A number of area senior student-athletes are making their college commitments official this week, with the early non-football signing period now in play (Nov. 12-19).

Correspondent Brendan Hall checks in with an updated list of commitments:

Baseball
Sahil Bloom, Weston (Stanford)
Kevin Brown, Algonquin (Bryant)
Peter Castaldi, St. John's Prep (Northeastern)
Jon Leroux, Auburn (Northeastern)
Derek Lowe, Lincoln-Sudbury (William & Mary)
John McKenna, Algonquin (UMass-Amherst)
Justin Quinn, Lincoln-Sudbury (Rollins College)
Fran Whitten, Westborough (Maine)

Basketball
Antoine Allen, Notre Dame Prep (Providence)
Russ Braithwaite, St. Mark’s (Babson)
Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Tilton/Boston (UConn)
Courtney Finn, Winthrop (Bentley)
Dave Johnson, St. Mark’s (Quinnipiac)
Erik Murphy, St. Mark’s (Florida)
Alex Oriakhi, Tilton/Lowell (UConn)
Dartaye Ruffin, Stoughton (Drexel)
James Southerland, Notre Dame Prep (Syracuse)

Field hockey
Kara Mackintire, Shrewsbury (Boston College)

Golf
Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury (Virginia)

Lacrosse
Quinn Cully, Duxbury (Notre Dame)
Hakeem Lecky, Duxbury (Syracuse)
Colin O'Rourke, St. John's Shrewsbury (Wagner)
Alex Papoojian, St. John's Shrewsbury (VMI)
Chris Pellichero, King Philip (Providence)
Kristen Scopetski, Algonquin (UMass-Amherst)

Soccer
CC Jensen, Acton-Boxborough (Elon)
AJ Millet, Westford (Harvard)
Sarah Wooley, Duxbury (Siena)

Softball
Nicole D’Argento, Ashland (Boston College)
Jessie Bryant, Marlborough (Providence)

Our friends over at LaxPower.com unveiled their final national poll for the 2008 girls' lacrosse season.

Westwood -- the Division 1 state champion and No. 1 on our final girls' lacrosse poll of 2008 -- earned spot No. 15 on the national poll with a 24-0-1 mark. The Wolverines, whose lone blemish was a midseason tie with the same Framingham squad it topped in the Eastern Mass. finals, were the highest ranking Massachusetts team.

The Flyers landed at No. 43 on the final national poll.

Prep squads Nobles (39) , Brooks (68), and Thayer (93) were all part of the top 100.

Western Mass. power Longmeadow, which fell to Westwood twice, including in the state championship game, checked in at No. 96.

Other local public schools cracking the top 200 included Winchester (124), Wellesley (126), Lincoln-Sudbury (140), and Needham (181).

Check out this entry from Monday to see how the local boys' squads fared nationally. Check out this entry to see the Globe's final Top 20 polls for the 2008 season.

We're rolling out our final boys' and girls' lacrosse Top 20s of the 2008 season today. Check out both the boys' lacrosse and girls' lacrosse rankings below:

BOYS

1.	Duxbury			22-2	1
2.	Billerica		17-5	7
3.	St. John's Prep		18-3	3
4.	Medfield		21-4	2
5.	Walpole			21-1	4
6.	Xaverian		16-6	5
7.	Andover			14-6	6
8.	Scituate		16-6	15
9.	Reading			18-4	12
10.	Lexington		15-5	19
11.	Marshfield		16-6	-
12.	Winchester		16-6	-
13.	Needham			16-7	16
14.	Cohasset		13-5	20
15.	Dover-Sherborn		15-6	14
16.	North Andover		17-5	11
17.	Barnstable		17-4	13
18.	King Philip		20-2	17
19.	Arlington		16-4	-
20.	Lowell			14-7	10

Some quick thoughts: We're not sure you can really argue with the top 10 squads (though I'm sure we'll get some feedback). Billerica earned that No. 2 spot with its late-season play and by taking Duxbury to the wire in the championship game. St. John's Prep topped Medfield in overtime late in the regular season and that helped sort those two squads out. Some might argue that Scituate is a bit too high, but we think the Sailors earned a lofty spot with their late-season surge. All the teams in the back end of the top 20 really had their ups and downs during the season. Marshfield overcame some injuries to surge late, but we would have liked to have seen them against some other top competition. Some will argue that King Philip is too low, but that comes down to strength of schedule. We considered a pack of teams for No. 20, including BC High and Waltham, but we'll give Lowell the nod considering that, of the Raiders' seven losses, three came against Top 10 squads and two came out of state. Lowell also smacked Reading during the regular season.

GIRLS

1.	Westwood	24-0-1	1
2.	Framingham	22-2-1	3
3.	Wellesley	18-1-1	2
4.	Lincoln-Sudbury	21-2-0	4
5.	Needham		19-4-1	7
6.	Winchester	20-1-2	5
7.	King Philip	17-3-0	6
8.	Andover		17-6-0	8
9.	Acton-Boxboro	18-3-1	9
10.	Norwell		16-9-0	19
11.	North Andover	20-2-1	11
12.	Reading		14-5-2	14
13.	Lexington	18-4-0	15
14.	Duxbury		14-5-2	12
15.	Masconomet	14-4-0	13
16.	Weston		13-7-0	--
17.	Hingham		13-6-0	20
18.	Georgetown	13-6-0	--
19.	Sandwich	20-1-1	16
20.	Notre Dame	15-4-1	18

Some quick thoughts: We can hear the groans in Wellesley already. Yes, the Raiders defeated Framingham in a head-to-head battle back on April 7. But that was more than two months ago. If the teams met again later in the season, we believe the Flyers likely would have returned the favor. From what we saw, Westwood and Framingham were simply a cut above. Division 1, as a whole, however, was absolutely loaded and we reflected that in the top 5. Winchester, King Philip, and Andover sorted themselves out from regular-season play. Georgetown was tough to figure out. The Royals stormed to the Division 2 North final, but had also endured some questionable losses during the regular season, like a 13-8 defeat at the hands of a Manchester Essex squad that finished 6-8.

Our friends at LaxPower.com released their boys' lacrosse season-ending national rankings and Duxbury is the only local public squad to land in the top 50 as the Dragons -- ranked No. 1 in the Globe's final top 20 poll -- check in at No. 39.

Deerfield Prep is tops among Massachusetts schools, landing at No. 21 after a 15-1 campaign (their lone loss being a one-goal tilt with Avon Old Farms of Connecticut, which ranked at No. 227). The Governor's Academy landed at No. 37.

Western Mass. public power Longmeadow, which fell to Duxbury in the regular season, but rebounded to win the Division 2 state title (topping Medfield in the finals) checked in at No. 42.

You'd have to hop down to No. 147 to find the next Massachusetts public entry in St. John's Prep. Other local publics in the top 200: Walpole (152), Billerica (163), Xaverian (167), and Medfield (178).

