May 18, 2006
It's always good to get a second chance. Just ask the supporters of boys' lacrosse in Minnesota.
Last year, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), the sanctioning body for high school athletics in the state, failed by two votes to approve sponsorship of boys' lacrosse. This year, a new amendment for approval once again found it's way before the MSHSL's General Assembly, despite the fact that the amendment was defeated earlier this year at the regional level.
Thursday morning, the MSHSL's General Assembly approved the amendment, adding boys' lacrosse as a sanctioned varsity championship sport in the North Star state.
The MSHSL's Executive Board had overturned the regional vote from earlier this year and decided that the issue should come to a vote before the full assembly for the second time in two years. While specific vote counts were not available from Thursday morning's general assembly, a two-thirds majority was needed in order to receive sanctioning support through the MSHSL. Boys' lacrosse status in the state now matches girls' lacrosse, which ironically received sanctioning approval in Minnesota four years ago despite having a fewer number of teams.
The fact that the Executive Board provided life support for the boys' amendment gave hope to its supporters that it may pass this time around. Nevertheless, even one of its primary sponsors, US Lacrosse's Minnesota Chapter Treasurer Howard Rogers, was unsure prior to the vote as to how to interpret the political posturing.
"People ask me `is it going to go?' and I tell them there's no way to predict," Rogers said last week. "We need a minimum of 32 varsity teams to have a state championship through the MSHSL. Even with sanctioning approval, schools still must decide if they will elevate lacrosse to varsity level."
In the absence of MSHSL sanctioning, the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association has functioned as the sport's governing body in the state and the coordinator of the postseason championship, among its other functions.
US Lacrosse's Men's Division Director Jody Martin was on hand for Thursday's vote and came away impressed with the MSHSL's process.
"It was very orderly and organized," said Martin, who made a brief presentation to the full assembly prior to the vote and also provided a packet of general lacrosse information to each of the voters. "I was very impressed with the professionalism throughout the process."
About 200 supporters of the amendment - ranging from players and parents, to officials and school administrators - gathered in the auditorium for the public vote. With 47 voters in the room, a two-thirds majority of 32 was needed for sanctioning approval.
"The place exploded when the chairman announced that the amendment had passed," said Martin. "It was very emotional and dramatic. I was glad to be there."
• They're down to the final two in perhaps the strongest high school lacrosse league in the nation. Number-one seed Boys' Latin (20-0) will face off against number-six seed McDonough (12-4) in the MIAA's `A' division championship game under the Friday night lights of Homewood Field in Baltimore. Boys' Latin faced one of its stiffest challenges of the year when the teams met back on April 18, winning 13-12. McDonough will be trying to capture its second straight MIAA title after having defeating BL 9-8 in last year's championship game. BL, meanwhile, hopes to provide head coach Bob Shriver with his second undefeated season (the only prior one came in 1997) and fifth MIAA crown in a 31-year coaching career.
• Meanwhile, 45 miles to the south of Homewood, Georgetown Prep put an exclamation point on its first undefeated season with a convincing 15-3 win over Landon in the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) championship this week. Many point to Prep, which finished 22-0, as the nation's best team this year, but Coach Kevin Giblin seems content on simply appreciating the accomplishment of this year's squad without getting into debates.
"It's very hard with the schedule we play to be undefeated," he told The Washington Post. "It's easy to get a loss playing a team from the [Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association] early in the season. Those things can happen, but they didn't."
• Also in the Washington, D.C. area, DeMatha defeated Gonzaga for the second time this year, winning 8-7 in the championship of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). The victory secured DeMatha's eighth straight WCAC title.
• With playoffs and state tournaments taking precedence at this time of the year, there's very few notable intersectional games remaining on the 2006 schedule. One that shouldn't be overlooked however, is Saturday's boys' game between New Jersey's Delbarton and New York's Chaminade. Both have lost just once this season and are ranked among the nation's best. Four-time defending state champion Delbarton's lone loss came against state-rival Mountain Lakes, while Chaminade's only defeat was by four goals against undefeated West Islip, possibly Long Island's strongest team this year.
• In Virginia girls' play, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes continued its domination by capturing its 12th straight Independent School League (ISL) championship with an 18-6 win over Stone Ridge. The Saints take a 17-0 record into this weekend's showdown in New Jersey against six-time defending state champion Moorestown. A victory would avenge last year's overtime loss at home and give SSSA its first undefeated campaign since 2002.
• As noted last week, Moorestown (14-1) has lost just once this year, falling against Mount Hebron two weeks ago. Saturday's game against SSSA marks the third out-of-state game of the year for Coach Deanna Knobloch's Quakers, who enjoy the challenge of playing against the best.
"Yes, it's stressful at times, but if it wasn't fun, we wouldn't do it," said Knobloch. "Being a part of Moorestown girls' lacrosse is something we are very proud of. The girls that play for Moorestown are the most dedicated players...they are 100 percent committed to the program and strive to continue the tradition of excellence. They work hard, on and off the field, because they don't want to be remembered as the team that lost. Winning never gets old."
• On Long Island, the Garden City girls (14-0) capped their first undefeated regular season since 2000 with a 17-16 win Saturday over another of Long Island's best, Shoreham-Wading River. Garden City, which lost in the Class B state final last year, begins its playoff quest this week in hopes of claiming its first state championship since 2002.
• In Tennessee, it was deju vu for the third time as the state's top two girls' programs met again in the state final with the same result. Harpeth Hall downed Ravenwood in the championship game for the third straight year, winning 10-6. Ravenwood's only two losses this season came against Harpeth Hall.
• And a new girls' champion was crowned in South Carolina as J.L. Mann edged Eastside 8-7 in the state final. Both teams were making their first championship game appearance.
