The North Springs boys lacrosse season is in full swing, and the season has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Spartans thus far. After five straight defeats to begin the campaign, including a heartbreaking 14-13 triple overtime loss at the hands of the Grady Knights, the Spartans bounced back to win four of their last six, including a recent 19-17 victory over Lakeside. Junior JD Roseberry has been a key player for North Springs, with a faceoff percentage of over 52. He is also leading the team in groundballs, an extremely important part of the sport. In the scoring department, Junior JD Kilbourn and Senior Pete Klafter have led the way with 40 and 24 goals, respectively. Senior goalie Jack Makowski has been vital for the Spartans, as well.
Obviously COVID has impacted most high school sports, but even without the pandemic, this team was already playing under difficult circumstances. With just 16 players in a sport commonly known as the fastest sport on two feet, this season has truly been a test of endurance. Midfielder Pete Klafter says he plays just about the whole game, which is quite unheard of for a middie under normal circumstances. Last year, with a more complete roster, he would come off the field after an offensive stint of just a few minutes. “Now I have to literally run back on defense, play defense, and then play offense again,” he said. Even with his goal scoring prowess, Klafter was quick to shoutout the man between the pipes, saying of Jack Makowski that, “His value at goal is probably the best value on the whole team.”
Senior attackman Tyler McMahon also weighed in on the season. He mentioned the COVID protocols, which include a brief questionnaire upon arrival to practice, as well as temperature checks. The team also wears masks on the bus for precaution, while an opponent this year has gone as far as wearing masks under their helmets during the game. Luckily, the Spartans have had no health issues thus far. Because of the previously mentioned roster issues, McMahon has swapped with middie, Pierce Canning, every once in a while, to give Canning a bit of a breather at attack, a position with less running than midfield. McMahon put his playing time at about “95% of the game.”
Despite the up-and-down start to the season, the guys are optimistic going forward. They cannot make the playoffs because of the non-region schedule that they play, but McMahon says, “Every single game from now until the end of the season…is actually winnable for us.” Hopefully the boys can get hot and stay hot as the season winds to a close.
