No. 3 Jamesville-DeWitt players celebrate their second straight New York Class B boys lacrosse title.
Photo by Matthew Wilks
State championship weekend in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state region was eventful on several fronts. It was noteworthy not only for who won titles, but who didn't.
The Darien Blue Wave's run of six straight championships ended short of a seventh in Connecticut. Three-year starter
Case Matheis, the Duke-bound junior attackman, suffered a season-ending torn meniscus prior to the Blue Wave's 11-3 state semifinal lost to Wilton, a game in which another offensive standout,
Richard Gregory, left early with an injury.
In New Jersey, Summit's run of back-to-back Tournament of Champions titles ended – along with its 68-game winning streak – in a 6-5 loss to Bridgewater-Raritan.
Those were two of the biggest developments during what was a remarkable championship week in the tri-state area that ended this past weekend. Including the Bridgewater-Raritan/Summit game, five of the seven title games in NY/NJ/CT were decided by one goal.
In New York, two of those games went into overtime in games played at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.
In Class A, Farmingdale won a state title for the first time by beating Ithaca 12-11.
In Class B, Jamesville DeWitt won its second straight state title and third in the last five years with an 8-7 win over Garden City on a goal by sophomore
Jordan Evans with 3 seconds left in the first four-minute OT period.
Connecticut's state title tripleheader at Brien McMahon High featured two one-goal affairs.
Sean Wilkinson scored with 14 seconds remaining as Ridgefield beat Fairfield Prep 11-10, overcoming a 6-1 first-quarter deficit, to take the Division L title. It was the Tigers' first state title in 10 years. In Division S,
Brian Bacarella had three goals as St. Joseph's of Trumbull won a state title for the second time in the last three years by beating Joel Barlow 6-5.
In Pennsylvania, Conestoga pulled away for a 13-4 win against St. Joseph's Prep in the PIAA finals. The Pioneers, who defended their 2010 title, actually trailed 3-0 early in the game before reeling off 13 straight goals.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 20 NATIONAL BOYS LACROSSE RANKINGS
1. Haverford School (Pa.), 23-0: The Fords extended their win streak to 26 straight games by edging Malvern Prep (Pa.) 5-4 in the Inter-Ac final. (Last week's ranking: No. 1)
2. Conestoga (Berwyn, Pa.), 25-1: Three players –
Tyler Brooke,
Brad Lord and
Kevin Rudd – each had three goals in the previously mentioned state title-game win over St. Joseph's Prep. (Last week's ranking: No. 2)
3. Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt, N.Y.), 22-0: The Red Rams will start next season with a 44-game winning streak. (Last week's ranking: No. 7)
4. Garden City (N.Y.), 19-3: Jamesville-DeWitt has become a nemesis for the Trojans, who fell to the Red Rams 11-5 in last year's Class B state title game before their rematch this past weekend. (Last week's ranking: No. 3)
5. Farmingdale (N.Y.), 17-4: The Dalers' state title was their first in three championship-game appearances. (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)
6. West Islip (N.Y.), 19-1: The Lions were unable to make a repeat trip to the state final four but did win their eighth straight Suffolk County Class A title. (Last week's ranking: No. 6)
7. St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 14-3: Charles Raffa excelled on faceoffs and ground balls, and had two goals, in a 12-10 win over Chaminade in the CHSAA title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 9)
8. Bridgewater-Raritan (Bridgewater, N.J.), 18-2: Bridgewater-Raritan snapped a 4-4 tie with 8:30 left in the game on a goal by
Scott Bieda off a feed from
Tyler Barbarich in the previously mentioned Tournament of Champions win over Summit. (Last week's ranking: No. 14)
9. Summit (N.J.), 23-1: Prior to the Tournament of Champions loss this past weekend, Summit's last loss came against Delbarton, 10-6, on April 1, 2009, in its season opener. (Last week's ranking: No. 5)
10. Deerfield Academy (Mass.), 15-0: Ian Ardrey and
Jimmy Bitter were the catalysts of a potent Big Green offense. (Last week's ranking: No. 10)
11. Manhasset (N.Y.), 17-2: The Indians came back from a 3-0 deficit early in the game to tie Garden City (N.Y.) 5-5 in the Nassau County Class B title game, before falling 6-5 to end their quest for a third straight state title. (Last week's ranking: No. 8)
12. Chaminade (Mineola, N.Y.), 15-3: The Flyers fell short of what would have been their first three-game sweep of rival St. Anthony's since 2006. (Last week's ranking: No. 13)
13. Darien (Conn.), 19-3: The previously mentioned setback to eventual champion Wilton was the Blue Wave's first state tournament loss since falling to New Canaan 8-6 in the 2004 semifinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 4)
14. Calvert Hall (Baltimore), 17-2: Calvert Hall fell to Gilman (Md.), 13-8, in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game after edging Boys Latin (Md.) 7-6 in the semifinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 15)
15. Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), 18-1: Ryan Ball had five goals in an 11-10 state title game win over Kent Denver (Colo.). (Last week's ranking: No. 12)
16. Cazenovia (N.Y.), 22-1: Connor Cannizzaro and
Sean Cannizzaro each finished the season with 100 or more points. (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)
17. St. Ignatius (San Francisco), 19-3: Midfielder
Matt Emery is one of the nation's top sophomores. (Last week's ranking: No. 17)
18. Ithaca (N.Y.), 18-2: The Little Red had won 17 straight prior to the previously mentioned overtime loss to Farmingdale in the Class A state final. (Last week's ranking: Not ranked)
19. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), 20-1: Nick St. Laurent goal with 7 seconds left gave the Highlanders an 11-10 win over St. Andrew's in the state title game. (Last week's ranking: No. 18)
20. Coppell (Texas), 15-4: The Cowboys' 10-8 Division I state-title game win against Dallas Jesuit avenged for a 13-11 regular-season loss to the Rangers and followed an 11-10 triumph over St. Mark's in the semifinals. (Last week's ranking: No. 19)
Dropped out: Smithtown West (N.Y.), No. 12; Ward Melville (N.Y.), No. 16; Immaculata (N.J.), No. 20.
Joe Lombardi, the author of the "Lax with Joe" blog at LaxLessons.com, is also an analyst for the MSG Varsity television network and is the primary author of the new edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies," which was released last year. Follow Joe Lombardi on Twitter.
