***********The MIAA "A" Conference 2023**************

[kramerica.inc]

Good games today. All should be competitive.

Victor (NY) @ CH 4pm
BL @ McD 4pm
Severn @ MSJ 4pm
StM @ Loyola 4pm
Spalding @ StPaul's 4:30
Gilman @ JC 4:30pm

[pcowlax]

At this early stage, BL-McD looks like battle for #2 seed in MIAA

[kramerica.inc]

At this early stage, BL-McD looks like battle for #2 seed in MIAA

StM looks good.

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/spor ... VFBBQC4CI/

2023 WEEK 2 BOYS LACROSSE TOP 15

1. MCDONOGH SCHOOL (7-0)
Previous rank: 1
Last week: Defeated No. 7 Archbishop Spalding, 12-5

2. BOYS’ LATIN SCHOOL (5-2)
Previous rank: 2
Last week: Defeated No. 15 John Carroll, 15-6

3. ST. MARY’S (7-0)
Previous rank: 3
Last week: Defeated then-No. 5 Calvert Hall College, 13-3

4. LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD (4-2)
Previous rank: 4
Last week: Defeated No. 14 Mount St. Joseph, 14-8

5. CALVERT HALL COLLEGE (1-4)
Previous rank: 5
Last week: Lost to No. 3 St. Mary’s, 13-3

6. ARCHBISHOP SPALDING (1-5)
Previous rank: 7
Last week: Lost to No. 1 McDonogh, 12-5

7. ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL (3-3)
Previous rank: 8
Last week: Defeated then No. 6 Severn, 10-8

8. SEVERN SCHOOL ADMIRALS (6-1)
Previous rank: 6
Last week: Lost to then No. 8 St. Paul’s, 10-8; defeated Episcopal (VA), 15-9

9. SEVERNA PARK (4-0)
Previous rank: 9
Last week: Defeated Mount Hebron, 13-8; defeated South River, 11-8

10. GILMAN SCHOOL (1-4)
Previous rank: 10
Last week: Lost to Episcopal (VA), 11-10

11. BROADNECK (3-0)
Previous rank: 11
Last week: Defeated then-No. 12 Glenelg, 19-7; defeated Kent Island, 11-6

12. MOUNT ST. JOSEPH (6-1)
Previous rank: 13
Last week: Defeated Catonsville, 16-5; lost to No. 4 Loyola Blakefield, 14-8

13. WESTMINSTER (3-0)
Previous rank: NR
Last week: Defeated then-No. 14 Hereford, 5-4; defeated South Carroll, 15-4

14. JOHN CARROLL (2-1)
Previous rank: 15
Last week: Lost to No. 2 Boys’ Latin, 15-6

15. GLENELG (1-2)
Previous rank: 12
Last week: Lost to No. 11 Broadneck, 19-7

[Slim]

Picks for today...close games

BL @ McD - Lakers 12-10
Severn @ MSJ - Gaels take this one 8-7
StM @ Loyola - Saints squeak it out, 9-8
Spalding @ StPaul's - Crusies win 10-6
Gilman @ JC - Patriots edge 7-6

[MPSSAAlaxfan]

Picks for today...close games

BL @ McD - Lakers 12-10
Severn @ MSJ - Gaels take this one 8-7
StM @ Loyola - Saints squeak it out, 9-8
Spalding @ StPaul's - Crusies win 10-6
Gilman @ JC - Patriots edge 7-6

I like McDonogh by 3 even without #9. BL's offense has struggled against good teams.
Severn's fogo is out, so it will be closer than most think, but Severn wins by 3+.
St. Mary's in a tight one, I agree there.
St. Paul's by a couple. Spalding is rebuilding.
Gilman wins by 6+. Gilman is a lot better than most realize.

[Slim]

Yesterday's results:

BL @ McD - Iggles win in a wild one 11-10 over the Lakeshow, in a battle of the boarding schools
Severn @ MSJ - Admirals prevail 14-10
StM @ Loyola - Saints with the hangover, Dons with the upset 11-8
Spalding @ StPaul's - Crusies win 13-10
Gilman @ JC - ????

