VHSL Boys 2024 Season (Discussion and Scores)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No let down last night following their big win this weekend for the Loudoun Rams. Riverside took care of Woodgrove easily last night. Looked like their FOGO was out again (not sure if he is out the entire year?). Offensively they looked crisp, defensively they looked dominate. Looks like a different team then what played against Freedom...

The STAB game holds more merit. They dominated the game and were up 10-5 in the 4th quarter. STAB came back making a run and winning almost every single face-off and taking advantage of 3 man-ups. This face-off situation is holding them back and keeping the other teams in games. When a team hangs around and can get possession after every goal anything can happen. I could see them losing another game or 2 if they cannot possess the ball consistently.

I don't know if the FO situation is "holding them back", per se. I would think they need time to adjust to reality. They have gone several years of winning 75+ % of faceoffs and became used to that. Spoiled in a way. Now that it has been sidelined and will be gone next year, they are in a new reality, where 50-60% wins are good. They need to adjust to today and for the future, it became a full field game for them when they are accustomed to playing 6v6 on O only.
#26 is not the norm, but is a D1 commit to what has been a top 20 program recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some routs coming tonight - Yorktown, Battlefield, Langley, and McLean should all win by 10 or more. Robinson/Woodson could be a little closer but I am guessing that one will be around 10 goals also.

WestPo/Northern Calvert should be a good game, but guessing NC wins.

Freeman/Atlee down in Richmond should be a great game.

I wish that there weren't so many boring games all the time....

District play leads to a lot of blowout games. None of the districts is particularly deep.

Great non-district games this Saturday though:

Broadneck/Yorktown
Langley/Cosby
Battlefield/McLean
Lake Braddock/Westfield
Oakton/South County
Gainesville/Chantilly
Patriot/South Lakes
Madison/Woodson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No let down last night following their big win this weekend for the Loudoun Rams. Riverside took care of Woodgrove easily last night. Looked like their FOGO was out again (not sure if he is out the entire year?). Offensively they looked crisp, defensively they looked dominate. Looks like a different team then what played against Freedom...

The STAB game holds more merit. They dominated the game and were up 10-5 in the 4th quarter. STAB came back making a run and winning almost every single face-off and taking advantage of 3 man-ups. This face-off situation is holding them back and keeping the other teams in games. When a team hangs around and can get possession after every goal anything can happen. I could see them losing another game or 2 if they cannot possess the ball consistently.

I don't know if the FO situation is "holding them back", per se. I would think they need time to adjust to reality. They have gone several years of winning 75+ % of faceoffs and became used to that. Spoiled in a way. Now that it has been sidelined and will be gone next year, they are in a new reality, where 50-60% wins are good. They need to adjust to today and for the future, it became a full field game for them when they are accustomed to playing 6v6 on O only.
#26 is not the norm, but is a D1 commit to what has been a top 20 program recently.

I would give it some time. Every year the graduate insane talent, every year people say the lost too much, and every year they find players to replace those lost and continue to win games and titles....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some routs coming tonight - Yorktown, Battlefield, Langley, and McLean should all win by 10 or more. Robinson/Woodson could be a little closer but I am guessing that one will be around 10 goals also.

WestPo/Northern Calvert should be a good game, but guessing NC wins.

Freeman/Atlee down in Richmond should be a great game.

I wish that there weren't so many boring games all the time....

Everyone here wishes the same.

It's been said a few time's throughout the year here, just how bad lacrosse is getting at our area publics.

The lack of talent, IQ, and coaching is just tremendous.

Some blame kids running to private schools. I don't blame them and no one can. There is no culture, and very few coaches who last more than a few seasons, for various reasons cited on this board. Those coaches in prime areas have started their own club to funnel kids to, and coach at the HS's to create their own ecosystem. It works, but the best team in our area still leaves a lot to be desired and would, and has, gotten smoked by out of area teams. No end in site unless seismic change comes at rec or with a culture built over a long period of time. Robinson, is head and shoulders, better than every other team. Anything can happen, but they should cakewalk through states and everyone else just pounds on each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No let down last night following their big win this weekend for the Loudoun Rams. Riverside took care of Woodgrove easily last night. Looked like their FOGO was out again (not sure if he is out the entire year?). Offensively they looked crisp, defensively they looked dominate. Looks like a different team then what played against Freedom...