We'll have our final Top 20 for the boys' and girls' lacrosse seasons posted shortly.

Our final Top 20 polls for the 2008 baseball and softball seasons have been posted.

You can read our top 20 recap, or just check out the final polls for baseball and softball. (Hint: Two undefeated teams sit perfectly atop our final rankings).

We'll check back with final top 20 polls for boys' and girls' lacrosse Monday.

For those pining for one more boys' lacrosse game, get yourselves down to Reebok Field in Canton for the Senior North-South All-Star Game at 5 p.m.

South coach Rick Peterson -- Marshfield's leading man -- reports the teams will be comprised of seniors from the All-American list, along with Eastern Mass. All-Stars who were voted to compete in the game.

Click HERE to check out the list of All-Americans for the 2008 season. Be sure to also visit our 2008 Spring All-Scholastics to read more on the athletes that will comprise much of the talent at the North-South battle.

How good are these teams? The South triumvirate of goalies features Garrett Akie of Dover-Sherborn, David Barton of BC High, and Max Vaikus of Hingham. It'd be a wonder anyone scored except for the star power that litters the midfield and attack for both squads. Should be a phenomenal night of lacrosse.

By Amanda Bruno, Globe Correspondent

WAYLAND – After the Westwood baseball team clinched the Division 3 state title over Frontier up in Lowell, the boys headed over to the girls’ lacrosse Division 1 state final to see if the Wolverines could bring home a pair of titles.

It happened to be their day.

In its fourth meeting in the state final in six years, Westwood (24-0-1) powered past Longmeadow, 10-7 to win yet another state championship over the Lancers. The Wolverines clinched titles in 2003 and 2005, and Longmeadow (21-3) savaged a win in 2004.

"It’s huge. I mean once we won it freshmen year I always kind of wanted one for myself to be like I don’t have my sister’s help [this time] so today was a big one," said senior captain Alex Frank. "I know our seniors, [winning the state title] was our goal for the season and to come out and play like we did today and come out and win is great. It’s a great ending to our season."

Westwood dominated the first half led by the Globe All-Scholastic trio, sophomore Kelly Rich (six goals, five in the half) and senior captains Frank (two goals) and Erin Massimi (two goals, one assist) who contributed to all of the scoring.

After Longmeadow scored the first goal of the game 2:16 in, Massimi tied it up and got the ball rolling for the Wolverines who then went on a 7-0, before the Lancers finally scored again with 54 seconds remaining in the frame.

"It was not the game plan [scoring eight goals in the first half], that’s what we were trying not to do,” said Westwood coach Leslie Frank. “We were trying to save the legs and pace ourselves and time ourselves."

Longmeadow’s bid for a seventh state title looked to be over with, but that’s why there are two halves in lacrosse.

Westwood cooled off after Massimi scored her second goal of the game 15 seconds into the second. That’s when the Lancers unleashed a threatening rally. Longmeadow senior Katie Phillips (four goals) scored back-to-back goals to put Lomgeadow within five and Westwood called a timeout with 20:37 on the clock.

Fifteen minutes flew by with neither team scoring. Finally with 5:35 left in the second frame, Jessica Lesage found Rich on the left side of the net and made a quick release to give her, her sixth goal of the game to make it 10-4.

"[Kelly] was outstanding,” said Leslie Frank. “She’s just seasoned. She sees when it’s time. She’s patient, she holds her cuts and then [takes the shot]."

But Longmeadow still wouldn’t go away with Emily Stankiewicz responding 32 seconds later and the Lancers strung together two more, but as they threatened for more, Abbie Brown (seven saves) made an enormous save and gave it to Massimi who took it to the other end and held onto the ball until the horn sounded.

"The work ethic of those kids, I felt so much pressure from Longmeadow in the second half. I don’t even know how we pulled it off," said Westwood coach Leslie Frank.

"Right now I’m just really excited. All of our hard work paid off and I really wanted to do this for the seniors because they have led us to so many things," said Rich. "We just really wanted to finish it off for them. We had such a great season and it was just a great way to end it."

Sorry folks, I unfortunately didn't have any internet capabilities from Wayland so I was unable to post any updates.

Some quick notes:

This was Westwood's third state title in six years and all three have come against Longmeadow.

After Longmeadow scored the opening goal, the Wolverines splurged to an 8-0 run led by the Globe All-Scholastic trio of sophomore Kelly Rich, and senior captains Erin Massimi and Alex Frank.

Rich scored five of her six goals in the first frame, Frank both of her goals, and Massimi had a goal and an assist (two goals total).

Westwood led 8-2 at the break.

Longmeadow however didn't die as the Lancers outscored the Wolverines, 5-2 in the second frame. Longmeadow goalie, Mollie Mackler was incredible and finished with 12 saves. The senior is attending Duke in the fall.

The Lancers certainly made it close as Katie Phillips (four goals) put in back-to-back netters to cut the deficit to five, which prompted Westwood to call a timeout. After the timeout there was a 15 minute scoring gap until Rich, fed by Jessica Lesage, scored with 5:35 remaining in the second frame.

Longmeadow finished off game on a 3-0 run, but after a save by Westwood goalie Abbie Brown (seven saves), the Wolverines took the ball to the other end until the horn blew to stop the run.

Check back later for a full game recap.

It'll be do or die battle once again between Westwood (23-0-1) and Longmeadow (21-2) who are competing in the girls' lacrosse Division 1 state final this evening at Wayland High School as these two teams aren't strangers.

The two powerhouses have met in the state title game from 2003-2005 as Westwood captured titles in '03 and '05 and the Lancers in '04.

During the regular season, Westwood trounced Longmeadow 14-5 back on April 12, but by no means does this mean it'll be an easy ride for the Wolverines, which will be expecting a much different Longmeadow squad.

The Lancers have sailed along in post-season play beating South Hadley 20-6 and Minnechaug 12-4 in the west to capture another WMass crown and their most recent win over Central champion Westborough 10-6.

It should be a great match-up. Game time will start at 4:15 p.m. Check back for updates, I'll try my best to give them to you.

Here are the 2008 girls' lacrosse All-Americans for Eastern Mass:

• Catherine Gross, Andover, Jr.
• Christine Donovan, Brooks, Soph.
• Moira Barry, Framingham, Soph.
• Melanie Baskind, Framingham, Sr.
• MaryLeah DiNisco, Governors, Jr.
• Jess Griffin, Lincoln-Sudbury, Jr.
• Casey Griffen, Nobles, Jr.
• Sarah Plumb, Nobles, Sr.
• Kaitlin Gaiss, Phillips, Jr.
• Samantha Taylor, Pingree, Sr.
• Kelsey Johnson, Thayer, Jr.
• Alex Frank, Westwood, Sr.
• Erin Massimi, Westwood, Sr.
• Meg Sullivan, Winchester, Sr.

