Huntingtown High boys lacrosse trounces La Plata
Hurricanes coast to 18-3 victory over Warriors
One year after the two squads never met during an abbreviated spring sports schedule when Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division and Potomac Division squads did not compete in the normal array of crossover games, the Huntingtown High School boys lacrosse team made quick work of visiting La Plata 18-3 on Tuesday afternoon.
Huntingtown (3-0) vaulted to an 8-0 lead at the end of the first period and would eventually score the game’s first nine goals before La Plata’s Ben Kane ended the Hurricanes’ modest shutout bid just over a minute into the second quarter. But much of the remainder belonged to Huntingtown as senior Donovan Powell and juniors Nate DuVall and Jimmy Carter, repeatedly found the back of the net.
“I thought we came out and executed well right from the start,” said Powell, who has already signed his National Letter of Intent to play men’s lacrosse at Lenoir-Rhyne University. “We thought they might be a little chippy, but I think we came out and played chippy. We were able to run our plays tonight.”
Carter, who scored the game’s first goal and added three more before the end of the first half which saw the Hurricanes comfortably in front, 15-1, believes the team’s practices play a big role in their performances on game day.
“It all starts in practice,” Carter said. “We come out and practice hard and things can get chippy at practice with each other. But we all want to get better and we have the same goals of getting through the region and going to states.”
Like Powell and Carter, DuVall, who also tallied four times in the first half on Tuesday, recalls the narrow setback to Marriotts Ridge in last year’s 3A State quarterfinals and seeks to take the next step this spring.
“It was a valuable learning experience,” DuVall said. “We know what we want to accomplish this season. We want to win SMAC and then go as far as we can in regions and states.”
La Plata coach Luke Bayer had watched his team enjoy a perfect run through the SMAC Potomac Division schedule last spring when crossover games were nixed by the ongoing pandemic, but Tuesday evening he admitted the Warriors were humbled by a superior squad. Kane scored the Warriors’ lone goal in the first half, while Ethan Trany and Turner Mudd each notched one in the second half.
“We have not played them in a few years, so I think this game was a little humbling and a good learning experience,” Bayer said. “We had not faced any teams outside the [Potomac] division in two years, so we had to find out where we were. It wasn’t what I expected or what I was hoping for, but it gave us an indication of where we need to correct our mistakes.”