How great is it to be a lacrosse fan this week? Both high school and the D1 colleges? Tuesday I got to watch BC challenge STA, only to be repelled pretty easily Wednesday I got to look in on Caitlyn Wurzburger, the best young female talent in America Thursday it was a ride up I-95 to watch Jupiter hold on for the one goal win over SA Friday it was Lake Mary coming down to Parkland for the great 10-8 win over Stoneman Saturday was unreal . . . Jupiter holds off LHP . . . when I got home it was the start of Villanova and Maryland and an OT upset win for the Wildcats . . . and the awesome ND win in OT at Virginia!  If you haven’t seen how that ended (just go to the 1:40 mark of this video . . . Ryder Garnsey’s OT winner defies gravity!):   And kids, the player who made the pass with the long stick . . . #52 Garrett Epple . . . STARTED his lacrosse career with BOCA JETS!!!   This morning I was able to attend the Florida Launch open tryouts in West Boca and I encourage all local fans to start to get excited about the Launch.  A brand new start and a very large turnover in the roster.  Worked for Denver last year.  Can work for us too. And as I am writing this poll article I have on Ohio State – Denver, with the Buckeyes (Benjamin grad Colin O’Hare is on OSU) leading 8-1 at the half . . . thank you lacrosse Gods for this week! Oh, and Hobart’s Chris Aslanian hit for 6G/7A yesterday . . .   But, there is a dark cloud this week too. As my major critic continues to bury their head in the sand I was given two separate reports of bad crowd behavior at games in the area. One I confirmed with an attendee. One I was told about second hand and spent some time this weekend following up on it. On March 3rd the Jensen Beach – Martin County game went to 2 OT’s and the game had a controversial ending due to a game clock issue that caused a winning goal to be wiped out at the end of regulation.  After Martin County scored a game winning goal in the second OT Jensen fans protested the outcome to a degree that the referee crew filed a report with the FHSAA.  I hope to receive further clarification as the week progresses. The second one is even more disturbing to me because it happened in the FIRST HALF of a Girls game, not after the heightened tension of a final result.  At the American Heritage/Boca versus Lake Highland Prep game Friday the reffing crew mentioned to the coaches of both teams that they felt inappropriate comments were occurring in the stands. To the coaches credit, both AH/B head coach John McLain and LHP head coach Lauren Dean proceeded to cross the field towards the stands and told the fans to get control of themselves if they wanted the game to continue. We all know this is an emotionally played game. But it’s still a GAME. The person who told me about the Jensen incident is someone I have come to know well the last few years and I trust their information quite strongly. There are only 200 high schools that play Boys Varsity. How do we get to 300 without more refs? Appreciate them more now before it’s too late.   Memory Lane this week is for the 50th anniversary of . . .   Besides Simon & Garfunkel being my first big favorite musical tandem, this movie was a big influence on me as far as starting to understand human nature.  Hard to look at Dustin Hoffman at that age . . . $105 million inbox office in 1967 equates to nearly $750 million in today’s dollars.  Probably the earliest example of a ‘chick flick’ that guys could enjoy.   This Week’s Key Results   Monday LHP 15-9 over Boone Vero Beach 16-8 over Viera   Tuesday Stoneman Douglas beats Cardinal Gibbons 17-2 on the road Pine Crest defeats SJP II 19-6 Boys’ Latin (Md.) defeats SA 11-7 in Boca STA beats Barron Collier 15-7   Wednesday West Orange beats Apopka 16-6 on the road Lakeland beats Bartow 7-6 on the road Melbourne Central Catholic beats Dr. Phillips 12-9 on the road Bolles beats Fleming Island 10-8 on the road Gulf Breeze beats Pensacola Catholic 12-4   Thursday In the first annual Miami night of the Rivals . . . Belen Jesuit over Columbus Catholic 4-2 and Gulliver Prep beats Ransom Everglades 8-2 in front of about 1,500 fans! Oak Hall beats Buchholz 10-5 on the road Jupiter defeats SA 10-9 Pine Crest defeats American Heritage/Boca 12-11 in OT   Friday Cardinal Mooney beats Bishop Verot 12-9 SA defeats LHP 11-7 STA defeats St. Edwards 19-4 Lake Mary beats Stoneman Douglas 10-8 on the road   Saturday Jupiter defeats LHP 14-9   Wait . . . March Madness started Thursday too! It was only a few years ago that our own Florida Gulf Coast made their own shining memories!   Man that was fun to watch again . . .   And now the Underdog Upset of the Week  