The following athletes received honorable mentions:

• Katelyn Caro, Andover, Sr.
• Elizabeth Bruno, Brooks, Sr.
• Chelsey Bowman, Concord, Sr.
• Erin Levesque, Duxbury, Sr.
• Annie Clayman, Governors, Sr.
• Mary Pasquantonio, King Philip, Sr.
• Alexa Rozelle, Lincoln-Sudbury, Jr.
• Victoria Arnold, Middlesex, Sr.
• Alyson Friedensohn, Milton, Sr.
• Stephanie Gill, Nobles, Sr.
• Sarah Mulvey, Thayer, Sr.
• Maria Tedeschi, Thayer, Sr.
• Kelly Rich, Westwood, Soph.

To check out the boys' All-Americans, go HERE.

girls' lacrosse > division 1 south semifinal
No. 1 Westwood 17, No. 3 Wellesley 8

WESTWOOD -- After bowing to Wellesley two years ago in the Division 1 South semifinal, Westwood returned the favor Tuesday night as the Wolverines handed the Raiders their first loss of the season in a 17-8 triumph last night at Flahive Field.

For the second straight year, top-seeded Westwood (21-0-1) will play for the South title as the Wolverines host fifth-seeded Needham (19-3-1) on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Westwood came out strong and commanded the entire first half of play. Senior tricaptain Erin Massimi simply dominated both offensively and defensively as she contributed all of her five goals and two assists in the opening half, where the Wolverines opened an 11-3 lead before the intermission.

However, third-seeded Wellesley (18-1-1) put together a better game plan in the second frame, which resulted in a couple of goals scored by Mary Louise Dixon on an eight-meter shot and Blake Dietrick, which forced Westwood coach Leslie Frank to call a timeout to regroup her squad.

“There were so many forced turnovers on our end thinking [we] could go to the goal and [we] were collapsing, there’s no need for that,” said Frank. “When you’re up you just have to play smarter up and [we] were just not getting that. It’s the level of competition, it’s the excitement, it’s very hard to come play 100 percent go, go, go in the first half then cool down.”

The first timeout worked for about a minute and a half as senior tricaptain Alex Frank (four goals, three assists) connected with sophomore Kelly Rich, who notched Westwood’s 12th goal of the game, but the Raiders strung together a three-goal run with three different contributors and, yet again, Westwood called timeout.

“We didn’t come out as hard in the beginning of the second half like we should of. [Wellesley] definitely capitalized on that,” said Alex Frank. “After we had that second timeout it was kind of like we had to regroup ourselves and get back into it.”

It seemed to work as the Wolverines poured in five unanswered goals led by senior Megan Lally (four goals) who had two in the spurt as Westwood sealed the deal.

“I thought we had a good run in the second half. It was difficult convincing the kids to just play it one possession at a time,” said Wellesley coach Christine Molonea. “You looked at the halftime score, it was a little demoralizing. [Westwood] got off to a quick start, a much quicker start then we did, but I thought our kids showed a lot of character.”

The Eastern Mass. Division 1 boys' lacrosse quarterfinal between host and top-seeded Duxbury and eighth-seeded Marshfield has been shifted to Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Here's the list of Eastern Mass. All-Americans and other honors for the boys' lacrosse standouts of the region:

• Jim Queeney, Reading, Jr. , attack
• Kam Bumpus, Needham, Jr., midfielder
• Peter Jennings, Wellesley, Sr., midfielder
• Davis Butts, Walpole, Jr., midfielder
• Chris Walker, Marshfield, Sr., attack (Wagner)
• Tyler Sabens, Falmouth, Sr., midfielder (Manhattan)
• Mark Flibotte, Cohasset, Sr., midfielder (Bowdoin)
• Brian Foster, Medfield, Jr., midfielder
• Garrett Akie, Dover-Sherborn, Sr., goalie (Hamilton)
• Danny Gold, Medfield, Jr., long-stick midfielder
• Matt Schairer, King Philip, Sr., attack (Quinnipiac)
• Brendan Grant, Xaverian, Sr., attack (Bentley)
• Mark Scalise, St. John's Prep, Sr., attack (Harvard)
• Tucker Garfield, St. John's Prep, Sr., midfielder (Salisbury School)
• John Whitney, St. John's Prep, Sr., defense (Hamilton)
• Scott Austin, Duxbury, Sr., attack (Cornell)
• Gus Quinzani, Duxbury, Sr., midfielder (St. Joseph's)
• Craig Sullivan, Duxbury, Sr., defense (Maryland)
• Greg Melaugh, Billerica, Jr., midfielder
• Brendan Hughes, Andover, Sr., midfielder (Bowdoin)
• Tim Finnegan, Lowell, Sr., goalie (Providence)

Academic All Americans: Tucker Delaney Winn, Winchester; Steve Gaudet, St. John's Prep; Chris Rigoli, Xaverian; Charles Czerkawski, Cohasett; Connor Green, Sandwich; Alex Boches, Beverly; Doug Johnston, Dartmouth; Brandon Wade, Georgetown; Matthew Rayner, Andover; Michael Gerhardt, Chelmsford.

Coaches of the Year: Drew Domineck, Gloucester; Stephen Duffy, Waltham; Charlie Hardy, Reading; Greg Gilbert, Falmouth; Bob Aronson, Medfield; Dan Warren, King Philip; John Roy, St. John's Prep; Chris Sweet, Duxbury; Chris Burns, Billerica (EMass Coach of the Year); Shane Relihan, New Bedford; Steve Connolly, North Andover .

Man of the Year: Steve Schairer, King Philip.

Assistant Coaches of the Year: Stu Brown, Dover-Sherborn; Russell Sorin, Waltham; Dave Lautman, Reading; Marshall Chambers, Nantucket; Skip Milne, Hamilton-Wenham; Justin Shairs (North); Tom Driscoll (South); Geno Zanella, Dover-Sherborn; Steve Ruelle, Austin Prep; Tom Frisoli, Cath Memorial (EMass Assistant Coach of the Year); AC Decker, Hingham.

Below are the players voted All-Stars by the Eastern Mass. Girls' Lacrosse Coaches Association:

FIRST TEAM

Catherine Gross, Andover, Jr.
Melanie Baskind, Framingham, Sr.
Moira Barry, Framingham, Soph.
Mary Pasquantonio, King Phillip, Sr.
Jess Griffin, Lincoln-Sudbury, Jr.
Alex Frank, Westwood, Sr.
Erin Massimi, Westwood, Sr.
Meg Sullivan, Winchester, Sr.
Erin Levesque, Duxbury, Sr.
Alexa Rozelle, Lincoln-Sudbury, Jr.
Margie Fulton, Wellesley, Sr.
Caitlyn Caro, Andover, Sr.
Cat Conway, Acton-Boxboro, Sr.
Jamie Dolan, Hopkinton, Jr.
Blake Dietrick, Wellesley, Fr.
Kelly Rich, Westwood, Soph.
Sara Reddington, Needham, Sr.
Sam Zetlin, Framingham, Jr.
Mary Kate Gorman, Hingham, Jr.
Kerry Eaton, King Phillip, Jr.