The STAB game holds more merit. They dominated the game and were up 10-5 in the 4th quarter. STAB came back making a run and winning almost every single face-off and taking advantage of 3 man-ups. This face-off situation is holding them back and keeping the other teams in games. When a team hangs around and can get possession after every goal anything can happen. I could see them losing another game or 2 if they cannot possess the ball consistently.

I don't know if the FO situation is "holding them back", per se. I would think they need time to adjust to reality. They have gone several years of winning 75+ % of faceoffs and became used to that. Spoiled in a way. Now that it has been sidelined and will be gone next year, they are in a new reality, where 50-60% wins are good. They need to adjust to today and for the future, it became a full field game for them when they are accustomed to playing 6v6 on O only.
#26 is not the norm, but is a D1 commit to what has been a top 20 program recently.

I would give it some time. Every year the graduate insane talent, every year people say the lost too much, and every year they find players to replace those lost and continue to win games and titles....

I was only speaking of the Fogo position. You don’t just replace a top D1 kid there. They have already proven that what is in the program today is not the same caliber Fogo. It’s not something you just pick up in 1 off-season and I hardly believe there is an 13 yo 8th grader out there that can compete with 18 yo SR’s.
All other talent aside, they need to understand and play with a drop off at that position.

FYI - the same holds true for Battlefield in goal next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some routs coming tonight - Yorktown, Battlefield, Langley, and McLean should all win by 10 or more. Robinson/Woodson could be a little closer but I am guessing that one will be around 10 goals also.

WestPo/Northern Calvert should be a good game, but guessing NC wins.

Freeman/Atlee down in Richmond should be a great game.

I wish that there weren't so many boring games all the time....

Everyone here wishes the same.

It's been said a few time's throughout the year here, just how bad lacrosse is getting at our area publics.

The lack of talent, IQ, and coaching is just tremendous.

Some blame kids running to private schools. I don't blame them and no one can. There is no culture, and very few coaches who last more than a few seasons, for various reasons cited on this board. Those coaches in prime areas have started their own club to funnel kids to, and coach at the HS's to create their own ecosystem. It works, but the best team in our area still leaves a lot to be desired and would, and has, gotten smoked by out of area teams. No end in site unless seismic change comes at rec or with a culture built over a long period of time. Robinson, is head and shoulders, better than every other team. Anything can happen, but they should cakewalk through states and everyone else just pounds on each other.

I don't feel like addressing the constant talent is down argument that has been beaten to death, but Robinson beat McLean by 1 and Yorktown by 3. The spread is not a much as you think it is. Robinson started 19-0 in 2022 and did not win States. The are still 6-8 teams that could win it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No let down last night following their big win this weekend for the Loudoun Rams. Riverside took care of Woodgrove easily last night. Looked like their FOGO was out again (not sure if he is out the entire year?). Offensively they looked crisp, defensively they looked dominate. Looks like a different team then what played against Freedom...

The STAB game holds more merit. They dominated the game and were up 10-5 in the 4th quarter. STAB came back making a run and winning almost every single face-off and taking advantage of 3 man-ups. This face-off situation is holding them back and keeping the other teams in games. When a team hangs around and can get possession after every goal anything can happen. I could see them losing another game or 2 if they cannot possess the ball consistently.

I don't know if the FO situation is "holding them back", per se. I would think they need time to adjust to reality. They have gone several years of winning 75+ % of faceoffs and became used to that. Spoiled in a way. Now that it has been sidelined and will be gone next year, they are in a new reality, where 50-60% wins are good. They need to adjust to today and for the future, it became a full field game for them when they are accustomed to playing 6v6 on O only.
#26 is not the norm, but is a D1 commit to what has been a top 20 program recently.

I would give it some time. Every year the graduate insane talent, every year people say the lost too much, and every year they find players to replace those lost and continue to win games and titles....

