Chip and Chirp: The Week 3 Preview

Chip and Chirp: The Week 3 Preview

Two lax dads. One rain delay. Zero forgiveness from the weather gods.

Folks, we need to talk about last Wednesday.

We had our chairs. We had our coolers. We had a fresh column full of bold predictions and a matchup between two unbeaten teams that we personally hyped to every human being within earshot, including two mail carriers and a man at the hardware store who was just trying to buy a rake. And then the sky opened up and took it all away.

(Chirp here. I want the record to show that my Week Two Bold Calls were never given the chance to hit. They were not wrong. They were rained out. There is a difference, and my lawyer agrees. Back to you, Chip.)

Now listen, growing up in New England we played through weather that would make a meteorologist quit the profession. Sleet, sideways snow, a fog bank in Duxbury so thick the goalies just had to listen for the ball. But lightning and turf fields do not mix, the league made the right call, and we tip our caps to the folks who made it. The kids' safety comes first, always. That is not a joke, that is the whole deal.

The good news? Everything we were excited about got one week riper. The records still stand. The storylines still simmer. And tonight, Wednesday, July 29, we pick it all back up right where this whole thing started: Smith Turf Fields on Veasley Street, the same grounds that hosted opening night. Six games, three fields, every team plays twice.

Now, a word about tonight's card, because the sharp-eyed among you have already noticed something. Yes, some of these matchups are opening night rematches. No, you are not seeing double. When the rain wiped out last Wednesday, those games got pushed to later in the season, and the whole opponent rotation slid forward with them. So tonight some teams meet again a little sooner than the schedule originally intended.

(Chirp here. And frankly, good. The schedule makers spent all offseason spacing out these rivalries like a fancy tasting menu, and the weather said no, bring out the good stuff now. A rematch in week three is not a scheduling quirk, it is a sequel, and every one of these sequels comes with real history: one-goal endings, revenge motives, and goalies with grudges. Back to you, Chip.)

One more wrinkle before we get to the matchups, and it is a big one. Word around the sidelines is that club schedules are colliding tonight, so a few regulars may be arriving late or sitting this one out. You know what that means? Opportunity. Somewhere on those three fields tonight, a young player who has been waiting for his moment is going to get extra shifts, extra touches, and a chance to write his name into this column. We have watched youth lacrosse for a combined 80 years, and we are telling you: next man up nights are where legends get their first paragraph.

Alright. To the fields.

Field 1, 7:00 PM: Wolves vs Bears

Somebody is getting their first win tonight, and we cannot wait to see who.

Two teams, two 0-2 records, two rosters that are far, far better than the standings suggest. The Wolves have been playing shorthanded since opening night and still got electric goaltending and coast-to-coast heroics from first overall pick Nixon Paylor, plus firecracker energy from young Connley Bowman. The Bears dropped two games by a combined five goals, got a volunteer goalie performance for the ages from Nolan Moberg, and have an offense led by Lennon Winegarner that is one hot night away from breaking loose.

(Chirp here. Circle the Kemp brothers, Slone and Louie. I called a Bears wake-up before the rain came, and per my earlier legal statement, that call is still live. And do not forget Aedan Bogacki. One quiet week is a setup, not a slump. It is now a two-week setup thanks to the weather, which means the spring is coiled TIGHT. Back to you, Chip.)

Whoever wins this one leaves Smith Turf Fields with their first W and a whole lot of momentum. Whoever loses is still dangerous. Do not miss the 7:00 start on Field 1.

Field 1, 7:45 PM: Wolves vs Buffalos

The rematch. Opening night, the Buffalos handled the shorthanded Wolves 7-2 behind that relentless Hays brothers attack. Tonight the Wolves get another crack at the league's top team, and if there is one thing we know about a proud roster with a first overall pick in the cage, it is that they remember the score.

The Buffalos, meanwhile, are trying to protect a perfect record while playing a doubleheader against two teams with something to prove. Ethan Hays, seven years old and leading his team in points, against a Wolves squad that has had two weeks to think about it. Delicious.

Field 2, 7:00 PM: Buffalos vs Snipes

First meeting, and quietly maybe the game of the night.

