Under the Friday Night Lights- Video Interview

Great Friday action around the state.  Strong performances from the Division I dark horses and the top titans continue to cruise past much of their competition.  More write-ups to come.  Skyline v. Northshore, King's Way v. Overlake and Bellevue v. Eastlake write-ups are up.  Included are some pictures and video interview. Photo of Jake Fritz, by Sound Lacrosse.

All-American Performances As Skyline Escapes Northshore 16-15

By Brett Bowker

BOTHELL- The Skyline Spartans, a dark horse team this season, traveled to face Northshore-Bothell.  It was a diesel engine of the game, starting slow and then got firing in the second half.  It was complete with an All-American performance by Northshore's Foster Wisman with a sock trick plus one.  There was also a glimmer of a possible future All-American in Skyline's Jack Pruitt, whose play style is akin to Syracuse's Kevin Drew.  Action began with Pruitt taking the face-off.  This kid was everywhere, from face-offs to ground balls to assists to scoring he could do it all.  His gazelle-like speed made him difficult to match-up with.  Skyline ran a 1:4 with him as the ballcarrier.  It worked well as Pruitt found sophomore attackman Ryan Benz on the doorstep several times in the first half.  Pouring rain dampered the stick pockets, as both teams turned the ball over on errant passes and hot potato ground ball play.  Skyline's defensive strategy for Wisman was shutting him off when he took to the midfield.  To maximize his field presence, he shifted to attack for the rest of the game.  Wisman was held pointless in the first half, but senior midfielder Alex Bus played well, netted two and kept Northshore in the game. Defenseman Phoenix Abernathy played well as the Skyline defense held the Northshore shooters in check.  Both teams ground their way through the first half and ended with an 8-4, Skyline lead at halftime.  

Northshore, commanded by Foster Wisman showed their poise and came out with new focus during the third quarter.  Much of the comeback was surely orchestrated by hard-nosed lacrosse play and the coaching of Steve Wisman.  Their second half adjustments served them well.  They began to chip away at the Spartan lead and the offenses of both teams began firing.  Northshore attackman Josh Jurgenson scored the equalizer at 10, late in the third quarter- it would be one of many.  As the fourth quarter got underway, play became like a dogfight.  Wisman was lights out in the fourth quarter taking the game into his hands, rattling goals off like a Pez dispenser and led his team in a comeback.  Pruitt's speed and knack for finding Benz on the crease gave him four goals by the final quarter.  Northshore kept battling and finally took the lead for the first time.  It was short lived as the Spartans kept fighting.  Goals were exchanged back-and-forth, as Skyline took a 16-15 lead and with seconds winding down, Wisman got the ball on a beakaway, but it was checked away and the Spartans won out.  Great game all around.  Northshore proves in Wisman we trust.  Skyline will take away a hard fought win.   

Players of the Game:

Jack Pruitt (Skyline)- 3G, 5A, 8 GB

Ryan Benz (Skyline)- 4G

Alex Bus- 4G, 2A

Foster Wisman- 7G

Jack Pruitt Post-Game Thoughts

Wolverines Whoop Wolfpack 11-3

By McNutty

Sophomore attackman Cole Johnson led the way with four goals, an assist, and four ground balls as Bellevue dominated Eastlake on the way to an 11-3 victory. A cold, miserable night at Bellevue Stadium turned even more unbearable for an Eastlake offense that never quite penetrated the crafty Wolverine defense.  The game started quickly, as Dakota Jones (2G) took the opening faceoff straight to the net for a goal, 10 seconds into the game. Jones was a beast all night at midfield, turning back the Wolfpack defenders, disrupting their ball control.  He went on to a game-high seven ground balls. The attack continued throughout the first half as Bellevue blue-collared its way to a 7-0 halftime lead.

