The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Brendon Brower
More goals, more assists and a CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship.
“This year was definitely a lot more fun,” said Santiago’s Brendon Brower, who has been selected the IE Varsity Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Brower tallied 69 goals with 48 assists in leading the Sharks to a 20-4 record and to their first section championship. He also earned his place in Inland lacrosse history as the first two-time recipient of the boys player of the year honor.
“We really proved ourselves,” Brower said. “We won each of our playoff games by at least fourplus goals, so I think we could’ve played in the D1 playoffs and made a run.”
Thrust into a leadership role as a junior last season, Brower produced then-school records with 55 goals and 44 assists, mostly from the attack position behind and around the goal, as Santiago won a Big VIII League title, but lost its playoff opener.
“To see him become a leader and the one that everything runs through has been really cool to see,” Santiago coach David Janoski said. “He could always score goals, but to see his passing really materialize ... his vision is the best on the team.”
This season, Janoski had Brower playing more of a midfield role running toward goal, and the blondehaired dynamo developed a quick-release shot that kept goalies guessing all season.
“That was the shot that I liked more and always seemed more natural to me,” said Brower, who put in extra work, practicing varieties of the running shot hundreds of times on an average weekend at Santiago.
“I’d have a bucket of balls and we’d shoot for two or three hours on net, and it was definitely a big help for what was to come,” he said.
An 8-7 nonleague loss to Aliso Niguel in midseason proved to be a turning point for Brower and the Sharks, who completed a second perfect Big VIII League campaign.
“I remember coming into the locker room after that one and someone saying, ‘This isn’t us. We know our worth.’ And after that, we knew we had to prove it,” Brower said.
Santiago had a streak of nine consecutive wins during the regular season. After a loss in a postseason tune-up against Division 1 contender Trabuco Hills, the Sharks ran off four wins in a row in the Division 2 playoffs to capture the program’s first section crown with an 11-3 win over Aliso Niguel.
“A championship for the school is probably the coolest moment. It’s a cool thing to end on,” Brower said.
Headed to Maryville University near St. Louis on scholarship to play for one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the country, Brower is excited for his future, but remains concerned about the future of lacrosse in Corona moving forward with the closure of a prominent youth club.
“Lacrosse isn’t crazy big in the I.E. yet, and we just lost our feeder program, which sucks,” Brower said. “Hopefully, with this championship, more kids see lacrosse as an opportunity.”