This is turning out to be the craziest season we can remember for the state’s top teams.  There are plenty of top contenders this year and upsets just keep coming.  We have reached the half way point of the season and things continue to shake out in the South.  This is going to come down to the wire.

1. St. Andrew’s won all but two first place votes for the top spot in our poll.  The Scots dropped a second straight game to a national powerhouse on Tuesday when they fell to Boys’ Latin.  They then squeaked out a 6-5 overtime win against a rising Jupiter team.  Still undefeated against all Florida teams they earned the number one ranking. St. Andrew’s will face Boca and Tampa Jesuit this week.
2. Jupiter maintained the number two spot in the poll on the strength of a great OT game against the champs.  However, after losing to Vero Beach last night they may find that spot a little tough to hand onto.  They face St. Thomas Aquinas this week too.  Maybe they were looking past Vero Beach and paid the price.  Friday’s game will tell us quite a bit.  We think.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas is in at number three.  The Raiders certainly sent notice that they have arrived with a crushing defeat of a solid Boca team 18-4.  They will have a shot at a wounded Jupiter team on Friday coming off a surprising loss to Vero Beach.
4. Coming in at number four this week is Benjamin.  Benjamin moved up from number six with a huge upset over Lake Highland Prep.  Now that it has happened twice in a row I don’t think we can call it an upset if they do it again.  They are clearly on the rise and are going to be a force to be reckoned with down the line.  The Buccaneers play a couple of out of state teams this week and then return to face Jupiter on the 3^rd of April.
5. Lake Highland dropped from four to five after the loss to Benjamin.  The Highlanders crushed Bishop Moore last night 17-4 and will face Winter Park and Timber Creek this weekend in the O-Town Showdown.  They get back into the top ten teams with games against St. Thomas and Tampa Jesuit next week.
6. Lake Brantley is in at number six, up one spot from last week.  The Patriots look very good and are scoring a ton of points.  They are 8-0 with a schedule that probably looked very solid in the fall but has just not materialized to be as tough as expected.  They have not played any teams consistently in the weekly top-ten poll.  Bishop Moore, Winter Park, and Oviedo all received early season attention but are not enough to give Lake Brantley the kind of tough schedule that St. Andrew’s, LHP, Jupiter, and others are playing. They have Hagerty tomorrow night and we should learn quite a bit about both of those teams in that match up.
7. Ponte Vedra drops to number seven from five.  After getting the week off to a good start with a 10-4 win over Winter Park they ran into some mid-week trouble when they faced Macalyand were upset 8-9. PV rebounded from the upset with a 19-0 win over Leon and they have already beaten Oviedo this week.  The Sharks finish this week with games against Bolles and The Cannon School (NC.)
8. Lake Mary finds their way onto the list this week with a solid win over Hagerty.  Lake Mary has stayed busy since the Hagerty win by defeating Episcopal Jacksonville, who upset Creekside last night, and rolling over Winter Springs.  Their soft schedule this week will play against them in the poll but they have a tough stretch coming up with games against Lake Brantley, Lambert (GA,) Northview (GA,) and Benjamin.
9. Hagerty drops from eight to nine this week after the loss to Lake Mary.  With a 10-1 record they can solidify their spot in the top ten with a victory over Lake Brantley tomorrow night.  Big game for both teams.
10. Boca managed to hold onto the number ten spot despite the lopsided loss to St. Thomas.  The Bobcats have St. Andrew’s tonight and could really use a strong showing to hold onto this spot.  Although they have lost three of their last five games they have only lost to team ranked above them in the poll.  They need to watch out for a surging Vero Beach team next week.

Other teams that received votes this week include Bartram Trail and Tampa Jesuit.  Bartram Trail slipped off of the top ten with two solid wins.  They beat Flemming Island and Bolles by scores of 12-5 and 13-6.  There is no doubt that Vero Beach will be getting some votes in next week’s poll after knocking off Jupiter.  Keep in mind that most teams have played ten or more games at this point but Vero Beach is a nice, fresh 6-0.  Do they have their best lacrosse still to be played?  They could really shake things up down the stretch. Ponte Vedra’s Tom West said, “First time in my 11 years in Florida where there is no dominant team. Seems like on any given night a solid team can win. Shows the growth of Florida lacrosse.” The St. Thomas vs. Jupiter game seems to be the game most of our pollsters are interested in.  Maclay’s Mike Jones commented, “St. Thomas is good, but really yet to be tested. Jupiter is a slightly younger team that has been involved in close games, so knows how to win close and big. Matchups will be St Thomas attack versus Jupiter defense. Jupiter plays stingy, so wonder if they can slow down the St Thomas offense. Both teams trying to make a state run, and it could start this game.” We agree, despite the loss to Vero Beach, Jupiter is sure to fit into the play-off picture deep into the brackets.