Before we get to the weekly ritual I’d like to thank all of those who were involved in our Saturday event at Oxbridge.   But first a big mea culpa.  I screwed up big time on Saturday and I need to make an amend.  It won’t be a complete make up but I hope it gets somewhere on the road towards it. One of our sponsors for the event was not given the recognition they were due. Every year Laxpalooza runs a major event in Florida and I was supposed to bring that information to our attendees and online viewers and I dropped the ball big time. I have posted a link to their tournament in the image below and encourage teams to go to that site and strongly consider signing up for the event.   That won’t be the last of this . . .   For the fans who showed up in attendance . . . and our best guess right now is that the total is 1,548, give or take a few . . . for those that missed it . . . What were you thinking of??? A fantastic day.  Bright blue skies and in the high 60’s, which felt warmer in the sun. Unfortunately the first game got out of hand due to a number of Oxbridge starters that came down with the flu . . . But game two was a firecracker between the Big Red and the Statesmen and fans got to see why this rivalry is so well attended when it is played locally. And the fans and players who attended got to see first hand what happens when this game is played at its’ highest level.  The speed of the passing, the lack of dropped balls, the reflexes of the best goalies . . . something to learn from and something to strive for if you want to play at this level. And in the finale . . . and anyone who thinks that an LHP-Benjamin matchup is a come down is kidding themselves . . . a late run by the three-time defending state champs took down Benjamin 10-8, after Benjamin looked to be comfortable with a 4-goal lead at halftime. 1,548 smart people who skipped the Honda Classic and showed up after the youth game and really got their money’s worth.  By the way, for comparison sake, the Honda classic on Saturday charged $65 at the gate. Keep that in mind next year. A big thank you to Oxbridge for hosting it, to AD Craig Sponsky and Head Coach Stan Ross for all the hard work and patience they showed with us as we scrambled to make this a reality and for the volunteers from the parents that also helped us to run the event. Thanks to our sponsors at Al Packer Ford, Laxpalooza and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission for making the commitment to helping us provide this event.                  Our three separate announcing crews were outstanding.  Matt Chaloux and Kurt Levine are a terrific duo when broadcasting Lynn University (by the way, congrats to Coach Kingsbury with their road win over Mount Olive, moving Lynn into the USILA Top 20 for the first time!) games online and gave a depth to the first game even in the face of the lack of a close contest.  Ted Baker and David Mapstone, the current team for Hobart games on WEOS in Geneva, New York, provided an exciting broadcast (I know, Cornell fans might have wondered a little but Cornell did not send a radio crew Big Red fans or we would have been able to incorporate them too!) and the really interesting thing to me was the performance of our third crew, Eddie Soto and Yani Fabre, Pine Crest students who are already experienced lacrosse broadcasters . . . I get the feeling ten years from now I’ll be tuning in a lacrosse broadcast somewhere and they will be making their living talking the action! Our production crew, Concrete Lion Productions LLC, led by Shaun Trout, and all of his team, produced a broadcast that our viewers all raved about!  Many of our viewers in upstate New York commented on how we managed to provide for free a far superior viewing experience than what they pay for with the school’s vendor . . . by the way, over 2,000 online viewers watched the game WORLDWIDE . . . yes, we had viewers in Europe and Asia, so if the PBC Sports Commission gets a call from a Japanese lacrosse team wanting to visit . . . just think of LNN!  The average time spent on the broadcast was about 2 1/1 hours so something was done right! And most importantly, we thank our fans who came out for the event and we hope to be able to do even better next year and the learning experience that went into it will reflect in a much better product next year.  