I was only speaking of the Fogo position. You don’t just replace a top D1 kid there. They have already proven that what is in the program today is not the same caliber Fogo. It’s not something you just pick up in 1 off-season and I hardly believe there is an 13 yo 8th grader out there that can compete with 18 yo SR’s.
All other talent aside, they need to understand and play with a drop off at that position.

FYI - the same holds true for Battlefield in goal next year.

Robinson did it. Lost their D1 FOGO to Madison in the off-season and had to play a freshman the next season. He did great as a freshman and is one of the top, if not the top, FOGOs in the area as a sophomore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chantilly 13-8 Westfield. Chantilly appeared the better team tonight. Chargers plethora of dodgers were finding space all night, and dominating faceoffs/ground balls. A lot of ugly turnovers for the Bulldogs, and 3 or 4 of their goals were by their poles. Officials were terrible both ways, seemed to miss 5+ easy offsides calls, lot of weird “look at me” calls(it’s okay to allow a legal body check sometimes). At the end of the day, Chantilly looked like a team that may deserve that 10th spot in the rankings. Big one vs oakton on Friday.

Glad to see Chantilly could pull it together despite the coaching drama. I still can't understand how Westfield beat Oakton.

Oakton parent here, I’ll tell you how. Westfield ran a 10 man ride against us and we had NO answers. They locked off Baltis and the rest of the O played JV ball. South Lakes was even worse, felt like we were cruising early and then suddenly we couldn’t seem to do ANYTHING, really threw it away(literally and figuratively). The offense is a struggle this year, only scoring 10 on Centreville is actually mildly embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chantilly 13-8 Westfield. Chantilly appeared the better team tonight. Chargers plethora of dodgers were finding space all night, and dominating faceoffs/ground balls. A lot of ugly turnovers for the Bulldogs, and 3 or 4 of their goals were by their poles. Officials were terrible both ways, seemed to miss 5+ easy offsides calls, lot of weird “look at me” calls(it’s okay to allow a legal body check sometimes). At the end of the day, Chantilly looked like a team that may deserve that 10th spot in the rankings. Big one vs oakton on Friday.

Glad to see Chantilly could pull it together despite the coaching drama. I still can't understand how Westfield beat Oakton.

Oakton parent here, I’ll tell you how. Westfield ran a 10 man ride against us and we had NO answers. They locked off Baltis and the rest of the O played JV ball. South Lakes was even worse, felt like we were cruising early and then suddenly we couldn’t seem to do ANYTHING, really threw it away(literally and figuratively). The offense is a struggle this year, only scoring 10 on Centreville is actually mildly embarrassing.

Interesting. Your are right - sad to see Centreville so down but most decent teams are putting up 14+ on them this year. Oakton game with Chantilly on Friday could be tight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some routs coming tonight - Yorktown, Battlefield, Langley, and McLean should all win by 10 or more. Robinson/Woodson could be a little closer but I am guessing that one will be around 10 goals also.

WestPo/Northern Calvert should be a good game, but guessing NC wins.

Freeman/Atlee down in Richmond should be a great game.

I wish that there weren't so many boring games all the time....

Everyone here wishes the same.

It's been said a few time's throughout the year here, just how bad lacrosse is getting at our area publics.

The lack of talent, IQ, and coaching is just tremendous.

Some blame kids running to private schools. I don't blame them and no one can. There is no culture, and very few coaches who last more than a few seasons, for various reasons cited on this board. Those coaches in prime areas have started their own club to funnel kids to, and coach at the HS's to create their own ecosystem. It works, but the best team in our area still leaves a lot to be desired and would, and has, gotten smoked by out of area teams. No end in site unless seismic change comes at rec or with a culture built over a long period of time. Robinson, is head and shoulders, better than every other team. Anything can happen, but they should cakewalk through states and everyone else just pounds on each other.

Reading your post, I thought you were saying Robinson has the best culture over a long period of time. I think that most would agree with that as no school matches their consistency with a winning culture over the past 30+ years. I disagree with your statement that they are that much better than everyone and all coaches will tell you there is never a cakewalk to the state title. At this point, they would be the betting favorite, but I don't know if I would bet them against the field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No let down last night following their big win this weekend for the Loudoun Rams. Riverside took care of Woodgrove easily last night. Looked like their FOGO was out again (not sure if he is out the entire year?). Offensively they looked crisp, defensively they looked dominate. Looks like a different team then what played against Freedom...