Scoreless for most of the night, the Wolves offense struggled to find any sort of rhythm against Bellevue's midfielders. Led by captains Tanner Clinch and Cooper Rosenthal, the Wolves worked hard to develop shots inside. Of the 13 shots on goal, all but two were from inside 12 yards.  Junior Wolverine netminder Austin Boyd had a spectacular night, saving 10 of those close shots, and keeping Eastlake scoreless until late in the game.

Tyler Gillies paced Eastlake with six ground balls, while Brian Quick and Rosenthal added five each. But the extra possessions couldn't be turned into goals as Bellevue displayed what could be the league's best defense. With the game out of hand, sophomore Josiah Fonte, Clinch and Rosenthal added late goals to avoid the shutout, but the game was never in question.  Things don't get easier for Eastlake as they face the 2-0 Issaquah Eagles on Monday. Meanwhile Bellevue hosts the 0-1 Puyallup squad on Tuesday.

Players of the Game:

Bellevue

Cole Johnson - 4G, 1A

Hank Bethke - 3G, 1A

Dakota Jones - 2G, 7GB

Austin Boyd, 13 shots on goal, 10 saves

Eastlake

Brian Quick, 1A, 5GB

Tyler Gillies, 6GB

Cooper Rosenthal, 1G, 5GB and best hair on the field

Lake Tapps Gets First Win Over Puyallup 15-13

By The Walkman

Sophomore Joshua Davenport’s five goals and senior Andy Russell’s three goals led Lake Tapps Titans to a 15 to come-from-behind win over the Puyallup Panthers at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.  Lake Tapps scored the last seven goals to seal the win. This marks the first victory for Louis Lucchesi and his Titans, since moving to Division I last season.

After a fairly even but high-scoring first half in which Puyallup held a slim 9 to 7 lead, Puyallup roared out again in the third quarter to take a five goal lead 13 to 8 with 4:45 min. remaining. However Lake Tapps, with their constant motion, had begun to wear down the Panthers. Two quick goals by Davenport and Brandon Starks finished off the third quarter and Puyallup held to 13-12 lead.

Keenan Fagan opened the fourth quarter scoring an EMO goal with a great pass from Michael Lucchesi. Puyallup could not find any kind of offensive rhythm while the Titans continued to move with fresh legs. After another Puyallup penalty, Joshua Davenport found net at the 9:02 mark with a nifty roll of the cage. Drew Sears put the final nail in the coffin with a 12 yard shot past the Puyallup keeper.

The great play of Lake Tapps overshadowed a stellar evening from Puyallup midfielder Robert Abbott who had five goals, three assists, and 15 ground balls.

LT Davenport 5g 1gb, Russell 3g 3gb, Powers 6gb, Kelley 13saves

PUY Abbott 5g 3a 15gb, Morris 1g 5gb, Kohler 17 saves

King's Way Downs Overlake 11-7

By The General

VANCOUVER- Another dark horse in the King's Way Knights, welcomed the Overlake Owls to Vancouver for their second game of the season. The Knights jumped out to an early start thanks to Clayton Frank who scored the first goal off of the opening face-off. King's Way started the first quarter with a 3-0 lead before Garrett Jenness from Overlake Scored on a Man-Up to make it 3-1. The Knights were in firm control as they extended their lead to 7-,1 before the Owls went on a run scoring three unanswered goals, due to their beautiful transition game.  The Owls continued to fight hard, but would fall to King's Way 11-7.  Tyler Preston from King's Way was perfect on face-offs for the evening and collected 13 ground balls to help the Knight secure the win. 

Leading scorers for King's Way were, Jack Beall, (3 goals, 5 Assist), Clayton Frank,(5 goals, 1 Assist), 

Leading scorers for Overlake, Barrett Jenness, (3 goals, 1 assist), Frost Cunningham, (3 goals)

Issaquah Routs Lake Washington 17-3

Jake Fritz with 4G, 2A

Ben Director with 3G, 1A

Mercer Island Blows out Mukilteo 19-0

Colton Knebel with 4G, 1A

Doug Mahony with 3G, 2A