(Photo Courtesy of Christ School (N.C.)

From the the rolling Bluegrass hills of Kentucky to the sandy beaches of Florida, the high school lacrosse season is underway in full force after last week where we saw more states join in the fun and get their 2022 seasons underway.

With another week in the books, it’s time to look back and breakdown some of the highlights from the week that was.

So, let’s get after it!

The Saint’s Continue to March in Florida

Two schools that have remained at the forefront throughout the season thus far are St. Andrew’s (Fla.) and St. Edwards’s (Fla.).

For the Scots, this is nothing new. They rolled through the season last year and ended as the undefeated 1A champions. With most of that talent returning, it was not even a question whether they would be the favorite in their classification and the likely best team in the state of Florida this year.

And through their first eight games, the Scots have shown to be just that: the best team in the Sunshine State. Currently boasting an 8-0 record, St. Andrew’s is coming off a week where they beat Jupiter 7-5 in what was one of the best games of the week and then took down Random Everglades , 17-1, and St. John Paul II, 11-4.

Junior attackman Jack Schulte (Air Force) continues to be a force on offense with 46 points (29G/17A) thus far while on the back end it is the duo of senior LSM Sean Jordan (Harvard) and goalie Gunnar Schwarz (Navy) that help lead this Scots defense that has held their opponents to an average of 3.9 goals through eight games.

The Scots’ schedule gets even tough this week with Pine Crest on Tuesday, Oxbridge on Thursday, and Jesuit Dallas (Texas) coming town on Saturday.

Speaking of the aforementioned Panthers of Pine Crest, St. Edward’s got a big win over them last Friday, 12-10, that moved them to 7-0 on the year. Games against Episcopal Dallas (Texas) and IMG Academy will test them even more. The Pirates and Scots will face each other in April.

Can The Lions Be Reigned in?

In the Peach State, one of the best stories so far this season been that of the Lovett Lions.

After a 7-10 losing record a year ago, the Lions have stormed out to a 6-0 start in 2022 that includes a big win over Roswell. This past week, Lovett took on a pair of Florida schools in Lake Highland Prep and Montverde, beating them 15-8 and 12-11.

They will be tested more over the next month of so with games against Blessed Trinity, Lassiter, and Lambert on the docket.

Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee Get Play Underway

Last week was the first week of the season in both Kentucky and North Carolina. Tennessee also got things going last week as well.

Here is a brief overview of what went down in the Bluegrass, Tar Heel, and Volunteer State last week.

Kentucky powerhouses Trinity and St. Xavier faced some tough out-of-state competition to open the season and both went 0-2 on the weekend. Trinity fell to Montgomery Bell (Tenn.) 12-10 on the road on Saturday before falling to Western Reserve Academy (Ohio) 12-3 at home on Sunday. St. Xavier fell to WRA 7-5 on Saturday and then to Culver (Ind.) 20-6 on Sunday.

Christ School (N.C.), the 2021 NCISAA runner-up, got off to a hot start as they beat Christ Church (S.C.) 16-9. They then put together a comeback victory against Weddington, 12-11, on Friday and took down Durham Academy 14-4 on Saturday. Senior Emmett Paradine (Dartmouth) has been the leader of this offense as expected. He had four goals and three assists (seven points) in the Greenies’ opener.

Holly Springs (N.C.) pulled off two bigs wins over Cardinal Gibbons and Middle Creek before falling to MIAA power Calvert Hall (Md.). Senior Landon Parker has been strong in the Hawks’ start, scoring 11 goals and dishing out eight assists in three games.

Tennessee power McCallie has started strong with a 3-0 record that includes a win over Briarcrest Christian early in the week and a victory against Memphis University, 10-8, on Sunday in what was the marquee matchup of the week in the Volunteer State. Sophomore Zach Chari has been as expected for the Blue Tornado, scoring nine goals and dishing out four assists in those first three games. McCallie will face Montgomery Bell in another exciting in-state battle on Friday.