We did a lot right but we also didn’t get everything right and we will do even better next year! And for anyone I didn’t name, thanks too!   Okay, now on to the week that was . . . Due to the preparation for the event I actually did not attend any games last week. Hope I was missed . . .   https://youtu.be/SIfwM_NEPRc The 70’s still rock . . . Okay, a little corny my putting this one here but I’ve seen these guys 3 times and 25 or 6 to 4 always gets me to stop turning the dial . . .   The week started slowly as on Monday the only Top 20 game that was potentially meaningful ended up being another showcase for HB Plant’s season as they dominated Tampa Jesuit Tuesday showed how District 26 is a slugfest as American Heritage-Boca took down Saint John Paul II but later in the week they faltered.  Bishop Moore scored an important win over Boone 12-9.  Jupiter continued their rocketing up the polls with an easy win over Boca Raton.  The Launch Derby ended with Stan’s Oxbridge team winning over George’s Pine Crest squad.  Ponte Vedra glided past Creekside 14-11.  Saint Andrew’s got revenge for their 2015 regular loss to Stoneman, Vero Beach showed that last year was certainly not a fluke over Melbourne Central and Timber Creek took one from West Orange. Wednesday was pretty quiet with Cardinal Gibbons showing that they are not quite ready for the Top 20 as they fell to Pine Crest . . . and PC is once again starting to show that tendency to come on as the season goes on. Thursday showed a stunner as Hagerty, a team I talked to Brian about as someone I was wondering about, took down Boone in OT.  Then LHP started to reverse their season with a narrow 13-11 win over Lake Mary in a rematch of last year’s semifinal.  And then I was really stunned when Brian Johnson’s West Boca continued their hot play with a triple overtime victory over Americna Heritage-Boca. But West Boca must have left all their energy in the locker room for on Friday Pine Crest convincingly shut them out.  Jensen also took advantage of the back to back with an easy win over AH-Boca.  Bishop Moore continued their week with a victory over Bolles and Maclay ruined Buchholz’s chance for a Top 20 ranking with a narrow win.  Ponte Vedra cruised past a visiting Gulliver Prep and GP suffered their first loss of the season and American Heritage-Plantation went on the road for a win over Columbus Catholic.  But the biggest shocker of the night was Tampa Jesuit’s slim win over a clearly suffering Barron Collier. And finally on Saturday the LNN Classic’s results will also shuffle the deck.   Let’s go back to last week: #1 – Saint Andrew’s – certainly did nothing to doubt this spot #2 – St. Thomas Aquinas – finally, an intriguing district matchup on Tuesday #3 – Ponte Vedra – keeps gliding along, big win over GP and it’s own intriguing matchup with Nease on Tuesday.  Circle March 11th in the northeast as Jupiter comes to town. #4 – Lake Mary – tough road loss to LHP, really closed the gap from last year’s semifinal #5 – Benjamin – nagging injuries piling up and not a very deep team to begin with #6 – Vero Beach – very efficient right now and both #1 and #2 come calling in mid-March.  Vero area fans better be packing the seats those two days #7 – Oxbridge Academy – throw Saturday’s game film away #8 – Jupiter – rapidly coming on, we’ll see how they match up with SA on Thursday . . . I’ll certainly be there #9 – Lake Highland – turning the season around with Lake Mary and Benjamin wins back to back #10 – Maclay – solid road win over Buchholz #11 – Gulliver Prep – not competitive enough with PV #12 – H.B. Plant – clocked Tampa Jesuit on the road #13 – Lake Brantley – IMG on Friday #14 – Oak Hall – merrily going along with Maclay on the 8th on the road #15 –Belen Jesuit – 12 months ago you would have laughed if I said Belen would be the favorite this week against Columbus Catholic . . . not any more #16 – Boone – a week to forget #17 – American Heritage-Boca – another week to forget #18 – Nease – the schedule gets a lot harder now, big win over Bishop Moore #19 – Newsome – in a holding pattern for the most part #20 – American Heritage-Plantation – tomorrow is probably the biggest game in program history   Also considered: Barron Collier – the