Middle school title highlights Homewood lacrosse season

There is perhaps no greater evidence of the strides achieved by the Homewood Patriot Lacrosse organization than the hardware the middle school boys team brought home in May.

The Homewood middle school boys lacrosse team wrapped up a perfect season with a thrilling 15-14 victory over Vestavia Hills in overtime. The Patriots finished the year with a13-0 record.

Scott Morales, in his second year as the vice president of boys lacrosse in Homewood’s organization, said that despite the sport not being played in Homewood as long as it has in some surrounding towns, the middle school team’s success was great to see.

“They’ve had some tough seasons, coming up in elementary school and just to see how far they’ve come since they were playing in fourth, fifth and sixth grade, it’s finally all come together to be competitive. To go 13-0 is pretty special,” Morales said.

In terms of numbers, the boys middle school team did not have the depth as many of the teams it competed against in the Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse Association season. But the team still competed at a high level and refused to drop a contest the entire season.

“They have some really good athletes, even with one of the smallest rosters in the league at that age group,” Morales said.

Ahmari Burrell, Worth McDaniel, Jackson Lindsey, Carter Engle, Cole Dickinson, Will Hardin, Caleb Church, JP Bodnar, Carter Zadick, Jack Farrell, James Spencer, Mitch Prewitt, Windham Hewitt, Len Irvine, Archie Mills, Jed Stone and Elijah Turner made up the roster for the unbeaten Patriots.

They were led by head coach Erik Dickinson and assistant Tyler Stone, a pair of coaches that Morales said “did one heck of a job.”

“Erik is one of those coaches that just gets it,” Morales said. “He’s very methodical and he’s got a system and it works. The guy is top notch, and Tyler’s been around lacrosse since his son was younger.”

The high school girls team also had a strong season in its first year of competition. That team and the girls middle school team both made the playoffs.

“They both had outstanding seasons,” Morales said.

Also in leadership for the Homewood Lacrosse organization are David Yacu, who is the president, and Michael Blanton, who is the vice president of girls lacrosse. Morales also expressed thanks to Homewood Parks and Recreation and Jakob Stephens for their help in maintaining the fields.

With the sport of lacrosse still in its relative infancy in the state of Alabama, backers of Homewood’s program are still actively recruiting kids to join the sport and give it a try.

“In the fall before registration, we go to the elementary schools, and the PE coaches are nice enough to let us talk about what lacrosse is,” Morales said. “That’s where it all starts.”

Lacrosse is likely only a year or two away from being officially sanctioned by the Alabama High School Athletic Association, and the sport is growing statewide. Homewood is no exception. Morales said that the U9 team, the youngest boys division in Homewood, signed up enough kids to make them consider forming a second team. 

Homewood Patriot Lacrosse serves kids from the age groups of 9 and under, 11 and under, 13 and under, middle school and high school on the boys side. For girls, there are teams of first- through third-graders, fourth- and fifth-graders, middle school and high school. 

More information can be found at homewoodpatriotslax.com.