Division II (Preseason #1: Coppell)

TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE LEAGUE DIVISION II

The Team to Beat: Coppell

The defending Division II champion Cowboys put an exclamation point on their 2009 season when they won the state championship game by a resounding 18-goal margin. Coppell will have a new head coach this season, but among the on-field personnel there aren’t too many changes.

The Cowboys bring back seven starters, including all three of their first-team All-State selections in junior attackman Trent Dennington, junior middie Tyler Landis and senior defenseman Peyton Porter. Junior defenseman Brandon Mullins is a returning All-District selection, and junior face-off middie Nate Hruby and junior defenseman/long-stick middie Sammy Johnson each received honorable-mention, All-District honors last season.

Another honorable-mention All-District player, senior attackman Travis DeSerrano, might return as well. DeSerrano may choose to graduate early, which would make him ineligible for his senior season. If not, he’ll be back.

Contenders: Highland Park II, Greenhill, Stratford-Westchester, Stony Point

Greenhill storms into the new season after having six underclassmen garner postseason honors in 2009. The Hornets will be led by senior long-stick middie Nick Barber, a returning first-team All-State selection. From there, Greenhill has five players coming back who were honorable-mention All-District players last season. They are senior attackman John Solowiej, junior middie-attackman Oliver Patten, sophomore middie-attackman Tripp Russ, sophomore middie Max McKamy and junior defenseman Brett Gage.

Highland Park II is essentially a JV team, but the Fighting Scots have proven over the years that they can bring it. Highland Park II is usually made up mostly of sophomores and freshmen, and the team changes drastically from year to year as players move up to Highland Park’s Division I team. But one thing has remained constant. The Fighting Scots are among the best in Division II, having reached the state-title game twice in the last three years.

Stratford-Westchester, which will now officially be known as the ‘Spartan Lacrosse Club,’ brings back half its starting lineup from a team that went to the South District championship game. However, with top-rival Memorial promoted to Division I, that leaves the Spartans sitting pretty in Houston. Senior middie Trevor Davis, senior defenseman Campbell Colyer and senior long-stick middie Todd Ten Have will be three players to watch.

Stony Point, a Division II state finalist in 2009, is the clear favorite to come out of the Central District. The Tigers return nine starters, including four first-team All-State selections. Providence-bound senior middie Brendan Schindel leads a strong group that will also get big contributions from junior middie Brad Johnson, sophomore attackman Conor Schindel, junior attackman Austin Fox, junior defenseman Jack Savoca and senior goalie Matt Peterson.

Sleeper: Houston Christian

Word to the wide: Look out for the Mustangs, who will be playing a full varsity schedule for just their second year. Houston Christian returns seven starters from last season’s 5-9 team and appears ready to take a huge leap forward. Junior middie Dale Wallace is a returning honorable-mention, All-District selection.

NCAA Division I Recruits: Brendan Schindel, MF, Stony Point (Providence); David Tarsa, MF, Harker Heights (Army).

Schindel is the first lacrosse player from Stony Point to ever sign with an NCAA Division I program.

Other Top Players: Trevor Atkins, Att., Hillcrest; D.J. Ayala, Def., Central Catholic; Nick Barber, LSM, Greenhill; Andrew Bowan, MF, McCallum; Jake Bowling, MF, Cy-Fair; Justin Bruni, MF, Texas Military Institute; Eric Camacho, Att.-MF, St. Anthony’s Catholic; Mike Candler, G, Clear Lake; J.J. Carvajal, Att., Harker Heights; Nate Clark, MF, McKinney; Campbell Colyer, Def., Stratford-Westchester; Justin Corwin, MF, Vista Ridge; Tyler Cote, Att., Reagan; Tyler Daniels, MF, Reagan; Trevor Davis, MF, Stratford-Westchester; Trent Dennington, Att., Coppell; Travis DeSerrano, Att., Coppell; Tyler Devine, G, Vista Ridge; Diego Diaz, LSM, St. Michael’s; Thomas Early, MF, Central Catholic; Logan Elliott, MF, Fort Bend; Jack Fanning, MF, Lake Travis; Luke Fechman, MF, Hillcrest; Jake Fiederer, Att., Roosevelt; Austin Fox, Att., Stony Point; Brett Gage, Def., Greenhill; Luke Gates, MF, McCallum; Rowdy Gillis, Def., Harker Heights; Andrew Gibeau, Att., Klein; Evan Golden, Att., Alamo Heights; Steven Hartshorn, MF, Cy-Fair; Nate Hruby, MF, Coppell; Colby Hunt, MF, Bellaire; Brad Johnson, MF, Stony Point; Sammy Johnson, Def./LSM, Coppell; Nic Kirk, Def., Friendswood; Tyler Landis, MF, Coppell; Luke Lossau, MF, St. Michael’s; Mitch Lundquist, Def., Cy-Fair (Southwestern); Patrick Machell, Att., Alamo Heights; Max McKamy, MF, Greenhill; Jack McKane, Att., McKinney; Alex Michaels, MF, Westside (Southwestern); Mason Moore, Att., Taylor; Brandon Mullins, Def., Coppell; E.J. Neese, Att., Texas Military Institute; Alex Noeller, Att., Vista Ridge; Jeremy O’Keefe, LSM, Allen; Travis Owens, MF, LBJ; Nathan Pardee, LSM, Plano West; Oliver Patten, MF-Att., Greenhill; Garrett Pennabaker, LSM, Reagan; Matt Peterson, G, Stony Point; Peyton Porter, Def., Coppell; Matt Prochazka, Att., Clear Lake; Michael Puckett, MF-Att., Allen; Luke Rivera, Att., Plano West; Tripp Russ, MF-Att., Greenhill; Jack Savoca, Def., Stony Point; Josh Schear, Att., St. Michael’s; Conor Schindel, Att., Stony Point; Jordan Schochet, MF, Plano West; Khobe Schofield, Def., Vista Ridge; John Solowiej, Att., Greenhill; Andres Soto, Att., Lake Travis; Greg Soto, MF, Texas Military Institute; Chris Stockinger, Def., Klein; Todd Ten Have, LSM, Stratford-Westchester; Andy Uhl, Att., McCallum; Rigo Vargas, Def., Roosevelt; Dale Wallace, MF, Houston Christian; Jake Watts, MF, Texas Military Institute; Nick Webster, MF-Att., Bellaire; Garrett Westhoff, Def., Plano West; Shane Winters, LSM, Texas Military Institute.

Preseason Top 10: 1. Coppell, 2. Highland Park II, 3. Greenhill, 4. Stratford-Westchester, 5. Stony Point, 6. Plano West, 7. Clear Lake, 8. Houston Christian, 9. Vista Ridge, 10. Texas Military Institute.

Notes: There will be 37 teams battling it out in four districts in Division II this season. The Central District, North District and San Antonio District will all have eight teams. The South District will have 13 teams and be divided into two districts, with six teams in ‘District I’ and seven teams in ‘District II.’ ... Former assistant coach Lewis Wright has taken over for Jamie Booth as head coach at Stony Point....Central Catholic returns four starters, one at every position, from its 2009 San Antonio District championship team....There have been several coaching changes this season in the North District. At defending Division II state champion Coppell, Jared Venia has taken over for Gary Dennington. At Allen, Wendell Lee has replaced Mark Baggett. And at Plano West, John Marano has taken over the program. Plano East will also have a new head coach this season....In the South District, Ray Botto has taken over as head coach for John Furdon at Clear Lake, Bruce Roloff is the new head coach at Klein and Derrick Anderson has taken over the program at Westside.