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Pouring fuel on the fire

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 04/13/10, 9:12AM CDT

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Marotske's return heats up one of state's best rivalries

Students don’t do a lot of transferring back and forth between Blake and Breck.

What would be the point?

The west Metro private schools are separated by seven miles but might as well be mirror images based on their demographics and enrollment sizes (Blake has 511 students; Breck has 408).

Naturally, there is a healthy rivalry when the Bears and Mustangs meet in any competition. And that’s underselling the sort of spirited back-and-forth you might see between, say, twin brothers or loosely related pit bulls.

Diving headfirst into the fray for a second time is Hank Marotske, the first-year Breck coach who built Blake, of all programs, into a state lacrosse powerhouse before departing for a job running a health club in downtown Boston.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been hearing a lot (about switching allegiances) ever since I came back,” said Marotske, 34, who returned from his two years on the East Coast last season, when he was assistant coach at Totino-Grace.

“I volunteered at Totino-Grace for part of the season and was just kind of waiting to see what coaching jobs would open up around here,” Marotske said. “When this position opened up, I knew it would be real similar to my experience at Blake.”

Marotske was president of the state’s club lacrosse league, the MBLSA, and was instrumental in pushing boys lacrosse into the state high school league’s consciousness as a viable varsity sport. Marotske was the head coach at Blake from 2001-06 and won his state club championships in his final two seasons with the Bears. The MSHSL added boys lacrosse as a varsity sport in 2007.

“When we were coaching against each other he always seemed to get the better of me,” said Blake coach Rob Horn, who was an assistant coach at Benilde-St. Margaret’s before taking over the Bears program. “His program was something that you looked up to, something that your program aspired to be.”

Marotske says his Bears programs were so successful mostly because they were ahead of the curve in terms of organization. He said Blake was the state’s first program to be fully funded by the school. Marotske also surrounded himself with top-flight assistant coaches.

“We didn’t necessarily have the best talent,” Marotske said. “We won because of our organization and how serious we were. I think people realized what hard work would do.”

Marotske, who inherited a Breck team that went 12-3 last season, said there has been a discernable upgrade in the level of play statewide, both in the quality of the players and the coaching they receive.

“The numbers of teams hasn’t changed too much,” Marotske said. “But the depth of the talent has and the seriousness has. I think people realized what hard work would do for you. I definitely think the coaching staffs are a lot stronger.”

Also cranked up a level or two -- which seemed unthinkable given the ferocity in which the schools compete -- is the boys lacrosse rivalry between Breck and Blake. Marotske’s return to coach Breck is the equivalent of dumping kerosene on a forest fire. The teams are scheduled to play on April 24 at Breck and May 6 at Blake.

“It will be very outside of the normal rivalry that exists there,” Horn said about the highly anticipated meetings between the Mustangs and Bears this season. “I don’t like losing to Hank.”

Loren Nelson, MN Lax Hub managing editor, can be reached at 612-379-1030 ext. 126 or loren.nelson@tstmedia.com.