SECOND TEAM

Ilana Cohen, Andover, Sr.
Emily Pilemer, Arlington, Sr.
Bridget Dullea, Bishop Fenwick, Jr.
Trisha Babson, Duxbury, Sr.
Caileigh Grove, Franklin, Sr.
Colleen Mulligan, Hanover, Sr.
Devon Gibney, Hopkinton, Sr.
Katie Florence, King Philip, Sr.
Micaela Cyr, Lexington, Jr.
Kelly Cakert, Lincoln-Sudbury, Sr.
Laura Jernegan, Martha's Vineyard, Jr.
Kathleen Ragan, Masconomet, Jr.
Marisa Aubin, Needham, Sr.
Jill Cammett, Norwell, Sr.
Liz Greeley, Norwood, Jr.
McKenna Teague, Notre Dame (Hingham), Sr.
Sarah Galligan, Pentucket, Sr.
Charlotte Marsh, Reading, Jr.
Jessica Guisti, Walpole, Sr.
Meredith Batter, Weston, Sr.
Christine Ockerbloom, Winchester, Sr.

As a few commenters pointed out, we should have waited until Friday to post our final boys' lacrosse top 20 of the regular season as some of our top squads are in need of a shuffling already.

You can find all the details in today's school roundup, but No. 3 St. John's Prep edged No. 2 Medfield in overtime, while No. 7 Billerica topped No. 5 Xaverian, 13-9. Elsewhere, Winchester upset No. 11 North Andover; Lincoln-Sudbury shocked No. 6 Andover; and Acton-Boxboro took down No. 10 Lowell.

Shouldn't figuring out the top 20 be easier at this point? Just confirms that it's going to be an absolutely wild postseason. We cannot wait to get a glimpse of the boys' lacrosse tournament brackets tomorrow.

One other note from Wednesday's action, Marshfield coach Rick Peterson reports that senior Chris Walker broke Sean Morris's single-season scoring mark as he now boasts 110 points after a 21-3 triumph over Whitman-Hanson.

The Rams, who endured some midseason injuries, have won six in a row and captured the Atlantic Coast League title. Lining itself up for a lofty seed, Marshfield is yet another team to keep an eye on in the postseason.

The final boys' lacrosse top 20 of the regular season is now available.

A few quick thoughts: Walpole leapfrogs Xaverian at spots Nos. 4-5, but hard to fault Xaverian for playing such a challenging schedule... It's hard to rank BC High behind Billerica given the head-to-head victory for the Eagles earlier this season, but the Indians are clearly playing the stronger ball right now... Falmouth and Marshfield continued to draw attention from the pollsters, but couldn't supplant Cohasset at the back end of the top 20... Waltham does vault into the top 20 thanks in large part to recent wins over Arlington and Lexington.

Back with the final girls' poll soon.

Lacrosse Top 20s will be updated Wednesday afternoon instead of today. Stay close.

Check out complete game highlights from St. John's Prep's 10-9 win over Xaverian in a key Catholic Conference clash.

• Click HERE to watch complete game highlights

The boys' lacrosse top 20 poll has been updated with games through Monday.

We can't give a full team-by-team rundown this week, but a couple of quick thoughts:

• Not a whole lot of changes to the top 10. BC High slips back a bit after enduring losses to Xaverian and St. John's Prep last week, while Walpole leaps to the No. 5 spot... We'll be interested to see how Lexington fares today against Reading in a Middlesex League showdown... Dover-Sherborn shuffles up spot 10.

• It was a tough week for schools on the backside of the top 20 as few emerged unscathed. Some, like Wellesley and Needham, endured tough losses and actually bumped up a few spots this week, while Arlington, Scituate, and Cohasset slid backwards a bit.

• We think the shuffling in the ranking just shows how interesting this postseason tournament is shaping up to be. Even non-ranked teams like Marshfield and Waltham have endured their own struggles this spring, but seem to be playing some inspired ball. We can't wait for the brackets to roll out later this month.

A quick glance at the top 5 by division:

Division 1

1. Duxbury
2. St. John's Prep
3. Xaverian
4. Lexington
5. BC High

Division 2

1. Medfield
2. Walpole
3. Wellesley
4. King Philip
5. Reading

Division 3

1. Dover-Sherborn
2. Scituate
3. Cohasset
4. Austin Prep
5. Tyngsboro

The girls' lacrosse top 20 has also been updated.

A few quick thoughts: Much like the boys there was just a bit of shuffling at the top with Acton-Boxboro and Hopkinton hopping into prime spots in the top 10... Norwell's win over Duxbury left a bit of a domino effect. The Dragons dropped back a few spots, while Norwell hopped back in the top 20. That came at the expense of Weston, which fell to Duxbury Saturday. A look at your top 5 by division:

Division 1

1. Westwood
2. Wellesley
3. Framingham
4. Lincoln-Sudbury
5. King Philip

Division 2

1. Winchester
2. Hopkinton
3. North Andover
4. Duxbury
5. Franklin

boys' lacrosse
No. 4 St. John's Prep 10, No. 3 Xaverian 9

• Click HERE to watch complete game highlights

DANVERS -- It's not just the regularity with which St. John's Prep's John Jennings lands in the scorebook that's astounding. It's often how he gets there.

Jennings boasts a flare for producing the highlight-worthy goal and Monday proved to be no exception. The junior attack potted the winner -- his fourth goal of the game -- on a spirited run from behind the cage with 6:21 remaining that culminated with an impossible-angle shot that ultimately lifted the fourth-ranked Eagles past third-ranked Xaverian, 10-9, at Cronin Memorial Stadium.

With the win, St. John's Prep (12-2, 6-1) avenged one of its two losses this spring and put itself in position to claim the Catholic Conference title outright provided the Eagles top Malden Catholic Thursday.

They can thank Jennings for that opportunity. Xaverian (13-3, 6-2) rallied from a four-goal, second-half deficit to tie the game at 9 on Brendan Grant's ground ball through the slot with 8:49 remaining.

Jennings, whose most dazzling goal might have been a rebound effort late in the first half as St. John's Prep opened its first four-goal advantage, sprinted out from behind the net and managed to zip the ball inside the post for the go-ahead score a short time later.

In a game with 19 goals, it was almost surprising to see it hold up.

"I caught it and just ran around," said Jennings. "They didn't slide, so I shot it... I just kinda reached around.

"Coach stressed that this was like a Catholic Conference championship game because if we both won out, whoever wins this game wins the title. We wanted this one pretty bad."

