By Ryan Menzie
For The Signal
After a pandemic-shortened lacrosse season, Foothill League coaches named their All League first- and second-team selections recently, with West Ranch and league champion Saugus leading the way.
Saugus and West Ranch led the way with four players each. Hart also had one player on each of the first and second teams.
The Centurions were led by Offensive Player of the Year Charlie Bland, who helped the team finish the season with a 6-2 record overall, including a 5-1 league record. Connor Levine, Ryan Maycott, Jackson Bland and John Serazio all made the first team, helping Saugus finish the season ranked eighth in the CIF-SS Division 2 rankings.
“The team played very well throughout the season, a short season that we all hoped would be longer and we all made the most of each opportunity,” said Saugus head coach Joseph Viola. “We want to improve each and every day. After losing our last playoff game of the season, we realized what we need to get where we want to be. CIF is definitely the next goal.”
The Wildcats match up with the Centurions with their own Defensive Player of the Year Carter Borsos, who helped his team finish with a 5-2 overall record, including a 5-1 league record. Travis Demsher, Ryan Yahata, Ethan Mower and Trevor Sandoval finished out the first team, which helped West Ranch end the season ranked 27th in the CIF-SS Division 2 rankings.
“We had a good year despite it being a short season,” said West Ranch head coach Mike Borsos. “We are excited about what we got in the future. We got a strong junior and senior class coming in. We already started to have our team meetings and we want to teach that it is a very blue-collar, lunchbox-type mentality.”
The Indians’ Aiden Rodriguez also made the first team, with Nathan Reed coming into the second team. Hart finished the season ranked 24th in the CIF-SS Division 3 rankings while the Valencia Vikings finished 28th in the CIF-SS Division 2 rankings.
Despite a shortened season, Foothill League lacrosse coaches expressed gratitude that their teams were able to have a chance to compete and seemed to be looking ahead to a full season next year.
“We got guys holding each other accountable and we got guys heading in the right direction,” said Borsos. “I love these guys. They show up to work every day, they work hard and I appreciate everything they do with all the sacrifices they have made on and off the field.”
