Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
State champs
Victory in first-ever state championship game caps a 21-2 season
Jupiter captures the school’s first boys’ state lacrosse title.
BOCA RATON – Since becoming an official FHSAA sport in 2008, no public school had ever won a boys lacrosse state championship. Until now. Playing just 43 miles from campus in the finals, Jupiter topped Bishop Moore 11-8 at Boca Raton High School to capture its first state championship.
“We told these guys, ‘I don’t think too many people outside the locker room thought this was possible at the beginning of the season,’” Jupiter coach Nick O’Hara. “They worked really hard and continued to improve every single week.”
“It’s unbelievable and all the credit goes to the kids.”
Senior attackman Denver Aranda scored a game-high five goals, while Benno Janssen scoed three and Kenny Cronin added two to pace the the Warriors. A team known for its depth, Jupiter’s balanced offensive and defensive attack made the difference on Saturday night.
“Last night [Aranda] had one assist, tonight he has five goals and is probably the player of the game. This team has been like that all year. One guy steps up one night, the next night another guy steps up.”
Jupiter has consistently been one of Florida’s top teams over the past six years, but had been unable to break through the glass ceiling and take home the crown. This season, Jupiter shattered it.
Under first-year head coach Nick O’Hara, a longtime Warriors assistant who swapped roles with Danny Loftus in the offseason, Jupiter ran off a 21-2 record on the season.The two were former Duke teammates and have been best friends since that point.
“Danny and I switching in name — who’s the head coach — there’s no difference,” O’Hara said. “We did the same thing we’ve done every other season. Switching ends of the field — him doing the defense and me doing the offense kind of brought a different life into the program overall.”
Playing in its first state championship game, the Warriors struck first as Chris Radice fed Aranda for a manup finish. The Warriors extended their lead to 4-2 in the first half after Aranda, Cronin and Janssen all found the back of the net.
Bishop Moore bounced back in the second quarter, scoring two unanswered to tie the game 4-4 at halftime.
After the Hornets scored two minutes into the third to take their first lead of the game, Jupiter answered back with a massive counterpunch. The Warriors scored three straight goals in less than a minute to take a 7-5 lead, sending the Jupiter faithful into a frenzy.
Bishop Moore cut the lead to 8-7 with 6:26 remaining, but the Warriors scored 10 seconds later and tacked on two more to keep the Hornets at bay.
“It’s the best feeling anybody could ask for,” said Aranda, who left off a celebratory yell afterward. “I want to thank my brothers for every opportunity I had. I’m so excited right now.”
With the win, Palm Beach County swept the lacrosse state championships. On Friday night, American Heritage-Delray beat Lake Highland Prep 10-7 to capture the girls title.