St. John's Prep sophomore Garrett Campbell scored three consecutive times over a five-minute span in the second quarter as the Eagles opened a little breathing room. When Jennings' potted his pretty rebound goal with 2:48 to play in the quarter, the hosts led 7-3.

But Xaverian didn't go quietly. Ryan Abely scored before the break to trim the deficit and Chris Rigoli potted two tallies as part of a four-goal, third-quarter outburst that sliced St. John's Prep's lead to 9-8 heading to the final frame.

The Hawks, who led briefly at 2-1 in the first quarter, could never pull ahead again.

"It was everything you expect from a championship game," said Xaverian coach Tim Gardner. "We could have brought home the championship again, and our guys know that, so they were not going to let go of that title easily. I'm proud of my guys for pulling back in it. (St. John's Prep was) simply able to get last score."

The Hawks were plagued by the second-quarter outburst by Campbell, along with maybe a touch of over-aggressiveness in the second half. The Hawks were hitting like Massachusetts had enabled spring football and that led to a number of man-up opportunities for St. John's Prep (one of which the Eagles capitalized on with a Mark Scalise goal with 1:35 to play in the third quarter after Xaverian pulled within a score).

"We started with a zone and they were much more prepared for that than the last time we played," said Gardner, whose troops emerged with a 9-5 triumph in Westwood on April 18. "We were able to get the ball on the floor a few times, but they ended up winning the ground balls, either by bad bounces or by being scrappy. They have good athletes out there, they were able to get the ground balls and went on a little run."

St. John's Prep's defense spearheaded by seniors Brogan O'Connor, John Whitney, and Santo Dettore never let Xaverian embark on a similar run. The Eagles cinched up the middle of the field in the second half and forced Xaverian to attack from the edges and, when the Hawks did generate an unsettled situation going at the cage, netminder Nick Valenti made some key stops.

Asked if he thought Jennings' goal would hold up for the winner, St. John's Prep coach John Roy admitted he did not.

"I never thought any goal would held up, it was too back and forth," said Roy. "Jennings had an impossible angle. But he's like that. Once he has the ball near the goal, he finds a way to score."

St. John's Prep holds on to top Xaverian, 10-9.

SJP, 10-9 (2:05, 4th)

St. John's Prep leads, 10-9, with 2:05 to go. Xaverian has the ball coming out of a timeout.

SJP, 9-8 (end of 3rd)

Xaverian's Chris Rigoli had two goals and Brendan Grant added a goal and an assist as part of a four-goal, third-quarter outburst that has helped the Hawks pull within a goal of St. John's Prep, 9-8, moving to the final frame.

SJP, 8-6 (4:25, 3rd)

Goals by Brendan Grant and Chris Rigoli have helped Xaverian claw within a pair of St. John's Prep, but the Eagles lead, 8-6, with 4:25 to play in the third quarter.

SJP, 7-4 (half)

St. John's Prep sophomore Garrett Campbell scored three consecutive goals over a five-minute span as the Eagles struck for the first four goals in the second quarter and lead visiting Xaverian, 7-4, at the intermission.

The two sides essentially traded goals over the first 12 ,but Campbell started his scoring blitz with a tally off a John Jennings feed with 9:29 to go in the half. When he ripped the twine with an unassisted score with 5:26 to play, St. John's Prep led, 6-3.

Jennings followed with his third goal of the game before Xaverian's Ryan Abely stopped the bleeding with a goal off a Brendan Grant feed with 1:16 to play in the half.

A few thoughts:

• St. John's Prep is dominating time of possession. Xaverian barely had the ball over the first 10 minutes of the second quarter.

• Xaverian is having success putting an attacker in front of the cage and passing to create easy goals in front. St. John's Prep is making it decidedly more difficult with constant pressure on the edges.

• St. John's Prep has given up more than nine goals on only one occasion this spring: a 14-13 overtime win over Hingham. In fact, these Eagles haven't lost when scoring more than five goals in a game (their two losses were to Xaverian, 9-5, and Duxbury, 7-5).

SJP, 7-3 (2:15, 2nd)

Four unanswered goals by St. John's Prep in the second quarter have the Eagles out front, 7-3, with 2:15 to go in the frame.

Tied, 3-3 (end of 1st)

No team led by more than a goal in the first quarter as Xaverian and St. John's Prep head to the second frame knotted at 3.

Two goals for John Jennings paced St. John's Prep, while Garrett Buckley, Ryan Abely, and Brendan Grant each had scores for the Hawks.

Pregame

Welcome to Danvers for today's Catholic Conference showdown between fourth-ranked St. John's Prep and third-ranked Xaverian.

It's on the cool side here at Cronin Memorial Field with the Forsberg Cruiser setting the temperature at a deceiving 52 degrees (there's a wind picking up that makes it feel much cooler than it already is).

Back with more throughout the afternoon.

***

We'll be live from Danvers this afternoon, where the Catholic Conference title hangs in the balance as the St. John's Prep boys' lacrosse team hosts rival Xaverian at 4 p.m.

Xaverian defeated St. John's Prep, 9-5, during the teams' first meeting on April 18. The Eagles have won seven of their last eight since that game, falling only to top-ranked Duxbury, 7-5, on May 3.

Xaverian dropped a 9-6 decision to BC High on April 15, but the Hawks have won nine of their last 10, only falling to second-ranked Medfield, 6-5, on April 23.

Back with more from Danvers.

Click the link below to check out complete game highlights from Duxbury's 14-10 triumph over Longmeadow in boys' lacrosse action.

• Click HERE to watch complete game highlights

boys' lacrosse
No. 1 Duxbury 14, Longmeadow 10

• Click HERE to watch complete game highlights

DUXBURY -- Who knows better about spurts than a team with an 83-game, in-state winning streak.

The top-ranked Duxbury boys' lacrosse team scored nine consecutive goals over a dominating 14-minute span in the first half to build a comfortable cushion, then short-circuited visiting Longmeadow's spurts before they snowballed out of control en route to a 14-10 triumph Saturday at Taylor Memorial Field.

The Lancers logged 250 roundtrip miles for their shot at dethroning the four-time defending Division 1 state champs. The Green Dragons haven't lost since the 2003 state final despite the fact that everyone seems to be gunning for them recently.

Longmeadow bounded off its bus overflowing with enthusiasm and scoring first did little to quell that intensity. Duxbury's nine-goal outburst, however, did provide the wet blanket on a chilly spring afternoon.

"Welcome to lacrosse," Duxbury coach Chris Sweet joked when asked about how both teams scored in streaks Saturday. Longmeadow twice put together four-goal outbursts, the first pulling the Lancers within four goals late in the second quarter and the other trimming the final spread to four goals.