[pcowlax]

Yesterday's results:

BL @ McD - Iggles win in a wild one 11-10 over the Lakeshow, in a battle of the boarding schools
Severn @ MSJ - Admirals prevail 14-10
StM @ Loyola - Saints with the hangover, Dons with the upset 11-8
Spalding @ StPaul's - Crusies win 13-10
Gilman @ JC - ????

17-7 Gilman

[fordmaddoxford]

Someone kindly make sense of this for me:

3/31 St. Mary’s 13 Calvert Hall 3
4/4. Calvert Hall 18 Victor 5
4/5 Victor 13 St. Mary’s 12

I know all about the dangers of comparing scores but….wow!

[JoeMauer89]

Someone kindly make sense of this for me:

3/31 St. Mary’s 13 Calvert Hall 3
4/4. Calvert Hall 18 Victor 5
4/5 Victor 13 St. Mary’s 12

I know all about the dangers of comparing scores but….wow!

My guess is Victor caught St. Mary's in a letdown after a league battle yesterday. Ambitious scheduling, taking on Victor 24 hours after a league matchup.

Joe

[random observer]

Someone kindly make sense of this for me:

3/31 St. Mary’s 13 Calvert Hall 3
4/4. Calvert Hall 18 Victor 5
4/5 Victor 13 St. Mary’s 12

I know all about the dangers of comparing scores but….wow!

My guess is Victor caught St. Mary's in a letdown after a league battle yesterday. Ambitious scheduling, taking on Victor 24 hours after a league matchup.

Joe

I mean, is that really a valid explanation when Victor also had a big game less than 24 hours before? Not to mention adding the fact that it's earlier in their season, and they had to travel along way down to Baltimore.

St. Mary's having a let down and playing to the level of their competition is certainly one of the most likely possibilities (it wouldn't be the first time they've done this in recent years). But I think just as likely an explanation (probably moreso) is that Victor was fatigued from their travel, not fully tuned up to regular season play, and certainly not used to playing MIAA-level competition, which lead to a rough opener against CHC. Then, with a little time to recover from their travel and some experience playing against the higher level of competition, they were able to give a stronger performance against St. Mary's.

[JoeMauer89]

Someone kindly make sense of this for me:

3/31 St. Mary’s 13 Calvert Hall 3
4/4. Calvert Hall 18 Victor 5
4/5 Victor 13 St. Mary’s 12

I know all about the dangers of comparing scores but….wow!

My guess is Victor caught St. Mary's in a letdown after a league battle yesterday. Ambitious scheduling, taking on Victor 24 hours after a league matchup.

Joe

I mean, is that really a valid explanation when Victor also had a big game less than 24 hours before? Not to mention adding the fact that it's earlier in their season, and they had to travel along way down to Baltimore.

St. Mary's having a let down and playing to the level of their competition is certainly one of the most likely possibilities (it wouldn't be the first time they've done this in recent years). But I think just as likely an explanation (probably moreso) is that Victor was fatigued from their travel, not fully tuned up to regular season play, and certainly not used to playing MIAA-level competition, which lead to a rough opener against CHC. Then, with a little time to recover from their travel and some experience playing against the higher level of competition, they were able to give a stronger performance against St. Mary's.

Yes, agreed. Not as much ambitious scheduling as playing with more acclimation on the 2nd half of an OOS back to back. Props to Victor for finally traveling to MD to play these games and not just settling for a matchup with Brother Rice in Upstate NY.

Joe

[LI13]

Someone kindly make sense of this for me:

3/31 St. Mary’s 13 Calvert Hall 3
4/4. Calvert Hall 18 Victor 5
4/5 Victor 13 St. Mary’s 12

I know all about the dangers of comparing scores but….wow!

My guess is Victor caught St. Mary's in a letdown after a league battle yesterday. Ambitious scheduling, taking on Victor 24 hours after a league matchup.

Joe

I mean, is that really a valid explanation when Victor also had a big game less than 24 hours before? Not to mention adding the fact that it's earlier in their season, and they had to travel along way down to Baltimore.

St. Mary's having a let down and playing to the level of their competition is certainly one of the most likely possibilities (it wouldn't be the first time they've done this in recent years). But I think just as likely an explanation (probably moreso) is that Victor was fatigued from their travel, not fully tuned up to regular season play, and certainly not used to playing MIAA-level competition, which lead to a rough opener against CHC. Then, with a little time to recover from their travel and some experience playing against the higher level of competition, they were able to give a stronger performance against St. Mary's.