You have the undefeated Buffalos, who spread the ball around like a holiday dinner: Hays brothers cooking, Trent, Oliver, and Tej finishing, Isaac and company causing turnovers by the bushel. And across from them, the Snipes, owners of the league's most terrifying ground ball unit. Sylvester Boafo, Porter Whitcomb, and Wylie Paylor combined for well over 20 ground balls on opening night, and rookie sensation Dean Terrell announced himself with 8 points in his first night of organized lacrosse, ever.

(Chirp here. Here is the chess match: the Buffalos win with clean possessions and quick ball movement. The Snipes win by turning every loose ball into a fistfight they are already winning. Something has to give, and I have moved my chair to the fifty for this one. Back to you, Chip.)

Field 2, 7:45 PM: Turtles vs Snipes

THE REMATCH OF THE 5-4 CLASSIC. Sorry for shouting. Not sorry.

Opening night, these two played the tightest, tensest, most playoff-flavored game of the young season, with the Turtles sneaking out a one-goal thriller. Beckett Scroggins stuffed the stat sheet in six different categories. Gunnar Lyon stood on his head in the Snipes cage. Porter Whitcomb ate a shot at the end of a half and turned it into the play of the week.

Now they run it back, second game of the night for both squads, legs tired, benches loud, everything on the line. If this one is not decided by one goal again, we will eat our bucket hats.

Field 3, 7:00 PM: Turtles vs Eagles

First meeting, and it is a heavyweight bout: the preseason favorites out of the West against the unbeaten surprise of the East.

The Turtles bring the championship-pedigree coaching staff, the Beckett Scroggins Swiss Army knife experience, MVP watch-lister William McVey, and a new cage phenomenon in Oaklen Pruitt, who put on a show in his first career game between the pipes. The Eagles bring the league's leading scorer in Noah Parker, 11 points on opening night, the two-way force of Nathan Harrell, and a goalie they call The Ice Man, Landon Long, who has not changed facial expressions since the Fourth of July.

(Chirp here. Noah Parker versus Oaklen Pruitt. The Ice Man versus a Turtles offense that got shut down by exactly nobody last time out. This is the kind of game where somebody's nickname gets upgraded. Back to you, Chip.)

Field 3, 7:45 PM: Bears vs Eagles

Another rematch. The Eagles took the opener 7-3 back when they were being coached by the legendary substitute duo of Roger Davis and Harry Wellons. The Bears have seen this team before, they know what is coming, and they will be finishing a night where they have already battled the Wolves. Tired legs, full hearts, and a Bears squad that we keep insisting is a sleeping giant. If the giant is ever going to stir, a revenge game in the nightcap is a pretty good alarm clock.

Chip's Corner

One thing I am watching tonight, straight from the heart.

The young guns.

Every league night has a script. The stars do star things, the coaches coach, the parents pace, and somewhere down the bench there is a kid who has done everything right in practice and is just waiting for the game to need him.

Tonight, with club schedules pulling a few regulars away, the game is going to need him.

Maybe it is a second grader getting his first long shift. Maybe it is a kid who has been playing defense all season getting waved up on the attack. Maybe it is somebody's first career goal, and if you have read this column before, you know the First Career Goal Club is always accepting new members and the initiation ceremony is me getting misty-eyed by a chain-link fence.

I played on teams like this growing up. The night our top guys were away at a tournament in Nashua was the night my buddy Donnie scored four goals and never came off the bench again for three years. Somebody's Donnie Night is happening at Smith Turf Fields tonight. I would not miss it for anything, and neither should you.

(Chirp here. Donnie also once got a penalty for celebrating too long, which Chip leaves out of the story. Back to you, Chip.)

Chirp's Calls

Tonight's predictions, fully rested and legally protected from further weather events.

1. The Wolves versus Bears opener is decided by one goal, somebody's first win comes with a sideline celebration you can hear from the parking lot, and both fan bases leave saying "we told you our team was better than the record."
2. The Snipes ground ball machine hits 20 team ground balls again across the doubleheader. Boafo, Whitcomb, and Paylor do not know the ball is allowed to be on the ground.
3. Turtles versus Snipes, the rematch, is a one-goal game. Again. I do not make the rules, those two teams do.
4. Noah Parker gets tested by the Turtles like he has not been tested yet, and how he answers tells us everything about the Eagles' ceiling.
5. A player who has not yet been named in this column scores tonight and forces his way into next week's recap. Next man up is not a slogan, it is a forecast.