"We like (spurts) when they're in our favor. When it swings the other way, you gotta knuckle down. We played some good defense and got key saves in the middle of some of their rallies. It doesn't take much to turn it around. A big save, a score or a turnover. We got enough of those to hang on today."

Longmeadow was desperate for one of those streak-breakers as Duxbury motored away in the first half. It's what head coach John Rauseo and his charges probably rolled over in their minds many times as part of a 2-hour, 12-minute trek back to the high school on Grassy Gutter Road in Longmeadow.

"The first half, they got us," said Rauseo. "In the second half, we held them to what, four goals? You can't spot a team like that nine goals. That was the difference.

"We didn't get the ball on offense. Whoever had the ball on offense today seemed to score. At the end we had a couple of chances... we just couldn't put them in."

Duxbury's Scott Austin scored three of his game-high six goals as part of the Dragons' big first-half outburst that put the hosts out front, 9-1, with 7:07 to play in the second quarter. But Longmeadow responded as James Reardon produced half of a four-goal outburst to make it 9-5 with 2:18 to go in the half.

Duxbury dug in and Austin potted another goal with 51 ticks to play in the frame for a five-goal cushion at the intermission. He and Grant Marston each registered two goals in the third quarter as the Dragons pushed their lead back to 14-6 before Longmeadow produced the only four goals of the final frame.

"Our offense was uncharacteristically patient at key times," said coach Sweet. "That was the difference. We got some big shots and some good defensive play from our poles.

"They got the first goal, but our guys came ready to play. We did a good job of being ready to play from the start."

All-Scholastic defender Craig Sullivan did a fantastic job limiting Longmeadow junior attack Kyle Smith (1 goal), while captain Mark Murphy shadowed Reardon (2 goals) for much of the day. Longmeadow senior David Thor sparked the Lancers' offense with four goals.

Outside of Austin, Duxbury spread it around. Gus Quinzani, Hakeem Lecky, and Marston each had two goals apiece, while Steven Ripley and Dan May scored single goals.

While proud of the way his team battled back and happy to take positives from those spurts, Rauseo seemed to take a bit of umbrage when asked if it was tough to travel so far to play a team the caliber of Duxbury.

"They gotta play us, too," he said. "We're Longmeadow. We have a streak; We haven't lost to a Massachusetts (public) high school all year. This is the first one we lost to."

Longmeadow (11-2), which also lost to Deerfield Prep, boasted wins over second-ranked Medfield (which it lost to in last year's Division 2 state final) and Scituate entering Saturday's game. The Lancers don't travel past 495 again during the regular season, but are seemingly the odds-on favorite to represent that part of the state in June.

For Duxbury, the challenges just keep on coming. Next week's slate features a pair of Catholic Conference foes in Xaverian (a rematch of last year's state final) and BC High. The following week brings Needham and New Hampshire juggernaut Bishop Guertin as tune-ups to the state tournament.

Duxbury tops Longmeadow, 14-10. Back with a recap and highlights in a bit.

Duxbury, 14-10 (1:06, 4th)

Longmeadow scored the only four goals of the four quarter (thus far) to make things a little more interesting, but it looks like too little too late as Duxbury leads by four goals with just over a minute to go.

Duxbury, 14-6 (end of 3rd)

Duxbury's Scott Austin and Derek Sweet scored two goals apiece in the third quarter and the Green Dragons lead visiting Longmeadow, 14-6, moving to the final frame.

For the day, Austin has a game-high six goals.

Duxbury, 12-5 (6:40, 3rd)

Duxbury's Scott Austin and Derek Sweet scored back-to-back third-quarter goals and the Green Dragons have increased their advantage to 12-5 with 6:40 to play in the frame.

Duxbury, 10-5 (half)

So much hype. So little drama.

Longmeadow scored the game's first goal and it seemed everyone at Taylor Field was holding their collective breaths with the possibility that this Western Mass. juggernaut might swoop in and dethrone Eastern Mass.'s behemoth.

It didn't take long for everyone to exhale.

Duxbury scored nine consecutive goals spanning into the second quarter and led, 9-1, with 7:07 to play in the half before Longmeadow breathed a little life back into this game with four consecutive scores.

Duxbury's Scott Austin scored in the final minute of the half -- his fourth of the game -- to put the Dragons out front, 10-5, at the intermission.

A few quick thoughts:

• Longmeadow came out with some serious intensity and they were bouncing off the walls after David Thor scored just 1:48 in. The Dragons responded with three goals over the next three minutes before an absolute blizzard that span into the second frame.

• Not sure if Duxbury saw something on film, but they've generated a number of goals by bouncing the ball in.

• Longmeadow shouldn't be down nearly as much. Granted, Duxbury made some quality runs to the cage -- particularly an unbelievable effort by Steven Ripley in the second quarter in which he evaded about five defenders and endured two big hits on an unassisted tally -- but Duxbury hasn't exactly put on a passing clinic here. Much of its shots are being generated on individual efforts and the Lancers probably should have made a few more stops to this point on long-range blasts (see: long-stick middie Dan May's goal in the first quarter).

• Duxbury opens the third quarter with a man advantage and the ball after holding to close out the first half. Longmeadow desperately needs a stop and some early scores to pull back some momentum if it has any chance to make this interesting.

Duxbury, 9-5 (1:54, 2nd)

Duxbury rattled off nine consecutive goals after Longmeadow scored first as this one appeared to be a rout, but the visitors have responded with four consecutive scores to at least add a bit of intrigue as the half nears.

Duxbury, 5-1 (end of 1st)

An intense Longmeadow struck first, but Duxbury responded with five unanswered goals and leads the visiting Lancers, 5-1, t the end of the first quarter.

Gus Quinzani paced the Dragons with two goals in the first 12, while long-stick middie Daniel May got in on the offensive fireworks with a side-armed flick from the top of the slot.

Pregame

Welcome to Duxbury. It's a little cool out here, but seems like ideal lacrosse weather.

We're just getting underway. Back with more throughout the afternoon.

***

We're headed back down to Duxbury this afternoon, where the top-ranked Green Dragons are expected to receive another stiff test when Western Mass. power Longmeadow visits for a boys' lacrosse showdown at Taylor Field at 4 p.m.

Duxbury now boasts an 82-game, in-state winning streak, but Longmeadow enters with an impressive 11-1 mark having beaten Eastern Mass. talents like second-ranked Medfield and 14th-ranked Scituate this spring.

Earlier in the day, the Duxbury girls' lacrosse team -- ranked sixth in Eastern Mass. -- hosts 19th-ranked Weston at noon. We'll have a correspondent there for that one and will have a complete recap of the action in Saturday's school roundup.

Back with more from Duxbury this afternoon.

Here we go with this week's look at the updated Top 20s for both boys' and girls' lacrosse:

Boys

1. Duxbury (10-2) -- The Dragons only asserted themselves as the team to beat with quality wins over Billerica, Scituate, and St. John's Prep. Can the Massachusetts winning streak survive a visit from Western Mass. power Longmeadow on Saturday?

