Special Coverage

Strake Jesuit Lacrosse Earns Berth to State

Facing a perennial statewide power from St. John's, Strake Jesuit was pretty powerful in their own right. The Crusaders defeated St. John's 17-12 to win the Division 1 South Regional Championship of the Texas High School Lacrosse League.

"It was great," Long stick midfielder Rex Potts said. "It's the first time we've done that straight through in Division I. It's been a tough year, but we worked really hard."

"We're really excited," Midfielder Andrew Martin said. "It's a great opportunity to show that Houston's got really good lacrosse in the state of Texas."

In the win over St. John's, the Crusaders were led by the six goals and five assists from Mark Allison and an additional three goals from Connor Wilson. But without question, it's been a total team effort that's led Strake Jesuit to their first ever berth to state in Division I lacrosse.

"One of the things is that the guys worked hard all year," Coach Mike Block said. "From back in the fall doing all the running and lifting, they came out and did their stick work. They play together really well."

"I think it's huge," Allison said. "That was our goal going into it the whole time. I'm glad we worked through some stuff and got it done."

Lacrosse is catching on in Texas and is one of the fastest-growing sports among high school athletes.

"It's a sport of pure athleticism," Potts said. "People work hard. There's a lot of running. There's a lot of hitting, and a lot of eye-hand coordination. It's a fun sport to watch and Houston's starting to catch on to that."

And the lacrosse world is starting to catch onto Strake Jesuit, who has become one of the top teams in the state.