Yes, agreed. Not as much ambitious scheduling as playing with more acclimation on the 2nd half of an OOS back to back. Props to Victor for finally traveling to MD to play these games and not just settling for a matchup with Brother Rice in Upstate NY.

Joe

If Victor bused down to Baltimore on the day of the game, hopped off the bus and played Calvert Hall an hour later, would anyone be surprised that they got rolled? I don't know if that's what happened but I suspect it might have. If that is the case, the St Mary's game seems like a much fairer representation of Victor.

[kramerica.inc]

Historically, MIAA teams treat OOC games much more like scrimmages. YES, they play to win with who they have. But the priority always is the long-term and league play. None of the kids for St M’s that got dinged up against Loyola toughed it out and suited up against Victor. A big OOC game, no matter how big, is NOT a priority to miaa schools. Even if a loss effects national rankings. And I’m sure Victor probably played it the same.

[random observer]

Historically, MIAA teams treat OOC games much more like scrimmages. YES, they play to win with who they have. But the priority always is the long-term and league play. None of the kids for St M’s that got dinged up against Loyola toughed it out and suited up against Victor. A big OOC game, no matter how big, is NOT a priority to miaa schools. Even if a loss effects national rankings. And I’m sure Victor probably played it the same.

I don't believe for a second that these MIAA teams aren't out there giving it their all in every OOC game. The only difference is they don't have an in-depth scout on the opponent, which certainly doesn't mean the teams didn't compete with every intention of winning. It all reeks of that person everyone knew who always acted too cool to try because they were secretly afraid of failing. Hearing a lot of excuses from St. Mary's and not a lot of humility to the fact that maybe Victor might just be a better team, having overcome all of the disadvantages of being an upstate team with a month later start to their season.

TLDR: Maybe St. Mary's is better than Victor even though they lost. Maybe Victor is better than CHC even though they got stomped. Maybe they're all really equal. At the end of the day the only thing I won't stand for is excuses, especially from a team that had more advantages than disadvantages.

[LI13]

Historically, MIAA teams treat OOC games much more like scrimmages. YES, they play to win with who they have. But the priority always is the long-term and league play. None of the kids for St M’s that got dinged up against Loyola toughed it out and suited up against Victor. A big OOC game, no matter how big, is NOT a priority to miaa schools. Even if a loss effects national rankings. And I’m sure Victor probably played it the same.

I don't believe for a second that these MIAA teams aren't out there giving it their all in every OOC game. The only difference is they don't have an in-depth scout on the opponent, which certainly doesn't mean the teams didn't compete with every intention of winning. It all reeks of that person everyone knew who always acted too cool to try because they were secretly afraid of failing. Hearing a lot of excuses from St. Mary's and not a lot of humility to the fact that maybe Victor might just be a better team, having overcome all of the disadvantages of being an upstate team with a month later start to their season.

TLDR: Maybe St. Mary's is better than Victor even though they lost. Maybe Victor is better than CHC even though they got stomped. Maybe they're all really equal. At the end of the day the only thing I won't stand for is excuses, especially from a team that had more advantages than disadvantages.

Very much like the standard SEC football excuse for playing a competitive bowl game with a group of five team...

[blue angels]

Yesterday's results:

BL @ McD - Iggles win in a wild one 11-10 over the Lakeshow, in a battle of the boarding schools
Severn @ MSJ - Admirals prevail 14-10
StM @ Loyola - Saints with the hangover, Dons with the upset 11-8
Spalding @ StPaul's - Crusies win 13-10
Gilman @ JC - ????

McDonogh is kind of scary in that they are undefeated playing without the Nation's top ranked player, expected back next week. No idea whether he will be close to 100 %

[pcowlax]

Not looking to contribute to rumors if this hasn’t been publicized but curious what the actual injury to MM is and if it something that may linger the whole season.

