Championships continue to add up in MaxPreps Xcellent 20 National Boys Lacrosse Rankings

A handful of teams from around the country have already secured state titles this season.

We told you about two of them here last week — In Texas, Coppell downed Dallas Jesuit, 10-8, for its first state Division I championship. The Division II final was also a two-goal game as Hillcrest (Dallas) beat Clear Lake, 13-11.

In Florida, Lake Highland Prep edged St. Andrew's 11-10 as it not only became a state champ for the first time, but avenged its only loss of the season.

We have another state championship to report.



Arizona awarded championships in divisions I and II, and both games went right down to the wire. Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) beat Brophy Prep, 10-9, to take the Division I title. In D-II, Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.) outlasted Oro Valley, 12-11, in overtime.

Other champions were also crowned.

Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.) got by Landon (Md.), 7-6, in overtime on a goal by Penn State University-bound Bobby Gribbin to win the Interstate Athletic Conference championship. The IAC is made up of six private schools in the Washington, D.C., area.

Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) captured the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship for the second straight year by beating Good Counsel (Md.), 10-8. Kyle Bruun had two goals for Gonzaga.

MAXPREPS XCELLENT 20 NATIONAL BOYS LACROSSE RANKINGS

1. Haverford School (Pa.), 20-0: The top-seeded Fords will host the Hill School (Pa.) in the quarterfinals of the Inter-Ac Invitational on Saturday. (Last week's ranking: No. 1)



2. West Islip (N.Y.), 15-0: Nick Aponte, Anthony Deluca and Drew Federico each had two goals and Conor Braddish had a goal and three assists in an 11-7 win over East Islip, extending the Lions' win streak to 36 games. (Last week's ranking: No. 2)

3. Ward Melville (East Setauket, N.Y.), 14-1: Tyler Hegarty and Rob Macchione each had two goals, and Hegarty added an assist, as the Patriots celebrated senior day by beating Sachem East (N.Y.) 11-4. (Last week's ranking: No. 4)

4. Conestoga (Berwyn, Pa.), 17-1: The Pioneers received a bye in the opening round of the District I playoffs, which get under way Tuesday. (Last week's ranking: No. 3)

5. Garden City (N.Y.), 12-2: Johns Hopkins-bound Tom Gordon and teammate Mike Lofrese each had three goals in a 17-2 win at Bellmore JFK (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 5)

6. Darien (Conn.), 13-2: The Blue Wave, who have scored 17 or more goals in four of their last five games, host red-hot Ridgefield (Conn.) in a rematch of the 2009 conference championship game, won by Ridgefield. (Last week's ranking: No. 6)

7. Summit (N.J.), 18-0: Mike Ford's goal with 30 seconds left lifted the Hilltoppers, now winners of 63 straight, past Ridgewood (N.J.). (Last week's ranking: No. 7)



8. Manhasset (N.Y.), 13-1: The Indians scored 24 goals in their two games since an unusually low-scoring 3-2 win over No. 10 Chaminade (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 9)

9. Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt, N.Y.), 15-0: University of Vermont-bound Daniel Distefano has a save percentage of .720 for the Red Rams, who have won 37 straight. (Last week's ranking: No. 10)

10. Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.), 11-2: The Flyers completed a rare regular-season sweep of archrival St. Anthony's (N.Y.) by beating the Friars 9-7. (Last week's ranking: No. 11)

11. Deerfield Academy (Mass.), 13-0: Senior star Jimmy Bitter hopes to follow his brother Billy's legacy at North Carolina after Billy's career ended on Sunday with an NCAA Tournament opening-round loss to Maryland. (Last week's ranking: No. 8)

12. Smithtown West (N.Y.), 12-3: Two of the Bulls' losses have been in overtime – to No. 2 West Islip (N.Y.) and No. 3 Ward Melville (N.Y.) – while the other loss was to No. 5 Garden City (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: No. 13)

13. Calvert Hall (Baltimore), 16-1: The Cardinals have won five straight since falling to McDonogh (Md.) 11-7. (Last week's ranking: No. 15)



14. St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 12-3: The Friars pulled out a 12-11 win at Yorktown (N.Y.) on a goal by Sean McDonagh with 4 seconds remaining off a pass from John Griffin. (Last week's ranking: No. 12)

15. Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), 16-1: The Raiders drew the No. 1 overall seed in the CHSAA playoffs and appear to be on a collision course with No. 2 Cherry Creek (Colo.). (Last week's ranking: No. 16)

16. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), 20-1: The Highlanders pulled out the previously mentioned one-goal win over St. Andrew's in the state title game as senior Nick St. Laurent scored the game-winner with 7 seconds left. (Last week's ranking: No. 17)

17. Coppell (Texas), 15-4: All-America defender Brandon Mullins bypassed several major Division I football offers to play lacrosse at Syracuse University. (Last week's ranking: No. 18)

18. Immaculata (Somerville, N.J.), 16-0: Syracuse University-bound Ralph D'Agostino had four goals, two assists and an astonishing 15 groundballs in a 17-12 win over Ridge (N.J.). (Last week's ranking: No. 19)

19. Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), 14-0: Ryan Brunet, Tom Hughes and Connor Russell each scored three goals as the Warriors rolled to a 12-1 win over Rocky Point (N.Y.). (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)

20. La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.), 18-3: The Mavericks take a 10-game win streak into a showdown on Wednesday against Torrey Pines (Calif.). (Last week's ranking: No. 20)

Dropped out: McDonogh (Md.), No. 14.



Joe Lombardi writes the "Lax with Joe" blog at LaxLessons.com and is an analyst for the MSG Varsity Television Network. He is also the primary author of the new edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies," which was released last year. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.