Once the high school season gets rocking and rolling, we will take a look at a few key games and key things to keep an eye on each day.
In the meantime, we will be previewing what is lying ahead this coming week.
So here goes.
Long Island showdown: A pair of nationally ranked teams will be starting the regular season on Wednesday as Garden City, ranked 18th nationally by Inside Lacrosse, visits No. 6 Syosset at 4:30 p.m.
Set for scrimmages: With preseason practice now in its second week, many teams are starting scrimmages this week. Keep in mind, gang, most of the early scrimmages are educational, with coaches trying various combinations and lineups and different things. Translation: Don’t read too much into the scores.
‘Huskers travel to Jersey: Yorktown, which is looking to win a Section 1 title for the 27th time in 28 years, visits New Jersey power Don Bosco Prep on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Indians vs. Indians: John Jay, the four-time defending Class A sectional champion, hosts Mahopac on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Busy day: Saturday is chock full of action. John Jay is hosting a four-way scrimmage that starts at 9 a.m. and also includes Chaminade, Montgomery (N.J.), Plainedge. Yorktown visits Plainedge (N.J.) at 11 a.m. and Briarcliff hosts a round-robin scrimmage day at 9 a.m., that includes Rye and Hen Hud.
The one event Saturday that stands out is the Red/Gray Shootout at Somers. Credit new Tuskers coach Lew Janavey and assistant Brian Smith for putting together quite a field of teams: St. Anthony’s Don Bosco, Guilderland, Mountain Lakes (N.J.), Fox Lane and Somers. It will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For each scrimmage, there will be two 23-minutes halves with a running clock and two-minute halftime.
Here’s the schedule:
9-9:50 a.m.
Field 1: Don Bosco vs. Fox Lane
Field 2: Mountain Lakes vs. Guilderland
9:55-10:45
Field 1: Guilderland vs. Somers
Field 2: Don Bosco vs. St Anthony’s
10:50-11:40
Field 1: Somers vs. Fox Lane
Field 2: Mountain Lakes vs. St Anthony’s
11:40-12:30 Lunch
12:40-1:30
Field 1- Somers vs. St Anthony’s
Field 2- Guilderland vs. Don Bosco
1:35-2:35
Field 1- Somers vs. Mountain Lakes
Field 2- Fox Lane vs. Guilderland
2:30-3:15
Field 1- Don Bosco vs. Somers
Field 2- Mountain Lakes vs. Fox Lane
Be sure to post your comments.
You can also reach Joe Lombardi at joe@laxlessons.com.
Posted In: Fairfield lacrosse, Long Island lacrosse, Today's Top 5
Joe,
John Jay has been a power house in lacrosse for the past years, but is there any chance Mahopac will beat them?
Joe,
They did suffer those 4 major guys and yeah the coaches do really use these scrimmages to be instructive so it won’t really matter who wins or loses, but do they play each other in the regular season at all?
Most everyone always points the finger at Yorktown-Jay as the game of the year. Well, I’m casting my vote for Jay-Mahopac as one of the most intriguing games of 2009.
Matchups that matter:
Jay-Mahopac — May 7
Jay-Somers — April 14
Mahopac-Somers — April 2
L/P-Mahopac — April 14
L/P-Somers — May 7
These five games will be HUGE indicators of who is No. 3 or possibly No. 2 in the section overall. I already think Yorktown is No. 1 and Rye could very well be No. 2. They meet April 2.
So, really, you are talking about three huge dates on the Section I calendar and not one of them will feature a Yorktown-Jay matchup.
The real questions are:
Who will win Class B?
Who will get to the Class A final?
Are any of Jay, Mahopac, Somers or L/P better than Rye?
Get your popcorn ready.
Syracuse, I really don’t see what exactly you see in Rye. I personally think that JJ, Mahopac, L/P, and maybe even Somers will all be able to beat Rye this season. Although Rye is extremely well coached, have a solid defense and they have those 4 returning empire players (2 of which were d-middies/faceoff guy), I think that they lost a lot of talent and wont have the offensive firepower to compete with the rest of the section one powers. In addition, I don’t know who in their right mind wouldn’t call Jay-Yorktown the game of the year in section one. Last game of the season, under the lights on MSG- and then just throw in 5000 people watching. having seen jay scrimmage mahopac im confident in saying that john jay will be able to handle mahopac and that all of these teams will be able to bang with the “machine” that you call yorktown I think you need to re-evaluate your analysis of teams around section one and not count out every team in section one to not compete with your obvious favorite team, yorktown
Tuesday JJ is playing Iona, any predictions? That should be an interesting matchup. And the closest sectional final game will definitely be in class B, Somers is looking pretty stacked this year they should get more attention you’re right maybe they’re even better than Rye.
laxin it up,
Listen man, I’ve been doing this a long time and in that time I have learned two things that are indisputable: You can’t ever count Yorktown out and 99 times out of 100 they will be the team most talked about to start a season. So for you to be surprised that 1. Yorktown is the best team in the section or 2. People are touting them, c’mon man. Things are what they are.
If you think there are some out there that will be able to hang with Yorktown, that’s your opinion, but I can’t see how you can be confident in that statement. Also, I have said Yorktown’s games will appear closer than they are this year because Yorktown will be a much stronger defensive team than offensive.
My basis for touting Rye this season is exactly for the reasons you stated. They are not a star-laden offensive powerhouse. They are, in fact, a system team that plugs in pieces and goes to work. If that’s not sexy enough for some, I’m sure it will be sexy enough for Rye fans. This program isn’t capable of a down year because of its feeder program, coaching and system.
Nobody is counting out anyone. I’ve been touting Rye and Somers since this site started, so spare me the “Yorktown bandwagon” nonsense.
If you think I’m shortchanging the rest of the section, read a little more before you post. Seriously.
Then, maybe a few weeks from now after a few games have been played and I’ve been able to get out and about, you’ll have a different opinion of me or may understand why I say the things that I do. I don’t just make them up to get a rise out of people.
LAX,
Nice to hear from you as always. I don’t think you put too much stock into whatever the final score will be Tuesday when Jay plays Iona Prep for obvious reasons. I would, though, pay attention to when both teams’ starters are getting significant runs.
Also, watch special teams. Jay doesn’t have the offensive prowess they had last year, so it will be interesting to see how their more skilled guys do on man-up. Also, watch Jay’s goalie. He will go a long way toward determining how far the Indians go this season.
As for IP, we know about Trizano. Let’s see if their offense will miss a beat due to ’08 graduation. Also, defense hasn’t been a strong suit for Iona in recent years. That will need to improve if they are to challenge the two top teams in the CHSAA.
It should be an interesting day Tuesday, but don’t get crazy if either team looks sluggish. Better to work it out now than struggle when the games matter.
Yorktown will be able to do things that few Section 1 teams can afford to do, they can take LONG offensive possessions and let Big John pick his spots and let the youngster just look to run a slow-paced offense with less pressure on them… their defense is so good that they don’t need to take chances on offense, just work the ball, tire the other defense and capitalize on high percentage scoring opportunities. Let the defense do the rest….
now i don’t know the line-up up and down well enough to know if they have the face-off guy to perfect this style…
doesn’t matter though, they are good enough to run-and-gun or slow it down, but i wouldn’t mind seeing them take good long possessions and just grind teams out of games …
I could see them taking that see them taking a Syracuse approach, take advantage in fast break opportunities, look to make the most with their speed, but if its not there back out and slow it down. A big part of team lacrosse is the delicate balance of patience and pressure that fits your team. Around here some teams are good enough to just play to what will hurt their opponents, few though