[kramerica.inc]

Historically, MIAA teams treat OOC games much more like scrimmages. YES, they play to win with who they have. But the priority always is the long-term and league play. None of the kids for St M’s that got dinged up against Loyola toughed it out and suited up against Victor. A big OOC game, no matter how big, is NOT a priority to miaa schools. Even if a loss effects national rankings. And I’m sure Victor probably played it the same.

I don't believe for a second that these MIAA teams aren't out there giving it their all in every OOC game. The only difference is they don't have an in-depth scout on the opponent, which certainly doesn't mean the teams didn't compete with every intention of winning. It all reeks of that person everyone knew who always acted too cool to try because they were secretly afraid of failing. Hearing a lot of excuses from St. Mary's and not a lot of humility to the fact that maybe Victor might just be a better team, having overcome all of the disadvantages of being an upstate team with a month later start to their season.

TLDR: Maybe St. Mary's is better than Victor even though they lost. Maybe Victor is better than CHC even though they got stomped. Maybe they're all really equal. At the end of the day the only thing I won't stand for is excuses, especially from a team that had more advantages than disadvantages.

One could also argue that St Mary’s had the tougher, more draining 4Q game the day before. The Saints were trying to win on Tuesday. Where Victor just rolled over for Calvert Hall early and called it a day.

St Mary’s 100% were giving it their all while playing and coaching on the fly. But in conference and out of canference games are approached and coached much differently with a different mentality. I can tell you that no MIAA team is risking jeopardizing a dinged-up starter for the rest of the miaa season just so they can win an ooc game. Doesn’t matter who they are playing. Hated local rival Severna Park or Victor from NY.

[Lax_04]

Historically, MIAA teams treat OOC games much more like scrimmages. YES, they play to win with who they have. But the priority always is the long-term and league play. None of the kids for St M’s that got dinged up against Loyola toughed it out and suited up against Victor. A big OOC game, no matter how big, is NOT a priority to miaa schools. Even if a loss effects national rankings. And I’m sure Victor probably played it the same.

I don't believe for a second that these MIAA teams aren't out there giving it their all in every OOC game. The only difference is they don't have an in-depth scout on the opponent, which certainly doesn't mean the teams didn't compete with every intention of winning. It all reeks of that person everyone knew who always acted too cool to try because they were secretly afraid of failing. Hearing a lot of excuses from St. Mary's and not a lot of humility to the fact that maybe Victor might just be a better team, having overcome all of the disadvantages of being an upstate team with a month later start to their season.

TLDR: Maybe St. Mary's is better than Victor even though they lost. Maybe Victor is better than CHC even though they got stomped. Maybe they're all really equal. At the end of the day the only thing I won't stand for is excuses, especially from a team that had more advantages than disadvantages.

One could also argue that St Mary’s had the tougher, more draining 4Q game the day before. The Saints were trying to win on Tuesday. Where Victor just rolled over for Calvert Hall early and called it a day.

St Mary’s 100% were giving it their all while playing and coaching on the fly. But in conference and out of canference games are approached and coached much differently with a different mentality. I can tell you that no MIAA team is risking jeopardizing a dinged-up starter for the rest of the miaa season just so they can win an ooc game. Doesn’t matter who they are playing. Hated local rival Severna Park or Victor from NY.

Victor looked like a completely different team Tuesday -> Wednesday. Wow they were good yesterday and showed great resilience in Q4 and OT.

Couple key SM starters did not play yesterday (one of them did step in for the OT f/o). Lots of guys played for SM yesterday, including 9th and 10th graders. These are not excuses, just the facts. SM has several critical areas to clean up and hopefully will do so on their six-day break. Respect to Victor. Lots of MIAA play ahead. It's getting fun!

[kramerica.inc]

Perhaps it was misunderstood. Teams are gonna rest kids for OOC games. And probably push through and play kids in a conference game. It's not a knock on anyone else. That's just how much the conference matters.
Regardless, you might not be at full strength, but there are no excuses in the A league. Even when injured or missing top players. The expectation is that you play to win. I could give you a ton of examples from last season.
Next man up. A win over any "A" team, no matter who was playing, is a great win. Those teams are deep and good.
Props to Victor for making the trip and getting after it for 2 very challenging games.
Almost every team in the nation, including the other 9 MIAA schools, would likely be mostly happy going 1-1 against CH and StM. Especially on back-to back days.