March 17, 2005

While the college teams from "out East" may have been the main course at the First 4 tournament in L.A. this past weekend, three prep games on the Home Depot Center's surrounding fields held great importance in the yearly battle to prove which region - north or south - has the best high school lax in Cali.

Normally, inter-regional games are just a fun way to see how various teams match-up as they head into the playoffs, but in California they take on a more important role with the lack of a unified state title game. The San Diego and L.A. teams battle out for the southern championship while the Greater Bay Area squads tussle for their own crown.

So the three North-South games at the First 4 - Berkeley vs. La Costa Canyon, Torrey Pines vs. Danville Monte Vista and Coronado vs. St. Ignatius - took on extra meaning for the players involved as well as a high level of interest from a surprisingly large and boisterous fan base.

The final tally read South 2, North 1, but the rubber match was a gem, proving, all-in-all, the two areas are fairly even.

The first game saw La Costa Canyon make a solid case for top honors in the state as the Mavericks dominated just about every phase of the game in a 13-3 victory over Berkeley, with the Northern reps getting two of their goals on the extra man.

Spencer Young was the Mavericks big stick, scoring four goals, including an impressive diving goal that earned him a trip to the trainer, as well as making a couple of collegiate assistants take note in the stands.

"We really played well," said LCC coach Dallas Hartley. "We only lost one pole from last year's team and we have a lot of experience back. We shut them off in the second half and ran a slide from up top."

"They had great athletes with terrific stick skills," conceded Mike Costanzo, Berkeley's coach. "There were times we played with them, but we seemed skittish. We were a little tight. We heard they were the top team in San Diego and the players felt some pressure to knock them off."

The LCC players also felt the pressure of squaring off with bragging rights on the line.
"We had a lot of nerves in the first period," said Hartley. "We wanted to represent Southern California and we knew we were going against a program that has had a lot of success."

The second game was also surprisingly lopsided as Danville Monte Vista controlled the action in stunning Torrey Pines - the cream of the crop in the South last season - 13-7. Monte Vista was a tad bigger, quicker and deeper than the Falcons and it took its toll as the game developed. They also might have been a bit hungrier. Both teams were coming off losses, but the Mustangs were spitting fire.

"Coming off our first loss last Tuesday, this really amounted to a gut check for us," said DMV coach Adam Lechner, who received a Gatorade shower after the game. "The guys really stepped up, especially the seniors. All the credit goes to them."

While Lechner knew a lot of people would interested to see of they could stack up with Torrey Pines, he tried to play down the inter-regional aspect.

"The pressure was definitely on, but I wasn't going to play that up," he said. "I tried to keep things focused more on us than them. The seniors did a good job in getting this team ready."

John Principi, Torrey Pines' head man, seemed genuinely hurt after the game. While thoughtful and polite, his sadness made it clear the game went nothing like he had planned.

"This was supposed to be the highlight of the season," he said. "Obviously, we were playing a very good team, but it is still disappointing. They just wanted it more and they came to play. There was just an outright lack of effort on our part, and it really started going downhill in the second half."

So it came down to the final game, and Danville's Lechner thought St. Ignatius would carry the day for the northern teams.

"It's NorCal pride," he laughed. "Those St. Ignatius kids come out hard and they come out angry."

And the Wildcats did just that, pouncing on Coronado for 6-2 lead early in the second quarter. But just like their coach, Alex Cade - who roamed the sidelines in cargo shorts, a t-shirt, and bare feet - Coronado took a laid back and level-headed approach to the game, slowing climbing back into it. After tying the game at eight with six minutes left in the game, Coronado put St. Ignatius away with a pair of goals and gritty defense for the 10-8 victory.

"They started a little slow, but they came out and owned the third quarter," said S.I.'s coach, Greg Angilly. "Coronado took control of the game and we made some uncharacteristic mistakes."

Angilly said his team was fired up for this game because last April, St. Ignatius made a southern swing and was swept by Torrey Pines, LCC and Coronado. "There was definitely an element of revenge."

"When you have to play your first game against a good team with a young team - we're mostly sophomores - you can come out slow," said Cade. "In the second half we just relaxed. We didn't make that many adjustments, we just needed to get back to the fundamentals, throwing and catching."

So the Southern teams took the mythical title this year, 2-1, but the bragging rights will probably only last just one year. These games are extremely popular with the players and positive for lacrosse in the state, ensuring future face-offs.

"All of these games are turning into good North-South rivalries," said Angilly.

The High School Notebook is published each Thursday on Lacrosse Magazine Online. To submit an item for consideration, please send an e-mail to Jac Coyne at jcoyne@lacrosse.org.