MIAA A Conference

[Andersen]

Lastly, not sure who the middle #26 is, but he is lazy on defense and selfish on offense. He took poor percentage shots and looked lost when caught on defense. In my opinion, he is a huge liability.

Ouch! Ease up, he's a high school kid.

[ultimatelaxbro]

Didn't St. Mary's give CHC their most competive game this year? If I recall, the game was close well into the fourth quarter...

Early in the season, against McDonogh, St Mary's and BL, Calvert Hall had significant leads (6-7 goals) as the games were winding down but let late runs by those three teams make them closer. I remember specifically that McDonogh ran off 4-5 goals in the last 3 minutes of the game. Having said that, CHC is not the same team it was then. With the offense, you pick your poison in matchups and someone else is going to hurt you. On defense, they make very few mistakes and harass the opponent all over the field. Loyola was 7-14 on clears yesterday.

I am trying to temper expectations, but right now it's hard to see an upset in the making.

Actually in the St. Mary's game, CHC ran off the last couple of goals. It was 11-6 going into the 4th and then St. Mary's got to within 11-9 and was on the EMO before CHC tacked on a couple in the final 2 minutes. Not a nail-biter, but not a thorough beating either like against BL and McDonogh.

The BL and McDonogh beatings by CHC were actually somewhat mild compared to what CHC did to St Pauls, Loyola and others. Also, outside of Hill School, BL gave up the least amount of goals to CHC.

Below is how all teams fared against CHC in terms of goals against this season, from most to least.

MSJ 19
Charlotte Country Day 19
LOY 18 (playoffs)
LOY 16 (Reg season)
StP 16
Spal 15
McD 15
JC 15
Dominion 14
Malvern 14
Loyola (Ill) 14
Memphis U 13
Sev 13
StM 13
BL 12
Hill 9

[mliz]

Actually, CHC subbed scout team guys into games against BL, McD, St.P's, Loyola, and St.Mary's. Yes, St. Mary's did play CHC the closest of any of these teams but the scores for all of these games are a little more close than they would have been otherwise.

[viper]

Actually, CHC subbed scout team guys into games against BL, McD, St.P's, Loyola, and St.Mary's. Yes, St. Mary's did play CHC the closest of any of these teams but the scores for all of these games are a little more close than they would have been otherwise.

CHC did not get into the scout team for BL, McD and St Marys. Regardless, they are a hitting on all cylinders right now and everyone is healthy which wasn't the case for some of the earlier matchups.

[Raescreek]

Well Calvert Hall throttled St Mary’s. The saints never stood a chance. 15-7 final. The game was never in doubt. CHC empties the bench early in the rout and cemented their place in high school lacrosse history.

[mliz]

Actually, CHC subbed scout team guys into games against BL, McD, St.P's, Loyola, and St.Mary's. Yes, St. Mary's did play CHC the closest of any of these teams but the scores for all of these games are a little more close than they would have been otherwise.

CHC did not get into the scout team for BL, McD and St Marys. Regardless, they are a hitting on all cylinders right now and everyone is healthy which wasn't the case for some of the earlier matchups.

Wanna bet they didn't sub scout team into those games? Maybe you should check the replays.....

[Raescreek]

Whether CHC put in their scout team is irrelevant at this point. They just ran through the MIAA at a historic pace.

We should appreciate the greatness


At this point CHC is on another level and I hope that the rest of the league can catch up. CHC has built a dynasty

[random observer]

Whether CHC put in their scout team is irrelevant at this point. They just ran through the MIAA at a historic pace.

We should appreciate the greatness


At this point CHC is on another level and I hope that the rest of the league can catch up. CHC has built a dynasty

They are the favorite until someone proves they can play with them, but I expect that they will have more competition in the league next year. The MIAA, while still very deep, was as weak as it's ever been this year. IMO outside of CHC there was not another top 25 team in the nation in the conference -- just a bunch of solid, but flawed teams. BL will be a lot better next year, as they lose very little, get Grimes back, and their numerous underclassmen contributors get a year older. If Loyola squares up their defense they should be dangerous too, as they lose only Breschi on offense and will have another off-season to gel under Ubriaco.

[mliz]

Anyone else find it interesting that no MIAA goalies were selected to try out for USLax U-19 team?

[thatsmell]

Guessing none committed to The OSU?

But I did see the JC goalie, Jacob Lotz was honored by pnc this week:

https://1057thefan.radio.com/pnc-achiev ... jacob-lotz

Saw this kid live a few times and he was impressive. The two games I saw- he had big games against Hill and McDonogh. Congrats to him.

[Juslaxin16]

Now that the season is over what does everyone think about the conference. Any predictions of teams coming up to the A or any teams from the A dropping to the B.

