Morning Coffee with FLN on Substack 05072024
Welcome to today’s post! Let’s preview the Boys Final Four games today! Girls tomorrow!
To repeat the Final Four information from the FLN website:
State Championships
When: Thursday-Saturday, May 9-11, 2024
Where: Paradise Coast Sports Complex (Naples)
Host: Collier County Public Schools
Admission: $10.00 per day general admission with advance purchase and $13.00 the day of via GoFan
NO onsite ticket sales taking place
Parking: $10.00 (all proceeds retained by the Host) | Parking Map
No tailgating and/or open alcohol containers will be allowed in the facility parking lot.
Facility: Spectator Information
Schedule: Boys | Girls
Championship Lodging: click here
Webcast: NFHS Network
Thursday, May 9th – Noon – 1A Boys Semifinal
#2 Benjamin (19-1) vs #3 Bolles (21-2)
How did they get here?
Benjamin took District 8, beating St Edward’s in the finals 15-5, then won 22-2 over All Saint’s Academy in the first round, 18-6 over St Edward’s in the second round and 16-5 over Lake Highland in the regional final.
Bolles won District 3, beating Episcopal School 22-2 in the finals, then won 20-6 over Maclay in the first round, 23-4 over Episcopal in the second round and 9-8 in OT over Oak Hall in the regional final.
Final power rankings/SOS/Class rank, as of 4/19 (post-district final)
Benjamin 23.366 / 11.51 / #2
Bolles 20.393 / 9.41 / #4
Schedule notes:
They did not play and it looks like there were no common opponents
Record Against Florida Final 8 Teams:
Benjamin 7-1: Loss to SA, Wins over Jupiter 2x, STA, Vero Beach, LHP, Cardinal Mooney and SJP
Bolles 2-0: Oak Hall and Winter Park – Bolles played a heavy Out-of-State schedule
Team Stats (dependent on MaxPreps being accurate):
Goals Per Game: Benjamin 16.6 – Bolles 16.5
Goals Against Per Game: Benjamin 6.5 – Bolles 4.4
Top Goal Scorers Per Game (Minimum 20 Goals):
Benjamin: Fr Jack Kelleher 3.7, Jr Jayden Vega 3.0, Jr Alex Ponchock 2.9
Bolles: Sr Parker Kane 2.6, Sr Daylin John-Hill 2.4, Sr Lee Krotee 2.1
Top Point Scorers Per Game (Minimum 30 Points):
Benjamin: Kelleher 5.6, Ponchock 5.4, Vega 4.7
Bolles: John-Hill 4.7, Kane 3.2, Krotee 2.8
Thoughts:
The lack of a common opponent is very unusual for the state at this level and the out-of-state schools Bolles played are hard to judge if not seen.
Bolles had to grind out a 4th quarter comeback against Oak Hall, while Benjamin took it pretty good to Lake Highland, so there’s definitely a different feel between the two schools coming into this. It’s high school, you never know how the kids react the next time out, if at all. Coach West was on the other end of a similar situation in 2019, when his Ponte Vedra squad rode a 4th quarter comeback over then #1 Oxbridge in the final game of the season to a state title run. Does the Oak Hall scare encourage them or not? Again, it’s high school; no one, including me, saw Benjamin playing that type of game against LHP. Will they carry it on or was that peak for them?
Benjamin’s weakness this year was faceoffs; can they continue to win without enough parity there? Bolles ‘weakness’ could end up being the better teams they played not having the seasons they thought they were scheduling?
If you go with momentum, you have to make Benjamin the favorite. This is a noon start on what is likely to be a hot day and hotter field, so depth and pace are going to be factors. The times I saw Benjamin in person, they certainly loved transition, and the fast break trailer was very effective. When I saw Bolles on the stream, they tended to run more settled situations. Watch to see if Benjamin gets easy scores off that transition. If not, Bolles can make it a slower pace and make Benajmin’s defense work more.
Both teams are back from last year; Benjamin’s late rally falling short in the semifinals to SA and Bolles the one-goal loss in the finals. I see Benjamin holding a small edge in this one.