BC versus Harvey (Otherwise Known as Sticks and Gnats)

"So, is this one of your hotter days?"

That was  a third-quarter question asked near the goal as one of Harvey School's players conversed with a BC Cadet. We parents couldn't help chuckling. On its spring break, Harvey School of Ketonah New York sent its boys' lacrosse teams below the Mason-Dixon line for a little southern hospitality and some lacrosse practice. They met up with the BC Cadets on the first day of spring.

After a rainy St. Patrick's Day and a couple of chilly follow-up days, we Savannahians relished the blue skies, 76 degree temperatures, and the chance to get outdoors again. Of course, the boys on the field, having run about 16 miles in as many minutes, were a little warmer than we. But still: "Is this one of your hotter days?"

I've been in New York when it's hotter.

I happened to get a shot of the conversation.

I just wish I'd been able to hear our cadet's reply to that question.

Clearly, Harvey School's lacrosse team has much more experience and skill, as evidence by the final score. I stopped counting at 12-2. I was pleased the game wasn't a shutout. Yesterday's game was a learning experience for our boys. But the Harvey team learned about something too:  gnats. As we on the sidelines swatted, slapped, and counted the tiny pink bites on our skin, the Harvey boys in blue had to push through their plays with the irritation of those invisible nuisances. And the gnats were out in full force yesterday. They're not used to hiding out for such a long winter.

The Harvey boys also weren't expecting our sand covered field, which has become much more grainy after so much wear and tear this spring. When a BC cadet dropped his mouth guard in the sand, he and to suck it up and put it back in his mouth. A Harvey boy had the same misfortune a few minutes later. He tried to get away with playing without it. The official caught him, though, and put the boy in the penalty box. 

I wonder how long that young man brushed his teeth last night. 

Here's Lawson going after Harvey's #11.

Two BC players scored for the Cadets yesterday, and they deserve recognition here: 

• Jack the Ripper (11) scored the team's first point among loud cheers from the parents, who were afraid for a moment the team would go home with a big goose egg. Jack saved us from that. 
• And then there was John Sharpley (29), who scored in the second half of the game. John's shown some real aggressiveness on the field, so it was just a matter of time before he slammed that ball in the net. Way to go, Sharp-eye Sharpley! (By the way, our roster shows that John is #31 on the team, but he's really 29. Please make note of that on your copy).
• Our goalies are showing much improvement this week, so I need to put in a shout out to Athen Abercrombie, who stands at that goal waiting for a solid rubber ball to come sailing right at him. Although the Harvey team get a number of scores past him, Athen also stopped just as many. He's making great strides there. Go, Athen!
• One more shout out goes to Robbie and Alison White, who always make sure all the parents have a roster of both the JV and varsity teams, complete with parents' names. Not only did they extend that effort this year, but when new players joined the team, they went back to their list, corrected it, laminated each one, and handed them out a second time. When Robbie handed one to me, he said, "This one has mistakes on it too, but we'll just have to deal with it. I'm not going to make these again." No worries, Robbie and Alison. We appreciate the effort. You're rock stars.

Other highlights of the game:

• All JV players showed much more aggressiveness on the field yesterday. Lacrosse is such a high impact game. In fact, when people first watch the sport, they're a little surprised that the players can hit each other with their sticks. But once you get use to it, it's surprisingly a little fun to yell, "Whack him, Lawson! Poke him!" Lawson did a lot of that yesterday.
• And while I know I should take the officials' calls more seriously, I do get a little amused at how Coach Daly will get in their faces when he disagrees with their decisions. Coach is also a lacrosse referee, so he knows when the calls are good and bad, and I appreciate his going to bat for his team (pardon the mixed metaphor). But when the game official threw a flag on Coach, I had to chuckle just a little bit.

This is just after one such incident.

So now the BC Cadets pack up and head to Atlanta, where they will play St. Pius and Collins Hill. I'm sure the JV boys are looking forward to their first road trip. I hope they win like they pounded on Bluffton High School last week. The Remlers won't be able to attend the games, so if any parents have photos they want to share, please send them our way! 

Go Cadets!