jury is out here, they need a good win – unfortunately, the jury is now adjourned Berkeley Prep – Oak Hall comes to town on Friday – and Oak Hall takes them out of consideration Bolles – good loss to Lake Mary and wins over poor competition, it gets better soon – Bishop Moore loss keeps them out of the top 20 Bishop Moore – as Jekyll and Hyde as any in the state this year – Jekyll this week, LHP comes calling in mid-March Buchholz – the Maclay game is pretty much the determinant for Top 20 consideration – Also considered again this week Creekside – we’ll know Tuesday – a nice effort but not yet Top 20 Cardinal Gibbons – Pine Crest at home this week gives us a hint – the hint is not yet top 20 Gulf Coast – nice start but the schedule is much weaker than last year – can’t tell, the schedule is turning out to be horrendous Melbourne Central Catholic – gut check at Vero Tuesday – kicked in the gut ODA-Sarasota – will have to confirm this wasn’t a fluke – off all week Stoneman Douglas – took out Pine Crest in a must win for them – split decision this week West Orange – if they get past Timber Creek that makes three good wins but there’s not much else on the schedule to make their case – they didn’t Winter Park – loss to PV looks better but until they get to the better part of the schedule they can’t break into the Top 20 – doing enough to slide into the Top 20   The Underdog Upset of The Week     Not an easy week but it’s pretty rare, even on back to back nights, for this to occur: West Boca 9 – #17 American Heritage-Boca 8  3OT Pine Crest 15 – West Boca 0 Not that PC won but that it looked like this . . . A close runner up? Ron Miller’s Palmetto Ridge taking down Immokalee on the road . . . congrats to Coach Miller on that one!   Remember kids, when you go for that big win, just think of this:   https://youtu.be/6EuAZsz_z_U Where else do you get a history lesson with a lacrosse poll?   Before we get to this week’s Top 20 let’s look at key games coming up:   Monday West Orange hosting Hagerty   Tuesday AH-Plantation hosting St. Thomas Belen Jesuit hosting Columbus Catholic IMG hosts LHP Jupiter hosts Jensen Beach Nease hosts Ponte Vedra And in a potential trap game, neighbors WT Dwyer and Benjamin hook up (the schools are across the street with each other)   Wednesday Winter Park hosts Seminole   Thursday Saint Andrew’s hosts Jupiter   Friday Gulliver Prep hosts Stoneman Douglas Lake Brantley hosts Lake Mary Tampa Jesuit hosts Newsome ODA Sarasota hosts Cardinal Mooney   Saturday Lovett (GA) hosts LHP   And now, for the . . . Oops, first a word from our sponsor   Okay, not a sponsor but a pretty good clip anyhow . . .   So, here we go! New drum roll please!   Who thought Towson also had a drum roll professor? Do you remember him Coach Seaman?   This Week’s Top 20   #1 – Saint Andrew’s – completely dominant right now #2 –  St. Thomas Aquinas – on a collision course with SA in ronud two #3 – Ponte Vedra – #3 with a bullet #4 – Lake Highland – Coach Spaulding starting to get production from the kids moving up #5 – Vero Beach – can’t wait to see them #6 –  Jupiter – Danny Loftus is looking like Coach of the Year material #7 – Lake Mary – 13-11 road loss to LHP is a darn good loss #8 – Benjamin – didn’t quite pass the test against SA but there is a lot there #9 – Oxbridge – throw Saturday out, too many top players didn’t play #10 – Maclay – hanging tough #11 – H.B. Plant – excellent week #12 – Nease – now can they stay here? #13 – Lake Brantley – nice rebound versus Seminole #14 – Oak Hall – keeping it together #15 –Belen Jesuit – still winning #16 – Gulliver Prep – will need to rebound quickly #17 – Newsome – just win baby . . . #18 – American Heritage-Plantation – gut check tomorrow #19 – Winter Park – scoring lots of goals, big win over Timber Creek #20 – Bishop Moore – coming on strong   Also considered:   Bolles – has beaten up on weaklings, needs to get a signature win Buchholz – still need a big win Creekside – now has work to do Gulf Coast – nice start but the schedule is much weaker than last year ODA-Sarasota – will have to confirm this wasn’t a fluke Pine Crest – second half rally starting to gain steam Stoneman Douglas – took out Pine Crest in a must win for them   That’s all for the week! Remember, take a friend to a game today!