A slow start to the WHSBLA season as no league games were played on opening weekend. League play gets underway on Tuesday. Several programs did get the competition rolling this weekend though with some non-league contests and member hosted jamborees.

The Division I Stroll…

· The 2011 WHSBLA actually officially began in Idaho as Eastlake was the first team to take the field down in Boise and the Wolves came away with an 8-7 win.

· Issaquah also opened with a team from Idaho but game was played here and Issaquah rolled 20-2.

· Intriguing match-up over on Bainbridge Island as former Bainbridge coach, Dejon Hush brought his new squad, the Lake Washington Kangaroos over for a good early season contest. Bainbridge came away victorious but no doubt a great experience for LW to acclimate themselves to the Division I level and for Coach Hush to say hi to some old friends. Ironically, the same evening, Air Force hosted Fairlfield in the collegiate ranks, pitting Bainbridge alumns, the Gilbreath brother (Air Force) against fellow Bainbridge alumn, Sam Snow (Fairfield).

· Skyline also started their season out of the state and got walloped by a dozen. The Spartans fell to Centennial in Nevada, the 19^th ranked team in Westisde Lax’s Top 25 poll, by a score of 22-10.

· Bellevue, Bainbridge and Mercer Island are the teams from Washington that are currently ranked in the STX-WSL Top 25

• Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
• 3/16 Puyallup @ Seattle Prep – Panther pride is on the line. Prep missed the playoffs last year and Puyallup looking to prove they haven’t fallen far off from last year’s success.
• 3/18 Skyline @ Northshore – Northshore surprised Skyline last year and stole one early in the season. The boys from Bothell and Inglemoor are down a Wisman brother this year and Spartans are looking for revenge and a top four finish in the Northeast Conference.

The D2 Stroll…

· North County, Nathan Hale and Eastside Catholic all hosted jamborees this weekend allowing several Division II teams a chance to get their first runs in against an opponent.

· Skagit Valley, Whatcom, Roosevelt, Mt. Si and Wenatchee all participated in the Cavalier Invitational hosted by North County. Overlake and Lake Tapps also joined the party along with a few JV teams and two squad from Montana.

· Providence and Blanchet joined the Division I boys in the Kateri Lax Jamboree hosted by Eastside Catholic (also included Seattle Prep, Tacoma (Bellarmine Prep students) and King’s Way).

· Ballard, Highline, Garfield, Woodinville and Lakeside (Division I) gathered at Nathan Hale for their own jamboree.

• Best match-ups of the upcoming week:
• 3/15 Woodinville @ Providence – A much improved Falcon squad with mindset on the playoffs against a very talented but thin Providence squad that made playoffs a year ago... great one to start the year in the Cascade Conference.
• 3/16 Blanchet @ Roosevelt – Who will stake claim as top dog in the Metro right away?
• 3/19 Stanwood @ San Juan – The first match-up between these two last year needed overtime. Is San Juan as depleted as some say?

Lacrosse The Country…

Some continued coverage of WHSBLA alumns in the NCAA ranks

· Last year at this time Drew Snider scored twice in a Maryland’s win over Towson. This year the Terps again beat the Tigers by a four goal margin. This time Snider had one while fellow WHSBLA alumn Landon Carr had an assist.

• Carr’s former high school teammate, Taylor Dean scored his first collegiate goal for Whittier in a tough overtime loss to Drew University.
• Former Team Washington member, Alex Tindall (Lynnwood) continues to roll for St. Andrew’s. Tindall recorded a hat-trick and the third one was oh so sweet, an overtime winner versus Wheeling Jesuit. Nick Hund (Snohomish) also scored twice for the Kinghts in that win. Next up, Saint Andrew’s beat Domincan (CA) in which Tindall scored twice more and added an assist. Daniel Shields (Mercer Island) notched the same stats. Brock Beall (King’s Way) scored twice for the Penguins in the loss.

Lacrosse Four Thought…

Who looked good at this past weekend’s jamborees?

Where should WHSBLA teams be ranked in the STX-WSL Top 25?

Which game are you voting for in this week’s Seattle Times People’s Choice Game of the Week?

What team will pull off this season’s first big upset?

Parting Shots…

· “I was surprised that Cody Olson (Gig Harbor) and Hayden Thomas (Providence) were not on your all-star list since they are the top two returning scorers from last year.*  They are both dangerous at attack. Luke Morris is a junior (but he plays like a senior).  Sophomore Chad Hummel is another really strong defender for Providence.” – Nathan Morris

*Last season’s Division II statistics show Drew Wade (Three Rivers) and Nick Johnason (Klahowya) as the top two returning scorers at the attack position

· “The two Bellevue seniors** are Tommy Spengler (A) and Peter Brandes (M).    Don’t know why they weren’t mentioned by name but both are very good.” – Scott Penner

**This quote is in response to a statement in our Division I Preview that read: “The Wolverines are still a top 5 team and a lock for the playoffs but it remains to be seen if a squad with only two seniors with varsity experience can make a return trip to the finals.”

We’ll give a shot to the best emails of the week and include your comments/quotes/etc in next week’s Sunday Stroll.

Time to hear from you! Feed us your thoughts, edits, questions… bring it! EMAIL: TheSundayStroll@gmail.com