MBSLA High School Championship Game

[Gopherlax29]

Osseo vs Blake

1 public school
1 private school
1 loss between them (Blake 14 - Osseo 9)

Should be a good game!

[horn17]

Good luck to both teams as the season FINALLY WINDS DOWN...been a long year

Congrats to all the teams in the state for a hell of a year, the growth and the development of the players is quite evident...

Any coaches out there...BSM might be hosting an MN - OHIO Invitational next year, with some of the best teams from Ohio, as well as some teams from MN...looking to be a 4 day event, with 4 straight games against 4 different Out of state teams...let me know if you are intrested so I can get the wheels in motion.....

[horn17]

http://www.uslacrosse.org/news/2006/nssrosters.phtml

by the way congrats to Hurley

[Gopherlax29]

Blake wins 11-8 I believe, I can't remember if we had 8 or 7. Blakes 11th goal was on a breakaway with 4 seconds left and Upjohn got stoned hard by our goalie but snagged the rebound and Blake charged the field early, led by Hank. The final seconds were played out with Gilseth almost scoring from the mid line. I believe it went past the goalie but up his shorts or hit his sagging shorts or something like that. 2 defensive lapses cost Osseo today, one with under a minute left in the half and the score 2-2. It was 4-2 at half. Also, it seemed everytime Osseo scored to make it 8-5 or 9-6, Blake answered back off the draw. Blake is a good team but nowhere near the best that this state has seen thats forsure. I was also a lot puzzled by the all-state picks this season. When that list is on the internet we can debate it then.

[LaxRef]

Blake is a good team but nowhere near the best that this state has seen thats forsure.

I assume you're comparing to some team or team in the past. While there were some dominant teams in the past, I'm sure, the level of play has gotten so much better over time that I have a hard time seeing the best team from, say, 5 years ago beating the best teams now.

The amazing thing is that, in going 17-0, Blake beat the #2 (twice), #3, #4 (twice), #5, #6, #8, and #9 teams in the state (according to LaxPower). I don't think anyone can accuse them of playing a cupcake schedule!

[dulax19]

did blake just win back to back championships? If so i think that puts them as only the second team to do that, with THE roseville raiders being the only other team doing so in the 2001 season and the 2002 beating RAVE both times, congrats to blake....welcome to the club

[LAXBALLER42]

1st... I apologize for the last two seconds... I heard the team counting down at 10 and then they drenched Seivold and I with water. When I looked up after being drenched I saw Cathcart holding his hands up and heard a whistle. I never saw the shot...

Yes we are 2x defending champion and this one was better than the first. It was a difficult year keeping the seniors attention, Prom, graduation, etc put a lot of stress on the team. They had a sense of entitlement that we as coaches struggled to break. These are special seniors as they were freshmen when we lost to Jefferson in 2003 and the heart wrenching losss to Minneapolis as sophomores. This group only lost 4 games in 4 years finishing with an over all record of 54-4, and trust me I did everything but give them a cupcake schedule to get there! I think that puts them the best team to date, but alas I'm biased.

Next year will be tough as we lose 6 starters, however we do have a great nucleous coming back with Seivold, Dooley, Upjohn, Patterson, Dressen and Johnson coming back. Dressen and Johnson would have started for most teams this year and are only sophomores. But this is what makes HS coaching so wonderful... every year is a new challenge and every year brings different experiences. It will be fun to see what kind of surrounding cast we can develop around them. Every year I look at the league as a whole and thing there's no way we replace all the talent that's graduating then some young guys step in and blow it up! It seems the same thing happens on our own teams. After 2004 who would have guessed that freshmen Dooley, Seivold, Patterson, and the re-emergence of Polo replacing all the lost seniors of 2004 would actually make our team better?

Good luck to all in the offseason and we'll see you next year...

[Gopherlax29]

1st, I have been around the game of HS lax in MN for the last 8 years. I have seen the state champions and I really do feel, even though Blake was a VERY SICK 17-0 this year (I think) that they would not have won the championship in 2002 or 2003. Probably not even 2001. top 5 best teams ever? Yes. Secondly, apology accepted for the field incident. Tempers were high. Lastly, what would you have done with those nifty hats had you lost the game?

[LaxRef]

Lastly, what would you have done with those nifty hats had you lost the game?

My understanding is that there are people walking around in third-world countries wearing shirts and hats that say things like "2006 Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks."

[LAXBALLER42]

The hats were made by Ian at Northstar... I never saw them before the game. I asked him to make t-shirts for the final four with the championship ones saying champions, also asked him to make hats for the champions. I asked him to use MBSLA colors (see your t shirt). I did not know he was only going to use blue. If you had won you'd be wearing blue and black championship hats...

I've also been around the block the past few years(seen every championship game since 99), including state championships in 03, 05, and now 06. Again I'm biased, but the level of lacrosse has changed significantly the past few years. Teams spin the ball better, we have better players, and teams are deeper than ever. Also how do you argue with a team that went 56-4 over 4 years (4 losses when they were fr/so)... those are true rockstars! Also 7 seniors off to college lacrosse and a 5 underclassmen who've all garnered the eye of college scouts!

I would argue that any of the final four teams would have dominated in the early years (99, 00, 01, 02, 03). But alas it's like asking which is more dominant the 80's Lakers, 90's Bulls, or this years crop (See ESPN best team ever on Espn.com). No one will ever know.

It seems Osseo has some good young talent returning and could be on their way to a similar run.