Severna Park races past Catonsville
Falcons to play Mt. Hebron for 6th straight state championship
The Severna Park boys lacrosse team, winners of five straight state titles, showed some minor flaws this regular season. But the postseason is here, and so are the vintage Falcons.
In Saturday’s Class 3A state semifinal against No. 9 Catonsville, a rematch of last year’s 4A final, the No. 13 Falcons broke open a close game with a dominant third quarter to claim a convincing 12-7 win at Crofton.
The 10-time state champion Falcons will be playing in their 15th state championship and will face No. 11 Mt. Hebron, a 6-5 winner against Linganore earlier in the day, for the title Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
Severna Park turned a one-goal halftime lead into a 10-4 advantage and further pulled away for another trip to the state title game. It’s the second straight season Severna Park has spoiled a potential perfect season for Catonsville, which closed with an 18-1 mark.
Senior Nolan Zborai led the Falcons’ explosive attack with three goals and four assists, and fellow senior Janes Ruppert added three goals.
Leading 4-3 at the half, Severna Park
coach Dave Earl liked the chances his attack was getting, so no major adjustments were made at the break. The Falcons simply had better aim in the second half and got on a game-changing roll.
“We knew they were going to come out firing because they had the run at the end of the first half, so we wanted to come out with energy, come out firing and we did that,” said Zborai, who has 51 goals and 21 assists this season.
As for being in the middle of the decisive
stretch — scoring the Falcons’ third goal and the final goal in the third quarter to provide a 10-4 lead — Zborai said there’s nothing that beats it on the lacrosse field.
“It’s just fun. You feel like you can’t be guarded, you feel like everybody is balling. Your teammates are right there with you, everyone is doing good and with good vibes,” he said.
In going 10-4 in the regular season, the Falcons fell to Anne Arundel County rival Broadneck, 10-8, on April 29 — ending a string of 61 straight league wins.
They avenged that loss with a 13-6 win over the Bruins in the Anne Arundel County championship game and have dominated in their move to Class 3A this postseason. They’ve averaged 15 goals in their four playoff wins.
“These guys are just veterans,” Earl said. “After what they’ve been through the last couple years, they’re just really hungry for it and they’re just a great group of guys and great people.”
Zborai said the Broadneck setback served an important purpose.
“I think it was a wake-up call for us, a humbling moment,” he said. “It woke us up and realizing we still got to go to work, still got to get to practice and get better every day.”
Catonsville coach KR Schultz praised his team, especially the senior class that contributed to a handful of program firsts in their four years. This season, the Comets claimed their second straight Baltimore County championship and swept rivals Dulaney, Hereford and Towson. He also gave plenty of credit to the Falcons and looked back on not playing with more patience in the second half.
“I was just proud of our season, proud of our guys,” he said. “We had a senior class that did so many things that no one has ever done. We were confident as hell going into this. I think [Severna Park is] a great team, a great coached team. I won’t say anything negative about us. I think I didn’t really stick with my game plan at times and I regret not sticking with my game plan.”