WILLIAMSBURG — The boys of Jamestown High School lacrosse came out on top after a coveted matchup against undefeated Lafayette High School in the 2024 Hampton Roads Lacrosse League Championship.
Jeff White, head coach of Jamestown boys lacrosse team for three years, is no stranger to championship games. Prior to coaching the boys, White coached his two daughters in their lacrosse journeys.
The 2024 regular season saw the Eagles suffer just one loss, at the hands of Lafayette.
“We were handling everyone in our division pretty well, with the exception of Lafayette. We lost to them earlier in the season. The boys, ever since I started coaching, have always had a hard time with Lafayette. All these kids grew up playing together in our youth league and then they play against each other in high school game days,” White said.
After losing to Lafayette during the regular season, Jamestown would meet the rival again with a trophy on the line. After a strong start, Jamestown took off and led the entire game. Lafayette did not go down without a fight, battling back within one point, but with ball control and a strong midfield, Jamestown held off another scoring attempt and came out on top 11-10 at the final whistle.
“The Lafayette defense is very good. They have an outstanding goalie and their defenders are very good. Their attack players are really good, so the only area where we could really go after them was in the midfield. Our philosophy was to protect the ball in the midfield and possess the ball as long as we could in the midfield as long as we could. We also really focused on finding the right time for us to take the right shot,” White said.
Leading scorers were Lucas Byrum, Jack Malone and Toby Vermillion with three goals each, while Drew Powell had two goals. Jackson White won nearly all of his face-offs and Jake Podolin had numerous saves with him and the defense playing one of their best games of the year, according to White.
“At the end of the day, you still have to put the ball in the back of the net, but winning the face-offs really changed the pace of this game,” White said.
Lucas Byrum, captain and league points leader, said about the championship matchup, “It felt great, a very competitive game with a lot of exciting play. This is very rewarding to get back to the championship again this year and to win it by beating our rival. I am so proud of our guys and this win shows that all our hard work paid off.”
White and the team celebrated the championship at the team’s banquet. As head coach, White spoke to the boys during the event and shared his pride in them.
“I told the boys, two years ago we came in third, last year we came in second, and this year we’re first,” White said. I don’t know where it goes from here, but hopefully, we can hang onto it for a few more years.”
During the offseason, the Hampton Roads Lacrosse League will continue working with the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to provide opportunities to make boys and girls lacrosse an official VHSL-sanctioned varsity sport by creating teams at different high schools in the region.
For more information on the Hampton Roads Lacrosse League, visit hrlax.com.
