Park Boys Lacrosse Off To Unbeaten Start

So far, so good for the Severna Park boys lacrosse team in their bid for yet another state championship.

Through April 7, the Falcons are off to a 7-0 start, hitting double-figures in six of their games and only one of the margins being within seven goals.

Severna Park opened the season with a 17-1 win over Arundel on March 22. They scored just 29 seconds into the game and never looked back. John Burkhardt scored three goals in the win, while UMBC commit Fish, Sam Salas and Ben Rupert added two. Tucker Moran, Nolan Grizzle, Brayden Arnold, Mason Pugh, Merric Warren, Tyler Lawhorne, Hunter Reed and Porter Hill also scored for the Falcons.

“That’s (how they want) the offense. Some of the young guys, they’re already really good facilitators, and we’re working with them to finish and create offense for us,” Fish said. “Just trying to build their confidence where it needs to be to win big games.”

In addition to the Arundel win, Severna Park took three spring break wins, beating Virginia schools West Potomac 17-3 and James Madison 8-7, before beating Queen Anne’s 13-1. The Falcons also beat Glenelg 17-10, Shaker (New York) 18-3, and North County 14-3.

Having won so many titles in a row — seven and counting — Severna Park keeps trying to test the championship pedigree in different ways. Under new coach Bob Zichelli, the Falcons rolled right from last season into this one with an almost seamless transition.

“We didn’t skip a beat in the offseason, and we played right up to our potential from the first whistle,” John Burkhardt said. “We always want to win — focused on winning, and nothing else.”

Severna Park’s schedule figures to toughen up in the next week-plus. The Falcons went to Marriotts Ridge on April 8. They also have back-to-back home dates with nationally top 10-ranked Broadneck and South River on April 12 and April 15, respectively.

Severna Park was 19th in the April 4 USA Lacrosse public school rankings. The three schools are the only Maryland programs in the top 25.

No matter the opponent, the Falcons want to keep their own standards going and let the chips fall where they may.

“We have a standard, and it’s our tradition,” Fish said. “A lot of our coaches played here at Severna Park, and they help us keep that standard high.”