Personally I’d like to see JC drop to the B. JC was only three goals better than the best team in the B. JC also did not win a single conference game this year. I wouldn’t be against St.Joe moving down as well.

I don’t see anyone moving up to the A. I Don’t see any teams in the B that could compete with true A schools.

True A school in my opinion is a school that consistently makes the playoffs or is still in the hunt for the playoffs leading up to the last week of the season.

[kramerica.inc]

I doubt we’ll see any movement anytime soon.

No B schools are good enough or committed to moving up. Maybe GCS in a few more years if they follow in the footsteps of their girls program

And MSJ and JC aren’t going anywhere.

[Chuckman]

Now that the season is over what does everyone think about the conference. Any predictions of teams coming up to the A or any teams from the A dropping to the B.

Personally I’d like to see JC drop to the B. JC was only three goals better than the best team in the B. JC also did not win a single conference game this year. I wouldn’t be against St.Joe moving down as well.

I don’t see anyone moving up to the A. I Don’t see any teams in the B that could compete with true A schools.

True A school in my opinion is a school that consistently makes the playoffs or is still in the hunt for the playoffs leading up to the last week of the season.

JC seems to be committed to getting better, I doubt they go anywhere soon. Bigger issue I think is that Calvert Hall has won three straight Championships. The last one without much competition the whole year. I along with several other people think that they will win the Championship again next year.

I know all about different teams winning last 15 years. This isnt the last 15 years. This is 3 straight years and another Cship coming next year and frankly, maybe foreseeable future. Do we have the making of another Gilman Football type dynasty on our hands??

[Redman]

GCS has a pipeline now from Rough Riders to feed them. They will have to rely on Hawks players to go there in to compete in A.

[Redman]

[/quote]

JC seems to be committed to getting better, I doubt they go anywhere soon. Bigger issue I think is that Calvert Hall has won three straight Championships. The last one without much competition the whole year. I along with several other people think that they will win the Championship again next year.

I know all about different teams winning last 15 years. This isnt the last 15 years. This is 3 straight years and another Cship coming next year and frankly, maybe foreseeable future. Do we have the making of another Gilman Football type dynasty on our hands??
[/quote]

JC major issue will be how to attract talent from Baltimore county up to Harford. They may eventually retain a little more talent but the top players will still want to play for top schools and then you have the generation thing where son goes to same school as dad did who went what grand pop went, JC doesn’t have that. At best they can hope to achieve Spalding status in the A, “just wait till next year “

[Juslaxin16]

Very well could be. I think McD will rebound and make a run next year. I also think St. Mary’s will Be right back in the thick of it as well. I think one thing that is overlooked with a lot of the powers is the pipeline. Kids are playing at the club level wanting to go to schools like Hall, McD, and BL. You don’t really see that with any of the other A schools and that’s a huge difference.

[viper]

Now that the season is over what does everyone think about the conference. Any predictions of teams coming up to the A or any teams from the A dropping to the B.

Personally I’d like to see JC drop to the B. JC was only three goals better than the best team in the B. JC also did not win a single conference game this year. I wouldn’t be against St.Joe moving down as well.

I don’t see anyone moving up to the A. I Don’t see any teams in the B that could compete with true A schools.

True A school in my opinion is a school that consistently makes the playoffs or is still in the hunt for the playoffs leading up to the last week of the season.

JC seems to be committed to getting better, I doubt they go anywhere soon. Bigger issue I think is that Calvert Hall has won three straight Championships. The last one without much competition the whole year. I along with several other people think that they will win the Championship again next year.

I know all about different teams winning last 15 years. This isnt the last 15 years. This is 3 straight years and another Cship coming next year and frankly, maybe foreseeable future. Do we have the making of another Gilman Football type dynasty on our hands??

Admittedly, I am big CHC supporter. Having said that, losing the Mitchell twins, Jack Sawyer, your number 1 FOGO (Catone) and most of your starting defense will have an impact. No doubt they leave behind an great deal of talent to step in, but chemistry is not necessarily something that happens overnight. On paper they will certainly vie for another MIAA crown, but I wouldn't put the mortgage on it yet.

[Hammer44]

Now that the season is over what does everyone think about the conference. Any predictions of teams coming up to the A or any teams from the A dropping to the B.

Personally I’d like to see JC drop to the B. JC was only three goals better than the best team in the B. JC also did not win a single conference game this year. I wouldn’t be against St.Joe moving down as well.

I don’t see anyone moving up to the A. I Don’t see any teams in the B that could compete with true A schools.

True A school in my opinion is a school that consistently makes the playoffs or is still in the hunt for the playoffs leading up to the last week of the season.