The STAB game holds more merit. They dominated the game and were up 10-5 in the 4th quarter. STAB came back making a run and winning almost every single face-off and taking advantage of 3 man-ups. This face-off situation is holding them back and keeping the other teams in games. When a team hangs around and can get possession after every goal anything can happen. I could see them losing another game or 2 if they cannot possess the ball consistently.

I don't know if the FO situation is "holding them back", per se. I would think they need time to adjust to reality. They have gone several years of winning 75+ % of faceoffs and became used to that. Spoiled in a way. Now that it has been sidelined and will be gone next year, they are in a new reality, where 50-60% wins are good. They need to adjust to today and for the future, it became a full field game for them when they are accustomed to playing 6v6 on O only.
#26 is not the norm, but is a D1 commit to what has been a top 20 program recently.

I would give it some time. Every year the graduate insane talent, every year people say the lost too much, and every year they find players to replace those lost and continue to win games and titles....

I was only speaking of the Fogo position. You don’t just replace a top D1 kid there. They have already proven that what is in the program today is not the same caliber Fogo. It’s not something you just pick up in 1 off-season and I hardly believe there is an 13 yo 8th grader out there that can compete with 18 yo SR’s.
All other talent aside, they need to understand and play with a drop off at that position.

FYI - the same holds true for Battlefield in goal next year.

Robinson did it. Lost their D1 FOGO to Madison in the off-season and had to play a freshman the next season. He did great as a freshman and is one of the top, if not the top, FOGOs in the area as a sophomore.

I don't know about last year. He was injured pretty early in the season. But he's having a good season this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chantilly 13-8 Westfield. Chantilly appeared the better team tonight. Chargers plethora of dodgers were finding space all night, and dominating faceoffs/ground balls. A lot of ugly turnovers for the Bulldogs, and 3 or 4 of their goals were by their poles. Officials were terrible both ways, seemed to miss 5+ easy offsides calls, lot of weird “look at me” calls(it’s okay to allow a legal body check sometimes). At the end of the day, Chantilly looked like a team that may deserve that 10th spot in the rankings. Big one vs oakton on Friday.

Glad to see Chantilly could pull it together despite the coaching drama. I still can't understand how Westfield beat Oakton.

Oakton parent here, I’ll tell you how. Westfield ran a 10 man ride against us and we had NO answers. They locked off Baltis and the rest of the O played JV ball. South Lakes was even worse, felt like we were cruising early and then suddenly we couldn’t seem to do ANYTHING, really threw it away(literally and figuratively). The offense is a struggle this year, only scoring 10 on Centreville is actually mildly embarrassing.

Interesting. Your are right - sad to see Centreville so down but most decent teams are putting up 14+ on them this year. Oakton game with Chantilly on Friday could be tight.

Oakton parents may want to send the maids to set up the beach houses early this year. Chargers by 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just noticed this but shoutout to Justice for a great turnaround. 2-11 last year and now they are 6-1 this year and could be 9-1 heading into the last game of the season against undefeated Hayfield.

Playing the second weakest schedule in NoVa 6A doesn't hurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just noticed this but shoutout to Justice for a great turnaround. 2-11 last year and now they are 6-1 this year and could be 9-1 heading into the last game of the season against undefeated Hayfield.

Playing the second weakest schedule in NoVa 6A doesn't hurt.

Not saying they are a contender but it is a pretty remarkable improvement. They played basically the same soft schedule last year. In 2023 they lost to Marshall 9-2 and this year beat Marshall 10-2, lost to Mount Vernon 16-8 and this year beat Mount Vernon 14-2, lost to Edison 11-4 and this year beat Edison 11-3. Something changed over there. Just trying to shine the light on some non-power teams trying to get better.

[Anonymous]

I’ll be at the McLean - Herndon game tonight. I’m willing to bet that McLean pulls its starters by the half. If just isn’t fun for either team. The difference in skill in the Patriot League between the top 3 teams and the rest of the league is really significant. It doesn’t feel like the gap is as big for any other sport…