High school boys lacrosse: Judge routs Waterford in matchup of 4A’s top teams

SALT LAKE CITY — It has been 30 years since Utah high school athletes became introduced to the sport of lacrosse. The Judge Memorial boys team showed Wednesday night just how far the sport has come.

Dylan Hersh, Frederick Gowski and Ben Butler scored two goals apiece as Judge, one of the Utah’s premier teams back in the day, kept its strong tradition going by routing Waterford 12-3 in a battle of 4A’s top teams.

With the win, Judge improved to 8-6 overall but 3-0 in Region 10 and likely earned the top seed in the region’s upcoming post-season tournament. Waterford, meanwhile, lost for the first time this season and fell into second place.

“Great game … great game. Always fun to play them,” said Judge coach Jeff Brzoska. “This is was like a battle for 4A and for the region. We played well and everyone got involved.”

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Judge was never threatened. The Bulldogs’ passing was on target throughout the game. Judge scored first and then the game turned when Waterford’s Alani Aho had to leave the game a few minutes later with a severe leg injury. Judge scored quickly when it wanted. The Bulldogs had a 6-1 lead by the end of the first quarter and used much of its its huge roster to stay fresh.

Waterford got goals from Noah Chao, Andrew Rurka and Kellen Kemper. However, Brzoska said Judge goalkeeper Connor Knight turned away several shots to keep the Ravens frustrated.

Waterford entered the game averaging 15.5 goals per game and even had 21 in a victory over Hillcrest last week.

Brzoska said the Bulldogs’ non-region schedule, which includes 5A and 6A opponents, as well as two games against Southern California schools, prepared them well for their region schedule. Judge is also the defending 4A champs and hopes to continue to challenge at state next year when the lacrosse team moves up to 5A.

“Lacrosse is really big here,” Brzoska said. “We have good kids and they are good at selling it to the other kids at the school. I’ll bet 15 percent of our student body (boys) play now, and we’re building something here.”

Judge is also building tradition. The Bulldogs and Ravens started a traveling trophy several years ago — called the “Bucket Helmet,” with the winning team taking it back to their locker room afterward.

The Bucket Helmet was part of the post-game locker room festivities Wednesday but Brzoska said it’s likely the Bulldogs and Ravens will face each other again in their unique region tournament next week and possibly the state tournament May 13-23.

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, Connor Knight was misidentified in the photo caption.