JC seems to be committed to getting better, I doubt they go anywhere soon. Bigger issue I think is that Calvert Hall has won three straight Championships. The last one without much competition the whole year. I along with several other people think that they will win the Championship again next year.

I know all about different teams winning last 15 years. This isnt the last 15 years. This is 3 straight years and another Cship coming next year and frankly, maybe foreseeable future. Do we have the making of another Gilman Football type dynasty on our hands??

Admittedly, I am big CHC supporter. Having said that, losing the Mitchell twins, Jack Sawyer, your number 1 FOGO (Catone) and most of your starting defense will have an impact. No doubt they leave behind an great deal of talent to step in, but chemistry is not necessarily something that happens overnight. On paper they will certainly vie for another MIAA crown, but I wouldn't put the mortgage on it yet.

Have all the elements returning. FOGO depth, Goalie, Offense(unmatched), D pipeline, coaching, athleticism, big game experience (ya think). Hall the favorite, no doubt.

[thatsmell]

The notion of a team only belonging in the A if you are "competing for an A-league championship" or a playoff spot on a yearly basis is both wrong and short sighted.

Put things into perspective. There are 235 high school lacrosse teams in the state of MD. All 11 "A" teams are ranked in the top 25 by Laxnumbers. Even the bottom 4 teams with their small win totals in-conference, have good out-of-conference wins over OTHER league/state champs/finalists like: Severna Park, Northern, Hereford, Towson, CM Wright, Curley and Dematha.

Tell me again how bad those bottom teams are?!



All of the A teams have chosen to be in the A. All of these schools are financially committed to pushing themselves and their programs to be the very best it can be on a yearly basis. That may or may not mean competing for the conference title depending upon how the other conference schools are faring on a given year. As noted by the wins above, that likely means still playing some incredibly good lacrosse.

And while it's great to compete for a championship AND play some good lacrosse, there are many additional reasons these A schools choose to compete in the too:

Some schools take pride in competing in the A on a yearly basis.
Some schools like the "A" gauntlet. The lax field is another classroom.
Some schools recruit and use their lacrosse team as a local PR mechanism.
Some schools use their lacrosse team as a huge source of school/community pride and student enthusiasm, raising morale. These kids are often locally grown.
Some schools use their lacrosse programs as a cornerstone for other activities that involve/grow the rest of the community in non-athletic areas of interest/participation- i.e: managers, sports information, sports medicine, video, audio, social media etc.
Some schools boost enrollment by recruiting and investing in lacrosse and playing in the A.
Some schools use their lax programs as a great source of pride, fundraising and motivation with it's alumni base.
Some schools use lacrosse to get their students into/placed/financial aid at colleges.

But yeah, competing for a title is good too.

[BetweenTheLines]

The notion of a team only belonging in the A if you are "competing for an A-league championship" or a playoff spot on a yearly basis is both wrong and short sighted.

Put things into perspective. There are 235 high school lacrosse teams in the state of MD. All 11 "A" teams are ranked in the top 25 by Laxnumbers. Even the bottom 4 teams with their small win totals in-conference, have good out-of-conference wins over OTHER league/state champs/finalists like: Severna Park, Northern, Hereford, Towson, CM Wright, Curley and Dematha.

Tell me again how bad those bottom teams are?!



All of the A teams have chosen to be in the A. All of these schools are financially committed to pushing themselves and their programs to be the very best it can be on a yearly basis. That may or may not mean competing for the conference title depending upon how the other conference schools are faring on a given year. As noted by the wins above, that likely means still playing some incredibly good lacrosse.

And while it's great to compete for a championship AND play some good lacrosse, there are many additional reasons these A schools choose to compete in the too:

Some schools take pride in competing in the A on a yearly basis.
Some schools like the "A" gauntlet. The lax field is another classroom.
Some schools recruit and use their lacrosse team as a local PR mechanism.
Some schools use their lacrosse team as a huge source of school/community pride and student enthusiasm, raising morale. These kids are often locally grown.
Some schools use their lacrosse programs as a cornerstone for other activities that involve/grow the rest of the community in non-athletic areas of interest/participation- i.e: managers, sports information, sports medicine, video, audio, social media etc.
Some schools boost enrollment by recruiting and investing in lacrosse and playing in the A.
Some schools use their lax programs as a great source of pride, fundraising and motivation with it's alumni base.
Some schools use lacrosse to get their students into/placed/financial aid at colleges.

But yeah, competing for a title is good too.

Agreed on your 'additional reasons'. It is also important to remember that, for many of these schools, they are A Conference members across sports. I'd imagine that situation is administratively much easier to manage than having a few exceptions. A school might be less competitive in lacrosse, but a perennial contender in other sports, e.g., MSJ in basketball, wrestling, or baseball.