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High School: Top 25 And Inside LaFayette (NY) HS

Earlier this week we posted a great recap of the Top 25 national match up featuring Chaminade and West Islip. We’re back today with an inside look at LaFayette (NY) High School’s lacrosse program, and the US Lacrosse Top 25 National Rankings.

LaFayette High School (New York)

We play because it’s fun. We win because it’s tradition.

Coach Mike Riese and his squad opened up the 54th season of LaFayette Lacrosse on April 2 against Christian Brothers Academy, looking to add more wins to the all-time program record of 693-233-3 (.745).lafayette_tradition_since_1960

I got to speak with Brad Powless, an assistant coach for LaFayette, and I got a little more info on this illustrious program, that is thriving at a very small school. I asked Brad all kinds of questions, ranging from what it was like to be a small school, and if this game them any advantages, to how other small schools can see success.

One of the great things about playing, and now coaching, for LaFayette is that every team plays its best against you.  That motivates us to work hard everyday in practice.

Another one of the benefits of LaFayette is that the school is able to draw lacrosse players from both LaFayette and the Onondaga Nation. Since 1960 both communities have been playing together and now LaFayette has built lacrosse families that are similar to those at Onondaga.  That just makes the entire program stronger, even for such a small school.

My advice to other small school programs is this: Being a small school allows you to play together all the time.  Take the time to learn the strengths of your teammates and to utilize all of your combined strengths on the field.  Everyone has something to give to the benefit of the team when you play for a small school.

Despite a public school graduating class size of about 50-75 (that’s boys AND girls), LaFayette Lacrosse has made a significant impact on the lacrosse world since its first game in 1960.  With boys from LaFayette and the nearby Onondaga Nation, the Lancers quickly made an impact on the lacrosse scene in that first decade, at one point winning 6 consecutive conference championships, back-to-back Upstate titles, and even reeling off a record 41-game win streak starting in 1967 (the ‘67 team is enshrined in the CNY Hall of Fame.) 

 

The tradition and excellence that became LaFayette lacrosse continued through the 70’s and into the present day, evolving into a program that has produced 2 state championships, 4 upstate championships, 7 state/upstate final appearances, 9 county titles, 11 Section III titles and 21 league championships.  Additionally, a multitude of former Lancers have gone on to become some of the top college, pro field and box lacrosse players, coaches and referees nationally and internationally. 

Some Notable Lancer Lacrosse Alumni: Marshall Abrams, Josh Amidon, Brett Bucktooth, Drew Bucktooth, Travis Cook, Ron Doctor, John Greeley, Tyler Gale, Kevin Gale, Ron Hill, Sid Hill, Alfie Jacques, Jim Longo, Jake Lazore, Kent Lyons, Neal Powless, Barry Powless, Travis Solomon, Joe Solomon, Andy Spack, Tom Sutton, Miles Thompson, Lyle Thompson, Jeremy Thompson, Jerome Thompson, Greg Tarbell, Lars Tiffany. 

Thanks to Brad Powless and Mike Cotsonas for the above information.

US Lacrosse National Top 25

Courtesy US Lacrosse: Unbeaten Boys’ Latin (Md.) received all eight first-place votes to maintain the No. 1 ranking in the latest Nike/US Lacrosse High School Boys’ Lacrosse Top 25 poll, released by US Lacrosse.

Two other Maryland schools have also caught the attention of the voters. Unbeaten St. Paul’s climbed to the No. 5 spot in this week’s ranking after receiving no consideration in the preseason, while No. 14 Hereford made the week’s biggest jump, bulldozing its way into the ranking on the strength of a 7-6 victory over Gilman (Md.) last week.

The Nike/US Lacrosse High School Boys’ Lacrosse National Top 25, with teams, record, point total (first-place votes) and next game noted:

1. Boys’ Latin (Md.), 7-0, 200 (8), April 2: at South River (Md.)
2. Chaminade (N.Y.), 3-0, 191, April 3: Fairfield Prep (Conn.)
3. St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), 3-0, 181, April 4: St. John Baptist (N.Y.)
4. La Salle (Pa.), 2-0, 170, April 2: at Episcopal Academy (Pa.)
5. St. Paul’s (Md.), 8-0, 152, April 3: Bullis (Md.)
6. Garden City (N.Y.), 2-1, 142, April 2: Carey (N.Y.)
7. Gonzaga (D.C.), 7-2, 141, April 2: No. 10 McDonogh (Md.)
8. Ithaca (N.Y.), 1-0, 133, April 3: at Union-Endicott (N.Y.)
9. Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.), 2-0, 130, April 2: East Syracuse-Minoa (N.Y.)
10. McDonogh (Md.), 6-1,119, April 2: at No. 7 Gonzaga (D.C.)
11. Smithtown West (N.Y.), 3-0, 116, April 3: Sachem East (N.Y.)
12. West Islip (N.Y.), 1-1, 114, April 3: Sachem North (N.Y.)
13. Calvert Hall (Md.), 2-2, 104, April 2: Lake Highland Prep (Fla.)
14. Hereford (Md.), 4-1, 94, April 2: No. 20 Loyola-Blakefield (Md.)
15. Malvern Prep (Pa.), 2-0, 78, April 2: St. Mary’s-Annapolis (Md.)
16. Niskayuna (N.Y.), 0-0, 71, April 2: at Shenendehowa (N.Y.)
17. Darien (Conn.), 0-0, 58, April 3: Fairfield-Ludlowe (Conn.)
18. Delbarton (N.J.), 0-0, 45, April 3: Ridgewood (N.J.)
19. Ward Melville (N.Y.), 2-0, 43, April 3: Smithtown East (N.Y.)
20. Loyola-Blakefield (Md.), 4-2, 42, April 2: at Hereford (Md.)
21. Landon (Md.), 4-3, 35, April 2: No. 23 Gilman (Md.)
22. Culver Military (Ind.), 3-1, 35, April 4: Detroit Country Day (Mich.)
23. Gilman (Md.), 3-1, 33, April 2: at No. 21 Landon (Md.)
24. Duxbury (Mass.), 1-0, 25, April 2: Mercer Island (Wash.)
25. Penn Charter (Pa.), 5-3, 22, April 2: Cherry Creek (Colo.)

Others Receiving Votes (Record, Points)
Paul VI (Va.), 7-1, 19
Georgetown Prep (Md.), 7-3, 17
St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Va.), 4-3, 15
St. Ignatius Prep (Calif.), 8-0, 14
Yorktown (N.Y.), 2-0, 11
Don Bosco Prep (N.J.), 0-0, 9
New Canaan (Conn.), 0-0, 9
Dallas Jesuit (Texas), 10-1, 8
St. Andrew’s (Fla.), 11-2, 6
Haverford School (Pa.), 2-3, 4
West Genesee (N.Y.), 1-0, 4
Conestoga (Pa.), 0-2, 3
Salesianum (Del.), 1-0, 2
Smithtown East (N.Y.), 2-0, 1

Voters for the Nike/US Lacrosse High School Boys’ Lacrosse National Top 25 poll include US Lacrosse area representatives and Lacrosse Magazine contributors.