BY GENE NARDI
The Palm Beach Central High School boys lacrosse squad hosted rival Wellington High School on Monday, March 10 for the annual Outback Cup game to determine local bragging rights. The Broncos retained the cup with an impressive 11-5 victory before a large home crowd.
The win marks the sixth straight for the Broncos since the cup’s inception. Last year, the Broncos edged Wellington 13-10.
Palm Beach Central is a thorn in the Wolverines’ side when it comes to the Outback Cup, but it has been Wellington that has advanced with back-to-back district championship victories over the Broncos.
Any way you slice it, when these teams meet on the field, they never disappoint.
Monday’s match was classic rival lacrosse at its finest. It was a physical and fast-paced game from the start. Nearly eight minutes of the first period were chewed off the clock before the Broncos drove in their first score. Palm Beach Central’s defense held the Wolverines scoreless at the half, leading 5-0.
Wellington (4-3) could not mount the offensive attack they are accustomed to delivering, as Palm Beach Central’s defense played a physical game, creating several turnovers and capitalized with scores. Palm Beach Central also led in the face-off win column.
The Wolverines went nearly three periods without a score, until attacker Jason D’Aoust finally put one in to close the gap. Seconds later, attacker Patrick Oporto put in another score for Wellington to chip away at Palm Beach Central’s 6-2 lead.
Attacker Nick Griffin launched back-to-back goals shortly thereafter to extend the Bronco lead to 8-2.
Wellington had a difficult time breaking Palm Beach Central goalie Kevin Verge, who came up with some big saves.
The Wolverines tallied three more goals, but the rally was short-lived, and the Broncos matched them with three of their own, winning the cup for another season with the 11-5 victory.
Griffin led the Broncos in scoring. Tyler Thomasson, Sean Lemay, Alex Hood, Austin Cavallo and Colin Kennedy all added scores for Palm Beach Central. Oporto, D’Aoust, Logan Rogers and Zac Meskin combined for Wellington’s five goals.
The Broncos travel to Cardinal Newman High School on Friday, March 14 for a 7 p.m. game. Wellington traveled to the King’s Academy on Tuesday, March 11 and hosted Spanish River High School on Thursday, March 13, but results were not available at press time.
ABOVE: The Broncos are named 2014 Outback Cup champions.