2. Medfield (12-2) -- No shame in falling to a very talented Longmeadow squad. There's no reason this team shouldn't be 17-2 heading into the regular-season finale against St. John's Prep.

3. Xaverian (11-2) -- Another monster week (and a half) of Catholic Conference games with a visit from BC High on Thursday (a chance for the Hawks to avenge their lone league loss) and a potential winner-take-all battle with St. John's Prep on May 12.

4. St. John's Prep (10-2) -- The Eagles had Duxbury on the ropes, but there's a reason the Dragons are undefeated in Massachusetts for more than four straight years. Can the kids in Danvers complete the season sweep of BC High today?

5. BC High (9-2) -- St. John's Prep today; Xaverian Thursday. The Eagles can jump right back in the hunt for the league crown with a couple wins this week.

6. Lexington (10-2) -- The Minutemen have gained some steam since the Xaverian loss on April 21 and will get a nice test with a stretch that includes games against Winchester (Friday), Reading (May 13), and Waltham (May 16).

7. Walpole (11-0) -- Consider us on completely on the Rebel bandwagon. This defense has been amazing. Thirty-three goals in 11 games?! They are playing lacrosse, right? Not ice hockey.

8. Billerica (8-3) -- Coach Chris Burns and Co., kicked that three-game losing streak to the curb with a solid 13-5 thumping of Lincoln-Sudbury. The Indians would like to build some momentum here before a grueling close to the regular season with games against Andover, Bishop Guertin, and Xaverian.

9. Andover (8-4) -- Take away its first two games of the season and Andover has played a grand total of one team that currently has a record under .500 (Haverhill at 4-7). Andover's final five opponents are also currently above .500.

10. Arlington (11-1) -- With a win over Cohasset last week, the Spy Ponders make a big jump this week. We're still slightly skeptical (that Braintree score is hard to ignore), but today's clash with Malden Catholic should provide another nice test.

(More rankings after the jump)...

Click the link below to watch complete game highlights from top-ranked Duxbury's 7-5 win over fourth-ranked St. John's Prep Saturday night under the lights at Raymond P. Chandler Field.

• Click HERE to watch game highlights

boys' lacrosse
No. 1 Duxbury 7, No. 4 St. John's Prep 5

• Click HERE to watch game highlights

DUXBURY -- Some will tell you a goal is a goal in lacrosse regardless of the time on the scoreboard. But Scott Austin's goal late in the third quarter of Saturday night's blockbuster between top-ranked Duxbury and fourth-ranked St. John's Prep definitely came with a little something extra.

Austin potted his second goal of the third quarter with only three seconds remaining in the frame and it appeared all of St. John's Prep's momentum followed the ball into the twine. The Eagles, who hadn't trailed through three quarters, were forced to enter the final frame with the score knotted for the fourth time on the night.

Austin fed Jake Harvey for a go-ahead goal that put Duxbury out front for the first time little more than three minutes into the final frame and the Dragons never relinquished their lone lead while emerging with a 7-5 triumph under the lights at cold and soggy Raymond P. Chandler Field.

"Lacrosse is a game of real momentum swings," said Duxbury coach Chris Sweet, whose charges protected their in-state, 79-game winning streak despite one of its biggest challenges of the 2008 season.

"(Scoring with three seconds left in the third quarter), that was a big one right here. If I were them, I would say that was the turning point. Certainly, in a game where every ground ball counted, every goal counted, every save counted, it's all the little things. We probably made fewer mistakes than they did and that's the biggest difference."

St. John's Prep coach John Roy echoed those sentiments.

"It's a game of momentum," he said. "Scoring the goal with three seconds left for them was big, and it was an unsettled situation. They're very fast and they move the ball well. It's difficult, their defense plays so well, so once you find yourself behind, you just hate to be behind."

Winning the opening draw of the fourth quarter, as well as the one following Harvey's go-ahead goal, Duxbury managed to control possession for much of the final frame and Derek Sweet scored with 4:54 to go to put the Dragons on top by the final spread.

St. John's Prep had its chances late, but Duxbury's long poles -- led by always-active All-Scholastic Craig Sullivan -- never let the Eagles generate a quality scoring chance. As soon as the ball hit the ground, the Dragons were there to make so much as winning a ground ball seem like a Herculean effort.

St. John's Prep's John Jennings paced his squad with four goals, including three in the first half where the Eagles opened the only other two-goal lead of the game with a 4-2 advantage with 2:33 to play in the half.

But, in typical Duxbury fashion, the Dragons didn't wait long to respond. They won the faceoff after Prep had taken its multi-goal lead and Quinn Cully fed Harvey for a score just 10 seconds later to make it 4-3 at the intermission.

Jennings scored with 3:01 to play in the third quarter, but Austin added the back-breaker with a mere three ticks to go as Duxbury ripped away all the momentum heading to the final frame.

If Lynyrd Skynyrd had been in attendance, the band would have renamed their hit song, "Gimme Three Seconds" and the chorus would have ended, "Gimme three seconds mister, and you'll never see me no more." Duxbury refused to let Prep back into the game after taking the lead.

Both netminders were outstanding, particularly St. John's Prep's Nick Valenti, who was the difference in keeping the Eagles out front early with some terrific stops. Valenti also made a brilliant 1-on-1 save with just about a minute to go to keep St. John's Prep's hopes alive.

But Duxbury goaltender Makar Zaverucha and his stingy defense prevented any rally, clearing the ball from the offensive end whenever Prep tried to attack.

Oh, and when the Dragons were trailing, coach Chris Sweet didn't hesitate to bring up the in-state winning streak as a little added motivation for his troops.

"We'll do whatever it takes to get these kids revved up," admitted Sweet. "Every team we play is going to bring their best game. We're lucky to play in that sort of playoff atmosphere every game."

Both teams emerge with matching 10-2 records. Duxbury dropped two games during its road trip through New York over April Vacation, but withstood challenges this week from Billerica and the Prep (while also trouncing Scituate). The Eagles must regroup with big Catholic Conference matchups on tap against BC High (May 6) and Xaverian (May12) in their next two games.

"An old coach of mine said there's no such thing as a moral victory," said Roy. "There's things we can take from this game. We started and ended at 100 percent and that's all you can ask of your team."

Duxbury withstands some late chances by St. John's Prep to emerge with a 7-5 triumph.

More to come.

Duxbury, 7-5 (3:31, 4th)

Goals by Jake Harvey and Derek Sweet have the Dragons out front of SJP, 7-5, with 3:31 to go.

Tied, 5-5 (end of 3rd)

Duxbury's Scott Austin sandwiched goals around John Jennings' fourth score of the night and we're headed to the fourth frame knotted at 5.