  Frankly I couldn’t really find one . . . So let’s recognize Ohio State’s utter destruction of #1 Denver 16-7 today.   Last Week’s Top 20 Looked Like This   #1 – St. Thomas Aquinas – the spread is narrowing though #2 – Saint Andrew’s – might just find a way to pull it off on Tuesday vs Boys’ Latin, then Jupiter and LHP later this week, how’s that for a week? #3 – Benjamin – huge road win at LHP #4 – Oxbridge – was competitive with BL until halfway through the 3rd, not a bad showing at all #5 (t) – Jupiter – PV win was huge and then the hangover the next day #5 (t) – Ponte Vedra – never awoke versus Jupiter.  Darn good team but this week this Top 6 was really hard.  Any of the Top 6 can win the state title so don’t think this through too much #7 –  Bishop Moore – 3/21 at LHP no longer looks like a likely LHP win, but a very competitive game #8 –  Lake Highland Prep – better get its act together, now I’m not even sure about their Final Four prospects, even with their quadrant. Bishop Moore is no longer in their district but a 2nd round matchup looms #9 – Stoneman Douglas – rapidly getting better #10 –  Oak Hall – big win over Maclay, can really make noise the last game of the season #11 –  West Orange – not the greatest schedule but pretty much killing all . . . huge offense numbers #12 –  Barron Collier – jumping PC due to the GC win, Tuesday should draw a BIG crowd #13 – Pine Crest – one real test left #14 – Tampa Jesuit – took care of business with road wins at Plant and Cardinal Mooney #15 – Newsome – just treading water #16 – Hagerty – another team having a really nice season but the schedule is mediocre, too bad they didn’t hook up with West Orange this year #17 – Lake Mary – back on track but those last 5 games are brutal #18 –  Nease – have to reward that great road win #19 – Cardinal Gibbons – now 9-1 and Stoneman on Tuesday is a true test #20 (t) – St. Edwards and Martin County – injuries are really taking a toll on St. Eds and Martin has some of the better results that no one is paying atttention to . . . the West Orange loss is really looking good now   Also considered: Saint John Paul II – have to get over the hump with one of the toughies American Heritage/Plantation – getting closer Maclay – STILL kind of out of habit right now Montverde Academy – making me look a little better now on the Mike Loveday podcast     This week’s game schedule gets a little lighter as many schools are going on spring break or coming off it.   Monday Bishop Verot hosts ODA-Sarasota Leon hosts Maclay   Tuesday Buchholz hosts Hagerty IMG and Hill Academy meet at a neutral site for the Lacrosse Factory Super Bowl LHP hosts Bishop Moore in a huge game Ponte Vedra meets Mountain Vista (Co) St. Edward’s hosts Martin County for #1 seed in their district SJP II hosts Belen Jesuit STA hosts Jensen Beach   Wednesday Boca Raton hosts Barron Collier Cardinal Gibbons hosts American Heritage/Plantation Ponte Vedra hosts St. Augustine   Thursday Benjamin and Jupiter meet at Jupiter Community Park Gulliver Prep hosts Belen Jesuit Jensen Beach hosts Bolles   Friday Maclay hosts Nease STA travels to Long Island to play Massapequa Oxbridge hosts Lake Mary and St. Edwards meets Stoneman Douglas at Oxbridge Wando (SC) hosts Ponte Vedra   Saturday Benjamin hosts Bishop Moore Martin County hosts Bolles Oxbridge – Stoneman and Lake Mary – St. Edwards Pine Crest hosts Windermere   This week’s training video . . .   I can’t believe how detailed these things keep getting   Okay, because it is getting late, here’s this week’s Top 20, with a Santana song as a lead in!   Yep, dedicated to those who pulled out the victory this week!   The Top 20 For 3/19/2017   #1 – St. Thomas Aquinas – the only undefeated big dog left #2 –  Jupiter – what a week for them #3 – Benjamin – and them too but not quite as much #4 – Oxbridge – that road win at Jupiter earlier looks really good now #5 (t) –  Saint Andrew’s – needs to get going again #5 (t) – Ponte Vedra – time off means no movement #7 –  Bishop Moore – Tuesday with LHP is huge for BOTH . . . didn’t think I would be saying that earlier this season #8 –  Oak Hall – why not?  Keeps winning #9 –  Lake Highland Prep – not a lot of games left to get it right #10 – West Orange – last two games really will tell the truth #11 –  Lake Mary – now healthier and ready to compete #12 – Stoneman Douglas – another school that just can’t quite take the last step #13 – Pine Crest – keeps winning, district final with Stoneman is a great one to look forward to #14 – Tampa Jesuit – one easy home game win last week, nothing of consequence left until District #15 – Hagerty – great record, mediocre schedule holds them back #16 (t) –  Barron Collier – not bad but not good at STA #16 (t) – Newsome – off this week #18 –  Nease – a quiet week #19 – Martin County – the battle for #1 seed this week #20 –   American Heritage/Plantation – only two losses were to STA and PC   Also considered: Maclay – being on spring break is helpful here Montverde Academy – ditto here St. Augustine – one northern coach says this program is making great strides   Again, get out to a game this week!