Well, another season is in the books and we can only look forward to next year’s opening day! To make it interesting (and to shamelessly try to make even more teams feel happy with me!) I’ve stretched it out to a final Top 20 this time.  Maybe if the Facebook likes spike high enough we’ll look at keeping it 20 for the regular season next year (another shameless plug . . .).  Now that there are about 200 varsity teams in the state, WHY NOT? Shameless plug #3 – since the Coaches Poll was sponsored all year long perhaps someone’s business would like . . . Okay, enough of that. Time for more Launch puns? Sorry, just had a Monty Python flashback and thought about the old “and now for something completely different . . . ” routine.   But since you’ve read this far . . .   First, congratulations to Lake Highland Prep for repeating last season’s championship run, as well to the rest of our Final Four!  The greatest season in Florida history!   And Here it Is:   Final Media Poll – Top 20!   #1 – Lake Highland Prep   #2 – Ponte Vedra (tied)   #2 – Benjamin (tied)   #4 – Barron Collier   #5 – St. Thomas Aquinas   #6 – Boca Raton   #7 – Gulf Coast   #8 – Jupiter   #9 – St. Andrew’s   #10 – Lake Mary   #11 – Maclay   #12 – Pope John Paul II   #13 – Melbourne Central Catholic   #14 – Jensen Beach   #15 – Oxbridge Academy   #16 – Vero Beach   #17 – Columbus Catholic   #18 – Palm Beach Gardens   #19 – Oak Hall-Gainesville   #20 – St. Edwards (tied)   #20 – Seminole (tied)     When I do these polls I think through a number of things, including games played between these schools, my impressions on how they looked when I saw them play in person, and yes, even the LaxPower power rankings.  When you look at first glance at this final Top 20 the thing that pops out is how centered it is on the southeastern portion of the state, and you’d be right.  When you look at LaxPower’s rankings you would be amazed to see that, if anything, I was very generous to the northern half of the state!  LP, for example, has Ponte Vedra #16!  And Lake Mary #18, Maclay #33 and Oak Hall #41, while MCC is #37. Some of this is based on the big difference in depth within Districts this year between northern and southern areas but the results of the teams I noted above really call into question whether something else is involved.  When I look at their methodology this pops up: “Computer ratings for college are based on a margin-of-victory calculation and a 10-goal limit (correction). For high school, computer ratings are based on these two factors as well as a performance correction component and win-loss percentage. The margin-of-victory calculation is divided into two phases: local, or games played against in-league teams, and external, or games played outside a league, region, state, or division. The method has since added other components; however, only goal margin calculations are considered here.” People with better math skills than me can dig down into this but it seems to come down to the fact that some of the northern schools I mentioned lost points for large win margins and that since the southern schools played more out of state quality games.  LHP was able to play MIAA schools but Ponte Vedra did not, only playing weaker South Carolina schools, one of which lost 8 games. But in my poll I go more with what I saw and the whole body of work and find a rating system that places them behind Palm Beach Gardens and Columbus Catholic, for example, to be absurd.  Those were two very good teams this year but not in PV’s class this season. But one thing in general that LP and I can agree on this season is that there were far more quality teams this season in the southeast than any other region of the state and it does show in my final Top 20.   So here goes my rationalization!   Lake Highland is clearly the #1 team, winning the state championship and only losing once in-state all year, early to then #1 Jupiter on the road.  Coupled with two terrific performances against MIAA national powers Boys’ Latin and McDonogh and you can make the case that LHP not only is #1 here but clearly belongs in the Inside Lacrosse Top 25 nationally and it’s a shame that IL has not ranked them there yet.   I went back and forth between Benjamin and Ponte Vedra for #2 and just decided to split the difference and go with both for the #2 spot.  Benjamin got to the finals and that always needs to be respected and Ponte Vedra played a better game against LHP in Bradenton.  Benjamin’s road to the Final Four was clearly the toughest of anyone as they had to beat #8 Jupiter in District, #14 Jensen Beach, #13 MCC and #6 Boca Raton before beating #5 St. Thomas in the semifinals.  NO ONE ELSE in State History had to do that before.  Certainly not in the ‘modern era’ as I am going to call Florida lacrosse going forward.   Ponte Vedra, as I mentioned last year, carries a handicap that is only matched by Barron Collier and Gulf Coast.  Travel is a nightmare for all three to schedule enough quality opponents until the regions they play in bring their level of play up.  That is what comes through on LaxPower and it will hurt their preparations until the competition in their areas gets better.  In the Southeast that is not an issue.  But there is a tradeoff there too.  Benjamin was clearly beat up by the time they got to Bradenton and in the Final Four game against STA they lost another contributing player to an unnecessary hit.  By the time the finals rolled around they had nothing left in the tank and it showed in the second half.   As for #4 and #5 I’m going with Barron Collier ahead of STA solely because of the total body of work.  They split two games, both at BC and I can’t overlook BC’s incredible regular season solely because of when the two games were won and lost.  