SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Boys Lacrosse

Barons win rivalry game, deny Titans perfect 10-0 Metro season

By Phillip Brents
Posted May 12, 2005

Pride goes a long way. The Bonita Vista High School boys lacrosse team amply demonstrated that much with Monday’s 7-4 victory against just-crowned Metro Conference champion Eastlake.

The youth-laden Barons were well out of this year’s banner chase after winning three consecutive titles to become the area’s first lacrosse dynasty. The win against the Titans, who were enjoying a record-breaking season, did a lot to soothe bruised egos and fuel renewed hopes for next season.

“Eastlake is a rival high school. For a rivalry game, you have to step it up as a player. This is why you play high school lacrosse — for the rivalry games,” Bonita Vista coach Ed Jeziorski said.

Monday’s game was a mirror image of last season when Eastlake toppled Bonita Vista in the final game of the regular season after the Barons had already clinched the conference championship and an automatic berth in the San Diego Section playoffs.

The Barons also learned they have another rival this season in Hilltop after the Lancers defeated Bonita Vista twice this season. Hilltop won 5-3 on the Barons’ turf on April 14 and edged Bonita Vista, 7-6, at home on May 2.

It marked the first time that the Lancers had defeated the Barons twice in one season since the inception of official CIF play four years ago. Hilltop also finished with its best-ever record in school history this season at 12-4 (8-2 in conference play). Both conference losses came against Eastlake.

Bonita Vista, however, still remains the only team to win a Metro Conference championship with an undefeated season, going 8-0 in 2003. The Barons finished 7-1 last season with the lone loss to Eastlake.

“We had reached a real low point this season. This is what we needed. To beat the league champion — several of our guys said it made their best moment this season,” Jeziorski said.

Monday’s game started out as if Eastlake might conclude a 10-0 season when Jovanny Lopez gave the visiting Titans a quick 1-0 lead. But it did not take the Barons long to establish their game as standout James Arakaki reeled off three consecutive goals for a 3-1 Bonita Vista lead after the opening quarter.

One call went up from the Barons’ sideline early in the game: “No regrets — it’s the end of the season.”

In other words, the rivalry game was on.

The game was as exciting as it was dramatic in terms of a flurry of momentum changes.

Eastlake pulled to within one goal at 3-2 and looked as if it might tie the game at any moment but just when it looked like momentum had arrived in full force, it made an abrupt turnabout. The Barons scored on a man-up situation to extend their lead to 4-2 on a goal by Yo Wakita.

However, just as quickly the momentum swung back in the Titans’ direction when James Hiney scored within the next minute to bring the score to 4-3.

Funny, this thing called momentum. Neither team seemed to keep hold of it for long. Bonita Vista went back in front by two goals, 5-3, to end the first half of when Jeff Burnham tallied with just 45 seconds to play in the second quarter.
The third quarter featured much up-and-down play and several body checks that dislodged the ball, contributing to the back-and-forth run of play, that would make many hockey players proud. Actually, the Barons had hockey players on their roster.

Lopez scored his second goal of the game two minutes into the fourth quarter to once again place the teams within a goal on the sccoreboard at 5-4, with Bonita Vista still in the lead. The one-goal margin only seemed to ignite the teams’ natural rivalry as each possession and each shot suddenly took on heightened importance.
The Titans had a man-up opportunity to tie the game but several shots just missed. Baron goalkeeper Ulises Contreras also played a strong game with several clutch saves.

Bonita Vista settled the outcome with two late goals. Jake Cruz scored with 4:32 to play to increase the hosts’ lead to 6-4. Chris Hasley made it 7-4 with 3:01 left on the game clock.

Eastlake coach Doug Murphy cited illness on his team and noted his team felt the loss of leading scorer Seth Breeden (out for the season because of academic ineligibility) but refused to make excuses for the loss that dashed the Titans’ hope of a 10-0 season.

“Emotional momentum figured so much in the game,” Murphy said.

Still, when reflecting on the season as a whole, he drew a deep breath and came away with a big smile. Translation: he was still proud of his squad. “If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we would go 11-7, I would not have believed you,” the Eastlake coach said.

In one sense this season, with the dethroning of the Barons, the Metro Conference as a whole has started to stand up on two legs after crawling along during its initial infancy phase. The next step will be for South County teams to improve their records in out-of-conference play.

“As a league, we have got to get better,” Jeziorski said. “But it’s going to get better with quality coaches like (Eastlake’s) Doug Murphy.”

Jeziorski, like Murphy, is from upstate New York. There lacrosse is a popular summer sport and is included in the physical education curriculum at the elementary school level. Jeziorski said he began playing the game in the third grade. Jeziorski said the key to the sport’s continued growth would be to create more exposure in physical education classes, not just in high school, but at younger grade levels.

Meanwhile, Eastlake will play its first playoff game Friday against top-seeded La Coista Canyon, which completed a 20-0 regular season schedule. Visit the Web site www.cifsds.org for updates.