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Delano comes of age

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 04/28/11, 10:05AM CDT

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Young program earns upset win over reigning MBSLA champion St. Louis Park


Delano's Jake Breig, left, scoots past St. Louis Park's Art Elmer. Photo by Helen Nelson

The grass playing fields adjacent to Delano High School sit about 24 miles to the west of the newly installed, impeccable artificial turf surface at the Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School football stadium in St. Louis Park.

The map points are notable on the burgeoning Minnesota landscape in that Benilde-St. Margaret’s is the defending Minnesota State High School League boys lacrosse champion and unbeaten so far this season.

The Red Knights, in effect, serve as the epicenter of state boys lacrosse.


Delano scored twice in the closing minutes to beat St. Louis Park 12-10. Photo by Helen Nelson

The Rage are a second-year varsity program in the Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association. They have no state titles, no Division I recruits, no zany student section going bonkers in the bleachers.

Heck, they don’t even have bleachers.

As of Thursday, April 28, Delano does have a milestone victory. And, it would seem, a sky-is-the-limit future.

With a group of pint-sized fifth- and sixth-graders playing lacrosse on a nearby field, the Rage scored twice in closing minutes to knock off two-time defending MBSLA champion St. Louis Park 12-10 and remain unbeaten.

“We were very, very sloppy,” Delano coach Dan Willette said. “Holy mackerel. We have played a lot better. But, you know, good teams will do that to you.”

St. Louis Park serves as the gold standard for club lacrosse. The Orioles double as a measuring stick for fledgling programs such as Delano’s.

“St. Louis Park is a good team and they always have been,” said Delano junior midfielder Lucas Anderson, who scored three goals against the Orioles. “So this is a good accomplishment for us.”


Delano's Derek Lemke controls the ball against St. Louis Park. Photo by Helen Nelson

St. Louis Park effectively neutralized Delano standout Chase Willette, thanks mostly to the work of long-stick midfielder Sean Berens. That left the game riding on the stick of Anderson, among several other capable Delano shooters.

“They spend a lot of time shooting,” St. Louis Park coach Kevin Reed said. “That’s their focus. You know you are going to see a lot of goals in these games.”

All those Delano goals can be traced, in part, to offseason workouts.

“A lot of our kids play during the summer,” Anderson said. “They practice a lot trying to get better. And they have.”

While Delano isn’t a threat to overtake Benilde-St. Margaret’s as the capital of state lacrosse any time soon, the town of with a population of about 5,464 has embraced the sport.

“We started with just a seventh- and eighth-grade team four years ago,” Willette said. “We had three teams the next year, five the next and this year we have seven, including two girls teams.”

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Game Recap

Junior midfielder Lucas Anderson scored three goals as Delano, in just its second season as an Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association varsity program, knocked off two-time defending MBSLA champion St. Louis Park 12-10 on Thursday, April 28, at Delano High School.

St. Louis Park (5-2) twice trailed by three goals in the second half but tied the score at 10 with 7:15 remaining on senior Connor Shandley’s fourth goal of the game and 21st of the season.

Colton Homberger and Anderson scored in the closing minutes as the Rage (4-0) earned what was easily the biggest victory in the program’s young history.

Homberger, Graham Ylitalo and Jack Nelson each scored twice for Delano. Max Bergeron and Art Elmer each had two goals for St. Louis Park, which held its biggest lead, at 5-3, in the second quarter.

Delano tied the score at 5 at halftime on goals by Jake Breig and Andrew Mueller.


Delano's Lucas Anderson.

Three Stars

1. Lucas Anderson, Delano
The fleet-footed junior midfielder scored two of his three goals in the fourth quarter. Anderson has scored at least three goals in all four of Delano’s games this season and has 15 in all.

2. Graham Ylitalo, Delano
The shifty attackman scored twice and used his exceptional quickness and cutting ability to burn at least 30 seconds off the clock during a crucial two-man-up opportunity for St. Louis Park in the second half.

3. Connor Shandley, St. Louis Park
The precision-shooting Shandley, a senior midfielder, scored four goals to give him 21 in six games this season.

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