(Photo: Roswell Lacrosse/Instagram)

Across the South, the high school lacrosse regular season is winding down and playoffs are either fastly approaching or already here.

The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) 1-4A, 5-6A, and 7A Tournaments will get underway from Monday, April 24 to Wednesday April 26. State champions will be crowned on May 12 and 13.

7A State Tournament

2023 is the first year in which high school lacrosse in Georgia has a separate 7A tournament. And in the largest classification there are four teams that sit above the rest: West Forsyth (17-1), Lambert (15-3), Buford (15-3), and North Paulding (16-2).

Lambert is coming off a 6-7A state title and has a record that features losses to only Blessed Trinity, Roswell, and West Forsyth. In the latter loss, came by a score of 12-10 in late March to a Wolverines squad that features a balanced offense with headlined by James Davidson (VMI commit), Grey Brockman (Mercer commit), and Will Zylstra (Mercer commit) at the head of it. The Wolverines lone loss is against Buford. The Longhorns, on the other hand, have been led in part by sophomore Brooks Wehman who has put up eight goals over the last three games.

Buford has just three losses, having fallen to Lassiter early in the year as well as area foe Lambert. The Wolverines are headlined by goalie Matthew Canavan (Anderson signee) and attackman Evan Leonardo (High Point commit). Canavan surpassed 500 career saves this spring while Leonardo has surpassed 200 career saves.

North Paulding has losses to Allatoona and Pope. A 9-3 win over Walton is the biggest win of the season for the Wolves. Junior Kade McNeil (Mercer commit) has helped lead the way for this squad.

Along with those four aforementioned squads, Walton (11-7), Harrison (9-8), Mountain View (14-3), Carrollton (14-4), and Parkview (11-4) also received first round byes.

7A State Tournament Bracket

5A-6A State Tournament

In the 5-6A State Tournament, there are two teams that stand out among the rest: Blessed Trinity (16-1) and Roswell (15-3). The pair have been two of the best teams in the Peach State all season long and faced each other just last week in one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season.

Roswell won the regular season battle 17-16 in a contest where Hill Plunkett (Army West Point commit) put in the final tally with 1:36 remaining to halt a 3-1 Blessed Trinity run and help secure the win for the Hornets. On opposite sides of the bracket, the Titans and Hornets could very well see each other again in the state title game.

Blessed Trinity’s sole loss came against Roswell. Sophomore Michael Read and junior Chance Haynie (Mercer commit) have helped lead the way as younger pieces for a team that lost some top end talent from a season ago.

For the Hornets, the attack like of Plunkett, Alex Lobel (Michigan signee), and Ezra Moore have helped lead the way. Losses to Walton, Cannon (N.C.), and Cambridge are the only three blemishes on their resume.

Alpharetta (13-2), Allatoona (11-6), and Cambridge (9-9) are a few other teams to watch in this classification.

5A-6A State Tournament Bracket

1A-4A State Tournament

Wesleyan (15-1) has proven to be the team to beat in 1-4A this season as the Wolves have just one blemish on their resume coming into the postseason. That lone blemish came by way of a 12-11 loss to Fellowship Christian early in the season.

Since that early season loss the Wolves have done nothing but win, racking up 14 straight victories. That includes and 8-7 victory over Westminster and a 13-5 win over King’s Ridge. Both of those aforementioned squads also earned a first round bye in the tournament.

Senior Queens signee Lawson Jones (50G/30A) and sophomore Jameson Meyer (46G/27A) have led Wesleyan with 80 and 73 points, respectively.

Westminster (11-7) is on the same side of the same side of the bracket as Wesleyan so if the two meet again it will be in the semifinals. King’s Ridge (7-6) is in the opposite side of the bracket and would have to get through Starr’s Mill (13-4) and Lovett (9-8), whom they fell to 14-6 in the regular season, to get a rematch with the Wolves in the title game shall they both advance that far.

1A-4A State Tournament Bracket

Five Players to Watch

Hill Plunkett, Attack, Roswell (Sr., Army West Point) – 5A-6A

Alex Lobel, Attack, Roswell (Sr., Michigan) – 5A-6A

Brayden Fountain, Attack, Allatoona (Jr., Navy) – 7A

Evan Leonardo, Attack, Buford (Jr., High Point) – 7A

Matthew Canavan, Goalie, Buford (Sr., Anderson) – 7A