net and he fed Smith in stride going towards GLE, with Smith hitting the high short side as he came out from behind to make it the 9-6 final. Just a solid, mature performance from a team that has been pointed for this moment.  Throw in a nice faceoff performance by Austin Murphy and his wing men and a dominant second half defense and that adds up to a big road win. All signs point to April 15th. Bring a friend.  Or Four. Make them fans for life.   Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  OB  13-6 Shots:  OB  34-27 Shots on Goal:  OB  17-15 Turnovers:  JB  16-15 Penalties:  JB  5-3   Individual Statistics   Oxbridge Zach Ranta  3G Riley Smith  2G Connor Davies  1G/2A Benno Janssen  1G/1A Liam Lisec and Jack Kilian  1G each Colin Hayek  1A Ethan Randell with 9 saves   Jensen Beach Liam Walls  3G Kyle Vanwagner  1G/2A Kai Seymour  1G/1A Colin Walsh  1G Jake Ferguson  1A Landon Salie with 8 saves   Thanks to Coach Mahieu and Coach Ross for talking to me before and after the game