And the standings stakes, because I know you people love a table: the Buffalos and Eagles both enter unbeaten but do not play each other tonight, which means we could arrive at next week with two perfect teams on a collision course. The rain took our unbeaten showdown once. The schedule cannot protect them forever.

(Chip here. He has been muttering "the schedule cannot protect them forever" all week. Back to you, me, because we have league news to get through.)

The Bulletin Board

All the news from the league office, as read aloud by two guys in bucket hats.

The league sent out the big season email yesterday, and if you saved it like you were told, good. If you did not, here is everything that matters, with commentary you did not ask for.

Arrive at 6:15 tonight. Coaches need time to get players warmed up for the 7:00 first whistle. In our day, warmups meant jogging one lap and arguing about who had to play defense. These kids get an actual warmup. Progress.

The Drew is getting a speed trainer. Starting Monday, August 3, a portion of Monday practices will feature speed and agility training with Jaylin Brower of Peak Performance, one of the best in the business.

(Chirp here. I once ran a 40 yard dash at a combine in 1991 and the coach asked if my cleats were tied together. They were not. If Jaylin Brower had gotten to me at age nine, folks, I am writing this column from my mansion. These kids have no idea how good they have it. Back to you, Chip.)

The Week 2 make-up games are officially on the calendar: Wednesday, August 19. You know what that means. The rained-out slate lives. Which means, and please remain calm, the unbeaten showdown we lost to the weather has a new court date. If the Buffalos and the Eagles take care of business between now and then, August 19 becomes the biggest regular season night of the summer. Chirp has already marked it on three separate calendars.

The All-Star Game is Saturday, August 15. A Saturday! Daylight! The Drew's best, all on one field. We will have much more to say about this as it gets closer, and yes, we are lobbying the league for a commentators' table. A folding table is fine. We will bring our own chairs.

Team pictures are Monday, August 24 at practice, 6:00 PM at Smith Turf Field 1. Wear your uniform if you can, because these photos are going on the league website and player bios. Moms and dads, this is your official notice to locate the uniform now and not at 5:40 PM on August 24. We have lived this. We are trying to save you.

Playoffs begin Wednesday, August 26. Every game from here on out matters for seeding, which is a sentence we never thought we would get to write about grade schoolers and we are thrilled about it.

Championship Night is Wednesday, September 2. One game. One night. The league went back and forth on the date and landed on the usual Wednesday, since Labor Day weekend has a lot of families traveling. And instead of a rushed best-of-three, they are leaning toward one longer championship game so the night feels special.

(Chirp here. One game, winner takes the summer, under the lights. That is how they did it in our day and it is correct. Chip has already asked what the protocol is if he cries during the trophy presentation. There is no protocol. He is on his own. Back to you, Chip.)

And the big one: The Drew League has an app now. It is on the App Store, it puts the schedule, updates, and the site one tap away, and it has a training section with recommended videos for players who want extra offseason work. It is a work in progress with updates rolling out often, and if it asks you for a season code, use DREW001. Two old New England lax dads successfully installed it on the first try, and only one of us called his son for help. We will not say who.

Tonight at The Drew

Week 3. Wednesday, July 29. Smith Turf Fields, 2399 Veasley St, Greensboro. 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Six games, three fields, every team plays twice.

Field 1: Wolves vs Bears, 7:00 PM. Wolves vs Buffalos, 7:45 PM.

Field 2: Buffalos vs Snipes, 7:00 PM. Turtles vs Snipes, 7:45 PM. (Rematch of the 5-4 opening night classic.)

Field 3: Turtles vs Eagles, 7:00 PM. Bears vs Eagles, 7:45 PM.

Arrive by 6:15 PM for warmups. First whistle at 7:00 sharp.

(Chip here, one last time. See you tonight at Smith Turf Fields, 2399 Veasley Street. Bring water, bring your loudest positive cheering, and hug your kid after the game no matter what the scoreboard says. That is the Drew way. Back to you, nobody. That is the end of the preview.)

Chip and Chirp are two former New England lax rats who followed the sun south and never left. Their opinions are their own, their memories of their playing days are heavily exaggerated, and their love for the kids of The Drew League is one hundred percent verified. See you at the fields.