Boys lacrosse: Warren pleased with its start to the season

The Warren boys lacrosse team certainly can't complain about how it has started the 2022 season.

The Blue Devils won their first five games, including securing first place in the Warren/Libertyville invitational with wins against Benet Academy (11-6), Glenbard West (6-2) and Marist (9-1).

Through those first five games, junior goalie Bobby Davenport has a 3.8 goals-against average. Davenport has been bolstered by the play of defensive captain Ryan Landry, who has 23 caused turnovers and 24 groundballs.

Warren's offense has been led by senior attack Clayton Bewick, who fired off 21 goals to go with 6 assists in those first five games. Junior Drew Deney has 13 goals and 5 assists.

Coach Greg Janczak also called out the play of sophomores Nathan McClaskey and Noah Walowski. "Nathan and Noah have been asked to step up for our defense this year in a huge way and they have risen to the challenge," he said. "Both these gentlemen have been asked to do way more than any sophomore should be, and they accept the challenge head-on."

Janczak said the team's desire to learn and do whatever it takes are qualities "I haven't seen in a while with a group," he noted. "Guys show up early, stay super late, practice outside of practice, watch film, and do anything they can to make the team better. This is a special group."

Stevenson update:

Another team off to a strong early start is Stevenson, which won its first four contests, including wild 14-13 triumph over Barrington. The Patriots were up 7-5 at halftime, down 13-9 with around seven minutes to play and then scored five straight goals for the win.

"They fight," Stevenson coach Tom Hake said. "They are talented, but they have had a few underwhelming seasons. Regardless of that and regardless of losing a season to COVID, this team and these seniors proved their grittiness in the tough-fought win against Barrington, never giving up despite being down 5 goals nearly halfway through the fourth quarter. This fight and mental toughness is going to help us win games this season."

Ryan Hynes had 8 goals against Barrington, while Colin Livesay had 2 goals and 3 assists. "Ryan and Colin are leading our offensive attack," Hake said. "Ryan is our most important goal-scorer and Colin initiates the offense from the midfield and helps to get others and himself involved."

Hynes, headed to High Point University to play lacrosse, has 24 goals through four games.

Also of critical importance for the Pats, Hake noted, is defensive leader Cody Collins. "Cody is a four-year defensive starter who is a great 1-on-1 take-away defender, but also helps communicate to others on that side of the ball and is groundball machine."

Antioch update:

The Sequoits opened the season with wins over Fox Valley Conference entrants Jacobs and Cary-Grove. In the two games, Jack Holloway had 6 goals and 2 assists, while Ryan Swanson had 5 goals and was at 80 percent on faceoffs to go with 17 groundballs. Jack Fritz has a save percentage of 80 in goal.

"This team is relentless," Swanson said. "They are always trying to get better and listen to the coaching."

Holloway is the team's scoring leader after recovering from a cancer battle, while the team also has been bolstered by the play of Nick Day, a lock-on defender who coach Thor Swanson noted had 0 points scored on him in the first two games.

Fritz has been another bright spot in goal. "Jack has a great save percentage and is tracking the ball really well," Swanson said.

Palatine update:

After starting the season with a tough slate against the likes of Stevenson, Glenbrook North and South Elgin, Palatine earned a 12-9 Mid-Suburban Conference win over Rolling Meadows.

"This is one of the youngest teams we have had in recent years at Palatine," coach Chris Gantz noted.

Gantz said that youth is punctuated by sophomore goalie Daniel Dorszewski, who was leading the state with 60 saves in his first four games.

Vernon Hills update:

Goalie Matthew Weinstein had his first career shutout in a 14-0 win over Dundee-Crown. Cougars coach Patrick Fitzgibbons pointed out it was Vernon Hills' first shutout since 2016.

Senior Jack Sweeney and junior Erik Boehmer (team-high 11 goals) have combined for 21 goals and 16 assists through the team's first four games (Vernon is 3-1). Boehmer, a middie, also has a team-high 22 groundballs and leads the way in shooting percentage (35.5), while Sweeney (attack) leads the team in assists (10) and caused turnovers (7).

"We knew Jack would be going up against tougher defenses, but he has adapted well to that pressure, creating opportunities for other players," Fitzgibbons said. "Erik has stepped up from defensive to offensive midfielder and has already helped the team tremendously in tight situations."

Libertyville update:

Through the Wildcats' first five games, Michael Rocco was 45-13 on faceoffs (78 percent), while Logan Hyatt is averaging 2 points per game. Luca DiCarlo has 24 groundballs, 9 take-aways and 2 goals as a long-stick middie.

"Michael's faceoff performance speaks for itself, but he puts in so much work on his own time outside practice and leads the team by example as a vocal leader," Libertyville coach Brady Sullivan said.

Charlie True also has been a key contributor, leading a defense that is allowing 6 goals a game. "Charlie has taken on the role of our in-close defensive leader at our toughest position in our defense."

Grayslake Central update:

In the Rams' season-opening win, 13 of the team's 17 goals in the contest were scored off assists, coach Chris Ridella noted. Luke Butvilas won 75% of his faceoffs in the win.

"This group is embracing working smarter not just harder," Ridella said.

Ridella also cited strong play from goalie Jon Richards and defensive middie Jack Brown. "Jon is seeing the ball well on saves and making great outlet passes," he said. "Jack is playing good on-ball and team defense."

Wauconda update:

Senior Roman Stanley had 2 goals in the team's season-opener against Crystal Lake Central, while senior Logan Corneil had 2 assists in the game and senior Jacob Wright won 70 percent of his faceoffs.

Also of note early-on for the Bulldogs has been the play of juniors Mikey Proeschel and Carter Rundell. "Mikey is having a break out year," Wauconda coach Anthony Piltaver said. "He has improved his game and his craftsmanship so much from last year. He has found his way into the starting lineup due to his ability to gel with the other offensive players. Carter recently came back to the game of lacrosse and has been an enforcer on defense. He is also very encouraging to his teammates."

Elk Grove-Wheeling update:

The Elk Grove-Wheeling coop team opened the season earlier in the week against Conant. Yannick Gbekou and TJ Aparico each had a goal. Christian Lacagnina also played well, co-head coach Peter Karamitos said. "We're coming together as two different schools, forming a cooperative and showing poise, unity and camaraderie," Karamitos added. "Eleven young men played their first lacrosse game and showed a lot of growth and potential."

Karamitos added Niko Guzzo had a strong game in goal against Conant. "Niko had a stellar performance in goal and made some key saves," he said.

Lakes update:

Lakes (3-0) has benefited from the trio of Dylan Behnke, Reid Kuriger and Sean Ryan, who coach Jacob Perry noted have all had 3 straight games of 5-plus points. Kobe Brown added 9 groundballs in a win against McHenry.

"Dylan has grown into a leadership role on the field where he's helping direct the offense into positions to be successful," Perry said. "Reid has had a breakout year so far, making a move down to attack along with taking faceoffs when needed. He is already a couple points away from topping his last season's point total."

Kuriger had 19 points in the first three games, while Behnke had 17 points and Ryan had 16 points. Perry added Lakes had assists on around 65 percent of the team's goals in those first three games.