Seniors Lead Falcons To Thrilling Win Over South River

By John Singleton

The Severna Park boys lacrosse team shook off the winter rust just in time to prevail in a double-overtime thriller to start the season on a winning note. It’s a note they’ve been playing for 21 straight games carrying over from last year’s state championship season.

The, 5-4, win in the first game of the season against rival South River was propelled by seniors Avery Littlejohn and Joe Galdi.

“Our expectations are to win the state championship and nothing less,” emphasized Head Coach Larry Kramer. “We have the talent and the senior leadership to do it. Avery Littlejohn is one of our leaders and he came up big against South River. We’re expecting more of the same from our seniors as the season progresses.”

Wondering if the expectations are too high for the 2011 Falcons is like asking if the wind blows cold across Kinder Park in March. Ever since Severna Park trounced Montgomery County’s Wootton High School, 13-7, for the Class 4A/3A Boys Lacrosse Championship last May at UMBC this team has emphasized the importance of senior leadership.

For Coach Kramer, it’s the little things that make him optimistic about his team’s prospects this year. “The seniors carry the water jugs onto the field every day; they clean out the clubhouse; they bring out the balls,” shared Kramer, adding, “They’re doing the little things. They don’t delegate it to the underclassmen, they take responsibility and that’s a good sign.”

Seniors Joe Galdi (9 goals, 1 assist) and Avery Littlejohn (7 goals and 2 assists) lead the team in scoring, but Kramer points to a number of players as essential to the season’s success including senior attack Matt Skrenta, and senior midfielders Erik Schuh, Adam Zinsmeister, Kenny Stryker, Trip Fulton and Matt Cutlip. On defense seniors Tim Cloud, Ryne Jenkins, Billy Koffler and Tommy Farrell will be major factors. Sophomore defender Billy Bollhorst and sophomore goalie Dylan Pasiuk will also be counted on heavily.

On Friday April 1, the Falcons upped their unbeaten streak to 23 straight games by drubbing Southern 13-4. Kenny Stryker had 2 goals and 5 assists and Matt Skrenta had 3 goals and 2 assists in the winning effort. The team is now 3-0 on the season under Coach Larry Kramer, who grew up on Long Island and is a graduate of Hofstra University. He lives in Severna Park with his wife and two children and teaches Special Education at Severna Park High School.

“As for the JV squad, we have a very strong freshman class this year, but we are also relying heavily on our sophomore leadership,” summed Assistant Coach Tom Wilke.

Dennis Sullivan, the first year head coach for the Falcons JV squad, has his team off to a 4-0 record including a string of convincing victories over South River (7-1), Annapolis (17-3), Southern (10-0) and Arundel (8-3). Sophomores Logan Swartz, Tucker Dell and Michael Minter have been voted co-captains by their teammates.