And STA at #5 is hardly a bad rating given where they were a month ago.   At #6 I am going with Boca Raton as they took Benjamin down to the wire in the regional final and their early season win over Ponte Vedra is clearly now one of the best quality wins of the season.  Taken together with the huge accomplishment of being the first team to take Districts away from Saint Andrew’s this team deserves a high final ranking.   #7 Gulf Coast also accomplished great things this season and gave Barron Collier two tough games as well as their excellent showing against Georgia’s #2 Milton shows that they are a program worth looking at going forward.   #8 Jupiter holds victories over LHP, PV and Barron Collier – no one else in the state can make that claim for so many quality wins that early.  But they struggled in the second half and lost in District so I can’t go any higher with them.  But for the first month of the season there was no better team in the state.   #9 Saint Andrew’s was just never able to make their mark this season.  They only beat one of the teams ranked above them in this poll but was able to beat those teams right behind them so this slot seems to be the right place for them.  We will know next season whether this was just one of those years or if the statewide competition has finally caught up to their standards of excellence.   #10 Lake Mary was just like SA in that they did not beat any of the teams above them but they did play tough against those teams and took care of business with the teams they should have beaten and their season was worthy of this ranking.   #11 Maclay is also somewhat of a victim of their geographical location as the Tallahassee region is not breaking out with lacrosse fever yet.  Again, they fell short against the teams ranked above them but took care of business with the teams ranked below them.  Their best ‘effort’ might well have been against PV in the regional final loss, when they took the lead into the third quarter before fading late.   #12 Pope John Paul II was a terrific team that had the misfortune of having to play in the same district as Boca and SA and someone had to lose.  Unlike some of the others just ahead of them they do hold a Top 10 win, over Boca Raton, which carries a lot of weight with me as far as where they fit on this poll.   #13 Melbourne Central Catholic was one of the more fascinating teams I saw play this season.  I might have them ranked a little high since they did lose 4 games but all of them were to top 10 teams and I might be skewing towards their style of play and how attractive it was to watch.  We’ll know next year whether this was just lightning in the bottle for one year or not.   #14 Jensen Beach is a program that lacrosse fans all over the state will know about soon.  Coach Matt Sofarelli and his staff are slowly putting together a heck of a program in an area that is really booming for lacrosse among kids.  Two wins over Vero Beach, a one-goal road loss to Boca and holding Benjamin to only 6 goals in the playoffs shows where this program already is.   #15 Oxbridge Academy – look out Florida, you are being warned.  Two years into varsity status and this team is already making noise.  Only 4 losses, none a blowout, to Pope, BC, Boca and PB Gardens.  A program led by a big-time coach and with the support of the school.  16-4 without a senior starter.  Ready to take the next step.   #16 Vero Beach was my biggest disappointment this season.  Ranked #3 pre-season the team played some great games and some real downers.  They defeated FIVE teams ranked above them on this list, including the big road win over then #1 Jupiter.  They might be under-ranked here but the entire season just was head-scratching.   #17 Columbus Catholic also never really found a way to be ranked higher as they did not beat any of the schools ranked above them and was handled easily twice by STA.  A solid year but not the exciting regional final run they put on last season.   #18 Palm Beach Gardens quietly played a very good season without a lot of fanfare.  They hold victories over both Oxbridge and Jensen Beach and their only losses were to Jupiter twice, Benjamin, SA and #20 St. Edwards.  A very solid season.   #19 Oak Hall-Gainesville was just not able to get by Maclay this year, losing twice.  They beat most of the teams they should have and most impressively gave Barron Collier a great game on a neutral site.  This program can now good either way, continuing to improve or sliding back.  Geographical issues are here too and they need to decide whether they need to take a step back record-wise to get to the next level by playing the tougher teams they can travel to.  No reason not to look at PV and LHP next year for games.   #20 tied between St. Edwards and Seminole shows two different stories.  Seminole is clearly a program on the rise as they showed in their eye-opening upset of Lake Brantley earlier in the season while St. Edwards is in the highly competitive District 19 and needs to show that they are capable of sustaining this season’s regular season crown.   Other teams I considered:  University School, Bishop Moore and Bolles   Although Dr. Phillips got to the regional final they need to play better teams for me to consider them. Those who saw them tell me they are young and good so let’s hope they can continue that growth curve! Thanks to all the readers of this poll this year and we look forward to seeing all of you next year!  Only 245 days to go until next season so look forward to our pre-season preview in the middle of February! Everyone have a great summer, kids, hit the wall and the weight room!