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Kilbourne Featured in Lacrosse Magazine Story

Apr. 15, 2015

Lacrosse Magazine, a publication of US Lacrosse, did a feature article on the Wolves and their tight battle with Brother Rice. LM has Kilbourne ranked as the No. 4 team in the Midwest. Here is what LM had to say about Kilbourne:

Nike/LM HS Midwest Report: Depth Gauge in Ohio?

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Midwest is not known for having the competitive depth of the East Coast when it comes to lacrosse.

But, try telling that to the Worthington Kilbourne (Ohio) boys' team.

The Wolves gave regional power Brother Rice (Mich.) everything it had in a 12-9 loss Saturday in a show of Midwest lacrosse at its best.

"You're talking about two very strong programs," Worthington Kilbourne coach Drew May said. "It's a battle of two very, very good teams, two very good programs."

The Warriors' history speaks for itself. If anyone didn't know Brother Rice's record of accomplishment beforehand, halftime trivia over the public address system made it clear.

21 state titles -- 12 in a row.

Last year's came in Ajay Chawla's first season after replacing Rob Ambrose.

"It's the same tradition, the same history," May said. "We played them when I was in high school, and it's the same stuff. It's just being tough-nosed for the groundballs, not making mistakes and winning the fourth quarter."

That's exactly what Brother Rice did Saturday to pull out the win, though Worthington Kilbourne led with fewer than 10 minutes remaining. The Wolves came that close.

The Wolves weren't intimidated – not even after the Warriors scored the first two of the second half to break a 4-4 tie. Less than a minute later, they answered with a fast-break goal by Tyler Roe. Two and a half minutes later, the senior notched a hat trick, tying the score at 6.

"It's how we place him in our offense, and he does a nice job of finding the space," May said. "He's a bigger kid. He gives a nice target."

Then, Kilbourne's Jared Happ, whose aim was errant early, left his defender stumbling with a spin move en route to a 7-6 lead.

But that's when the Warriors showed just why they've won those 12 state titles in a row -- scoring four straight goals in the fourth quarter.

Whatever difficulty they faced transitioning from Ambrose to Chawla is long gone. One had to wonder if the Warriors had fallen a step when they lost to Detroit Country Day in overtime last season, a rare slipup for a program that seemingly as a rule doesn't lose in-state games. In retrospect, that probably had more to do with the changing nature of Midwest lacrosse than Brother Rice.

"Lacrosse is starting to get a little stronger in the Midwest," Chawla said. "I don't know if we'll see the 11, 12 years without a loss in Michigan anymore, and that's a good thing for lacrosse."

Though this is only Chawla's second year, the team is his. For the bulk of his players, he's been their varsity coach for one and a half years – and was their JV coach beforehand.

"It took a little while," Chawla said. "Slowly, it's turned over to my program now."

Brother Rice was simply devastating in the fourth quarter against Worthington Kilbourne. The Warriors scored five goals overall for the period. They ripped shots from 10-15 yards out at will. While the Wolves tried to fight their way in front of the net, the Warriors simply cocked and fired.

"We definitely have some guys who can shoot the ball," Chawla said. "It comes down to shot placement and practice. We made up for what we didn't make in the first three quarters."

Morgan Macko has put up some crazy numbers in his time at Brother Rice, but he's far from alone. Sure, the senior got his hat trick against Kilbourne, but three teammates also posted multiple goals. Among them was sophomore Jack Kelly, with a hat trick of his own.

All game long, fans strained to see who scored for the Warriors. Their orange-trim numbers sewn into black jerseys look great but don't read well – not without binoculars, anyway.

With the Warriors though, it hardly matters.

"We're truly a team," Chawla said. "We have no superstars."

To read more, click here.

by Jonah Rosenblum | LaxMagazine.com | Twitter