Prep Sports: Kenwood, Eastern Tech Shine in East Side Challenge

The East Side  Challenge went on Saturday without baseball and softball, which were both canceled due to rain, which turned the day into a boys and girls lacrosse showdown among the four high schools of Essex-Middle River.

The boys braved the muddy and rainy conditions to play a full day of lacrosse at Kenwood. Here is a breakdown of how the local teams fared during the competition: 

Kenwood 14, Chesapeake 1

Senior Mike McKinney led the charge for Kenwood with four goals and two assists, while sophomore attack Nick Eliadis also had a strong game, scoring four goals and assisting on one.

Junior face-off specialist Jesse Greifzu had a strong day in the circle, winning seven of 10 face-offs. Senior captain Zach Temple held down the Bluebird defense, scooping up a team-high six ground balls.

Kenwood felt they needed to come out strong following a tough 11-9 loss to Owings Mills last Friday.

“After a tough loss, all we could do was hope to come out and get a nice win today, which will hopefully help us stay on track for the second half of the season,” Temple said.

Eastern Tech 5, Mount Carmel 4

Even while showing up an hour late because of confusion as to when its game was scheduled to start, Eastern Tech managed to come out of its opening game strong against Mount Carmel as the Mavericks snapped their three-game losing streak.

The Mavericks won in dramatic fashion, scoring the winning goal with less than 10 seconds remaining. In the first private/public matchup of the day, there were many missed shots and turnovers; neither team took a real edge until the end. 

Eastern Tech coach Tim Scherer was in good spirits after the game, excited that his team had found their winning ways yet again. The first-year coach also claimed that beating local competition made the win that much sweeter.

“We’ve been on a three-game losing streak, so winning a game in that fashion in the last second like that is a big boost for the guys. Especially against a local rival, getting the W was a big thing.”

Kenwood 9, Mount Carmel 7

In what was arguably the most entertaining contest of the day, Kenwood came out on top in a physical and high-paced game.

With less than an hour rest between their first and second games, the Cougars, who had a very short bench in the first place, showed definite signs of fatigue against a much deeper and more rested Bluebirds squad.

This advantage in depth showed in the third quarter, when Kenwood clawed its way back from a 4-2 deficit to end the quarter leading 8-6. Junior attack Jordan Boller scored four goals in the period for the Bluebirds, who held strong defensively in the fourth quarter to keep the lead, led by senior goalie and captain Josh Leese.

Leese made 18 saves in the game, and allowed only four goals after the first quarter. Strong performances were turned in for the Cougars by attack Grant Stefanowicz and attack Ben LeSane, but Leese’s strong performance in goal prevented the visitors from making a late comeback.

Leese, who is playing his third year as the starting varsity goalie, said the Bluebirds’ second win of the day was a team win.

“After we allowed the couple of early goals, we just came together as a team and got back into it. ... Everybody stepped up; the attack was able to get some goals and the defense was able to clear the ball,” he said.

Kenwood is now 5-6 on the season. They return to action on Wednesday at Perry Hall.

In other action, Eastern Tech finished its day with a big win over Chesapeake, bringing its record to 2-0 on the day and 6-3 overall.

The girls portion of the East side Challenge happened in similar fashion, with both Kenwood and Eastern Tech going 2-0 on the day.

For Kenwood, this included beating Chesapeake and Mount Carmel by scores of 21-7 and 17-9, respectively. The Bluebirds are now 4-5 on the year, thanks in part to Megan Schoen, who has scored 17 of her 39 goals over the past two games.