It comes as no surprise the four teams who qualified for the boys’ FHSAA Lacrosse State Championships are about to face off.  After all, most have spent years on the road competing against the best in the country, often times as teammates, usually on Team Florida. Most of the seniors’ names are well known and have similar stories, but the for the purposes of this article, I am going to highlight a special summer, 2012, when many of these younger players participated in US Lacrosse U15 tournaments. Before I continue, I am not pretending to know all of the names and notable performances of the U15 summer of 2012.  For those I missed, I am asking you to send more details and I will update the article. Checking our article from July, 2012, we referenced Laxmagazines’ article about the Southeast US Regional Championship held in Raleigh, NC.  Highlighted was Palm Beach Storm’s Colin O’Hare who had a goal and two assists in a tough 8-7 quarterfinal victory over New Jersey South.  Also mentioned was Storm’s attack man Andy Packer (don’t we know him as Andrew?) who won “most of the face-offs  in the second half to thwart any momentum-changing runs by New Jersey South. A few weeks later, Team Florida’s U15 team (shown above) won the bronze medal at the US Lacrosse National Championship at Disney, losing only to the eventual champion Long Island Express in a rain shortened pool play game and FCA National in the semis.  Another one of our articles from July, 2012 highlighted the effort. Players from that team in Bradenton tonight include the following: Alec Cumella – St. Thomas Aquinas JP Crowley – St. Thomas Aquinas Max Kreisler – St. Thomas Aquinas Eric Applegate – Ponte Verde John Harding – Ponte Vedra Logan Taucher – Ponte Vedra Kyle Richbourg – Lake Highland Prep Colin Shepherdson – Lake Highland Prep I probably missed a bunch of names, so send them in to us. The quality of play the next two days will be the best ever.   Enjoy the games!