Playoff Preview: Central Mass Boys Lacrosse

Monday, May 28, 2012

Joe Parello, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Algonquin celebrating their Central Mass title game victory over St. John's last year.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the playoffs for boys high school lacrosse here in Central Massachusetts.

This year’s district tournament will feature 16 teams, each fighting for the right to call itself the Central Mass Champion. The region features several teams with ambitions of a state title, but in two weeks only one will be left standing. Here is what to watch for in the 2012 Central Mass Lacrosse Playoffs.

The Favorite: Algonquin

At this point, we’re rehashing why Algonquin is the favorite. The Tomahawks are the defending champs, and haven’t lost to a Central Mass opponent in nearly 13 months. Algonquin features one of the region’s top defenses, and perhaps Central Mass’ best player in senior attacker Conor Healy.

The Tomahawks also don’t beat themselves, and have gone outside of Central Mass to take on some of the state’s top teams.

“When you go top to bottom, I think they are the most complete team, with a stud at each position,” Shrewsbury coach Nate Skermont said. “They play smart and don't make mistakes. Also, if you look at the fact they they have gone on the road to beat Minnechaug, and now Longmeadow, that's no joke.”

The Biggest Challenger: Grafton

As good as Algonquin has been, it was Grafton that had everyone’s attention at the beginning of the season. The Warriors started the year 12-0 and, like Algonquin, have rolled through nearly every Central Mass foe they’ve faced. The Warriors proved they were for real with an 11-8 win over St. John’s to start the month, and have scored nearly 15 goals a game.

That explosive offense is led by junior attacker Tyler Reilly, who leads Central mass with 130 points (74G, 56A). Not far behind Reilly is classmate Bryan Rotatori, who is second in the region with 102 points (60G, 42A). While the offense has put up eye-popping numbers, the Grafton defense has been equally impressive, allowing only 4.35 goals a game, good for second in the region.

The Dark Horse: St. John’s

You know there have to be some pretty impressive teams in the region when a squad like St. John’s isn’t being talked about. The Pioneers finished the year 14-4, but fell twice to Algonquin and once to Grafton. They also lost to one of the state’s best teams in Lognmeadow, but the St. John’s has picked up impressive victories over Minnechaug and St. John’s Prep.

While they don’t come in as the favorite, other coaches in the region are far from overlooking St. John’s.

“I don’t like to predict things, but if we end up in the district semi-finals, I think we will have to deal with St. John’s again,” Algonquin coach Rich Luongo said. “They’re incredibly well coaches and talented, and they have guys that have been there before. They always seem to be around the district championship game.”

The Wild Card: Tyngsborough

Nobody really knows what to make of regional newcomer Tyngsborough at this point. The Tigers have rolled through their first Central Mass season undefeated, and have really only been challeneged by Oakmont in the last six weeks.

As impressive as Tyngsborough has been, outscoring opponents by over 10 goals a game and giving up only 3.5 goals against, there has been talk that the Tigers are the product of a soft schedule. While Tyngsborough has not played the schedule of, say, Algonquin, the coach of their first round opponent says the Tigers are for real.

“Going into the tournament, I usually worry about the teams I haven’t seen before,” Milford coach Dave Dague said, before learning his team would face Tyngsborough in the first round. “But I’ve seen Tyngsborough, and they are not a team you want to run into. I know a bunch of teams have been talking about their

Oakmont will have its hands full in the first round with a tough Nashoba team.

schedule and things like that. If I were their coach, I would print out some of those tweets and put them right on our bulletin board. They may not have proven how good they are yet, but I wouldn’t want to find out.”

Most Intriguing First Round Matchup: 12. Nashoba at 5. Oakmont

If you fill out NCAA Men’s Basketball brackets each year, you know you always have to pick a 12 over 5 upset. While I am certainly not putting a talented Oakmont team on upset alert, the schedule makers did them no favors by forcing them to face a Nashoba squad that has battled through adversity this year to earn a playoff berth.

Oakmont has one of the best offenses in the region, but will be challenged by a Nashoba defense that gives up only 7 goals a game. Add in the fact that Nashoba does have impressive wins over Shrewsbury and Westborough on its resume, and this will certainly be no walk in the park for Oakmont

You can check out the bracket below, or view it at the MIAA's website by clicking here.

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