The High School Drop Week 2

Stay right here for the High School Drop- write-ups, pictures and video throughout this week for the walax.com game coverage.  We are going to centralize this a little bit more, so you can follow everything you want to see as it happens.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Recent Updates- 3/22/11 Issaquah v. Eastlake, 3/23/11- Skyline v. Overlake (VIDEO), Bellevue v. Puyallup, Mukilteo v. Lakeside (PHOTOS), Garfield v. Ballard, Mukilteo v. Overlake (VIDEO), Snohomish v. Whatcom

Powers, Fritz Lead Eagles Over WolfPack

By The PJ's

The Issaquah Eagles traveled to Marymoor Park to face the Eastlake Wolfpack.  It was another hard blow to the Wolves, after already playing Mercer Island and Bellevue. With a steady north wind blowing across the field, Issaquah started slow and then woke up.  Three straight possessions turned into goals by Jake Fritz, Kevin Powers and Ben Director forced Eastlake to call an early timeout. Following the timeout, a long possession by Issaquah only netted a lot of shots, but no goals.  Finally the dike broke and Issaquah increased their lead by three more from Fritz and Powers.  Eastlake fought hard through the quarter and pushed the ball on offense, only to find the defense tighten and no openings to be found.  The quarter ended with a three point fastbreak transition finsihed by long-stick-midfieler Kole Lindor. At the end of the quarter Issaquah–7, Eastlake–0. 

The second quarter could not have started worse for the Wolfpack- a three minute illegal Stick.  The setback proved costly, as Issaquah playing an EMO for three minutes, increased their lead by four with goals from Powers, Duncan Hamilton and Matt O’Neill.  Down 10–0  Eastlake fought hard and never gave up.  A few long possessions by the Wolfpack netted no goals as Issaquah’s defense, led by Hunter Van Horn and Kole Lindor were relentless.  Settled offensive ball movemen from Issaquah sealed the game early, giving the Eagles and 14-0 halftime lead. The second half ushered in a running clock and with the game well in hand.  Both teams gave some well extended playing time to the younger players.  Eastlake never gave up and were rewarded with a goal to close out the fourth on an nice pass from behind the net by Dylan Jessum to Brain Quick for a doorstep goal.  Final Score:  Issaquah 19, Eastlake 1.

Players of the Game:

Kevin Powers (Issaquah)– 5G, 1A

Jake Fritz (Issaquah)– 3G, 2A

Matt O’Neill(Issaquah)– 4G

Avery Harkins (Eastlake) - 8 saves 

Spartans March On Owls 14-6

By Brett Bowker

REDMOND- The Skyline Spartans came out wiht another win over the Overlake Owls 14-6.  From the first face-off Skyline dominated play.  Strong defensive work led by long pole Phoenix Abernathy forced turnovers from the flustered Owl offense. Abernathy's early one-on-one was superb, hard nosed and aggressive.  Although it would backfire on him later in the game. The Spartans marched to a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Overlake's offense continued struggling on offense, turning the ball over to the Spartans.  Jack Pruitt's speed down the field in transition is deadly.  It just seemed Skyline's players were just a bit bigger, faster and stronger than the majority of the Owls squad.  Out of their 18 man roster, eight are freshmen and sophomores.  However, sophomore midfielder Eric Risa proved to be a great offensive leader and pushed the Spartan defense when he had the ball.  The Owls got on the board after a restart mismatch, sophomore attackman Barrett Jenness blew past Abernathy and scored.  The halftime score was 7-1.

Overlake came out with new energy and focus as Risa scored immediately off the opening face-off catching the Spartan phalanx defense off guard.  Jenness continued fighting hard bulldodging his way to the goal.  Some over Skyline attackman Ryan Benz proves to be a sneaky finisher with Canadian-like stick skills, emerging as the go-to guy for goals.  Overlake could not muster enough momentum to turn the tide.  Pruitt's speed in the midfield was too much for the Owl midfielders to compete with.  Max Saffle's shifty behind the cage ability offset the pressure on Pruitt, as he racked up a hat trick for himself.  As the fourth quarter began to wind down, Overlake's ride became more aggressive as they tried to recover possessions.  In the frenzied transition, Spartan defender Spencer Noonan scored with eight seconds left to finish out the game.  Skyline won 14-6.

Photo by Charles Mauzy of Andrew Hankey scoring over goalie.

Players of the Game:

Max Saffle (Skyline)- 3G, 2A

Barrett Jenness (Overlake)- 4G

Skyline Coach Kurtenbach post-game thoughts

From US Lacrosse Press Release

Garfield drops Ballard 17 – 6 in boys lacrosse

SEATTLE – Justin Guity scored 4 goals and Cedric Rhodes netted 3 to lead Garfield to a 17 – 6 boys Division II high school lacrosse win over Ballard, Tuesday at Lower Woodland Playfield in Seattle.  Garfield struck early, jumping to a 6 – 2 lead in the first quarter before scoring 4 unanswered goals in the second for the 10 – 2 halftime lead.  In the second half the Bulldogs added 2 in the third and 5 in the final stanza to cruise to the win.  Danny Strick had 14 saves in goal for Garfield first win.  Jacob Marks and Scott Brownlee each had 2 goals for Ballard, which evened its record to 1-1-0.  The Bulldogs next travel to the Tri-Cities on Friday, March 25 for a 7 p.m. contest with Three Rivers at Badger Mountain Park.  Ballard next faces Highline, Wednesday, March 23 for an 8 p.m. start at Moshier Park.

SCORING HIGHLIGHTS:  Garfield 17, Ballard 6 (Justin Guity, G, 4 goals; Cedric Rhodes, G, 3 goals, 4 assists, 4 ground balls; Andy Boelter, G, 2 goals, 7 ground balls; Jackson Lannin, G, 2 goals, 1 assist, 7 ground balls; Danny Strick, G, 14 saves; Jacob Marks, B, 2 goals, 1 assist; Scott Brownlee, B, 2 goals; John Degarmo, B, 4 ground balls; Nick Onstad-Hawes, B, 11 saves)

Scoreboard

Bellevue Blows Out Puyallup 19-1

Mukilteo Gets First Win Over Lakeside 10-7 Great Pics from Sound Lacrosse and D+S Photography!                

Overlake Owls Sink Talons Into Mukilteo Early, Winning 12-4

By Brett Bowker

REDMOND- Right out of the gates Overlake jumped all over Mukilteo and won their first game of the season.  Strong midfield play from Eric Risa and scoring from Frost Cunningham and Barrett Jenness, propelled the Owls to take a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter.  Overlake’s execution of their improvised open offense set provided the vehicle for the blitzkrieg. In the first quarter, Mukiteo’s poor defensive communication allowed the Owl scorers to penetrate easily into their defensive zone.  Alex Okemah got Mukilteo on the board after a face-off restart.  They netted another before the end of the quarter sitting 7-2.  The second quarter saw a drop in scoring, as both teams went on a drought.  Mukilteo struggled to muster any quality offensive production as turnovers tallied up.  More frustrations for Mukilteo as they began to draw yellow laundry on penalties.  At halftime the score was 8-2.  Two penalties at the end of the first half put Mukilteo man down to start the third quarter.  The sky darkened with rain clouds, while both teams went on another scoring drought with back-and-forth action.  Mukilteo's Alex Okemah was a full field threat, playing offense, defensive man-down and taking face-offs.  His teammate Tyri Bethea scored in transition to bring the score to 9-4.  It would be their last goal.  Penalty problems continued for Mukilteo, mounting from their team frustrations.  It allowed Overlake freshman Colton Umberger to score on the EMO.  Final score 12-4.  The Overlake Owls proved that their young team can play competitively, seeing the win as a monumental for their season. 

Players of the Game

Frost Cunningham- 4G

Barrett Jenness- 3G, 3A

Eric Risa- 1G, 3A, 16 LB

Overlake Head Coach Henry Valentine post-game thoughts