Austin scored with three ticks remaining in the third quarter to even this game.

SJP, 4-3 (half)

John Jennings scored three first-half goals as St. John's Prep leads host Duxbury, 4-3, at the intermission here at Raymond P. Chandler Field.

Jennings' third goal of the day -- a nice one-timer from the slot on a perfect feed by Garrett Campbell -- gave the Prep the only two-goal lead of the first half, bu Duxbury responded lightning quick as Quinn Cully fed Jake Harvery off the ensuing faceoff to cut that lead in half before the break.

Some very good defensive play and some nice stops by the netminders. Lot of intensity from St. John's Prep in the early going.The Eagles have not trailed in this game.

SJP, 3-2 (3:14, 2nd)

John Jennings' second goal of the game has St. John's Prep out front of Duxbury, 3-2, with 3:14 to play in the half.

Tied, 1-1 (end of 1st)

St. John's Prep's John Jennings and Duxbury's Quinn Cully scored the only goals of the first quarter and the two teams are knotted at 1 moving to the second stanza.

Pregame

Welcome to Duxbury, where the top-ranked Green Dragons host fourth-ranked St. John's Prep in a boys' lacrosse nonleague showdown this evening.

The Forsberg Cruiser sets the temperature at a "wait, this feels more like football season" 46 degrees (and dropping) as game time approaches.

We'll have updates throughout the night. Stay close.

***

A note that we'll be live in Duxbury Saturday evening for the nonleague showdown between the Green Dragons' top-ranked boys' lacrosse team and fourth-ranked St. John's Prep.

We'll have live updates from this nonleague blockbuster and capture video highlights for the site.

Click the link below to check out complete game highlights from Walpole's 8-1 victory over Bay State Conference rival Wellesley:

• Click HERE to watch game highlights

boys' lacrosse
No. 9 Walpole 8, No. 10 Wellesley 1

• Click HERE to watch game highlights

WELLESLEY -- Bad news for any opponent of the Walpole boys' lacrosse team who is celebrating an upcoming birthday. The Rebels have a strict policy this spring: No gifts.

Not on the field, anyway. Goaltender Cameron Crown, a senior captain, said the Rebels operate with the mantra that nothing will come easy for an opponent this season. Poor Wellesley saw the policy in action during Wednesday's battle for Bay State Herget supremacy and Walpole offered little leniency.

The Raiders, who are averaging better than 10 goals per game in their nine wins this season, settled for a lone second-quarter tally as visiting Walpole checked, bumped, and thumped its way to a dominating 8-1 triumph at Hunnewell Field.

Walpole makes the turn to the back 9 of its 2008 schedule sitting atop the Herget standings with a perfect 9-0 mark (the best start in school history, according to coach Jason Andalo) and has already punched its postseason ticket.

What's more, the Rebels are playing well against quality opponents. Walpole has now won consecutive games over top 20 opponents, taking down Division 3 power Dover-Sherborn, 11-7, Saturday in Walpole.

"I didn't think our offense was quite as good as it was Saturday," said Andalo. "But our defense was better."

That might seem like an obvious statement, until you realize that there was a dominant 27-minute stretch in the Dover game in which Walpole limited those Raiders to just one goal.

The Rebels kept that sort of intensity up for a full 48 minutes Wednesday against this group of Raiders. While Walpole struggled early to connect on opportunities around the Wellesley net, it barely gave the hosts a chance to get near Crown.

The Raiders struggled mightily to simply clear the ball in the first half and, when they did get to the offensive end, Walpole's long-sticks looked liked they were playing whack-a-mole with the opposing ball-handler. Only there was no hole for the Wellesley players to hide from the onslaught and that led to a number of ground balls that the Rebels vaccumed up.

“Clearly they were more aggressive and that’s something I hope doesn’t happen every day,” said Wellesley first-year coach Rocky Batty. “That’s a nice team, they’re aggressive on defense and they’re aggressive on offense.”

Batty admitted he was surprised that his charges were unable to match the intensity of Walpole. Both teams seemed a bit over-caffeinated in the early going with passes sailing high and plenty of turnovers on both sides of the field.

But it was Walpole that settled in first, aided in part by nice individual efforts on goals from Brian Orecchio and Greg Nash to lead 2-0 after one quarter. The Rebels ultimately score the game's first four goals before Wellesley's Matt Geisinger broke up the shutout with a big rip from the top of the slot with less than a minute to play in the first half.

Beset by penalties (and often in series), Walpole calmly killed its infractions. Nursing a 5-1 lead entering the fourth quarter, Crown made a huge save at the right post with Wellesley in a man-up situation. Walpole took control, worked the ball around until the penalty expired, then watched Greg Nash score the first of consecutive goals to effectively seal the win.

Crown spread his praise around to those who kept his crease clear: Ryan Whittemore, Connor Whittemore, and Mike Connors. Considering the Rebels have allowed little more than three goals per game this season (28 goals in 9 games), he confidently opined that the Rebels feature one of the top defenses in the state.

After Wednesday, Wellesley could likely confirm.

***

We'll have video highlights in a bit.

WELLESLEY -- Walpole's defense turned in a relentless 48-minute effort, stalking Wellesley from the time it left the locker room until it returned as the Rebels emerged with a dominating 8-1 triumph in a Bay State Conference battle.

Greg Nash paced the offensive with three goals and scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter as Walpole quickly stretched the four-goal cushion it entered the frame with.

We'll have a complete recap from this one, along with complete video highlights, tomorrow morning. Check out the entries below for more details from this one.

Walpole, 7-1 (5:20, 4th)

Walpole killed off consecutive penalties to start the third quarter -- highlighted by a big save by netminder Cameron Crown -- then watched Greg Nash score consecutive goals as the Rebels lead Wellesley, 7-1, with 5:20 to play.

3rd quarter

Walpole, 5-1 (end of 3rd)

Wellesley carried play in the third quarter, but it was Walpole's Davis Butts scoring the lone goal of the frame (with 2:45 remaining) as the Rebels extended their lead to 5-1 moving to the fourth quarter.

Walpole is really making things difficult for Wellesley in the offensive end. The Rebels are using their speed and aggressiveness to really disrupt Wellesley.

2nd quarter

Walpole, 4-1 (half)

Walpole scored the first four goals of the game and used an aggressive defense to hold host Wellesley scoreless over the first 23 minutes of the game to lead 4-1 at the intermission.

Brian Orecchio (2), Greg Nash, and Paul Orecchio all ripped the twine for the Rebels, who dominated the first quarter before Wellesley started showing life in the second frame.

The Raiders got a tiny spark before the break when Matt Geisinger broke the shutout with a big rip from the top of the slot with 59.6 seconds to play in the second quarter.

Walpole's defense was otherwise relentless. Wellesley struggled to even clear the ball for much of the first half and often turned the ball over just trying to work it upfield. The Rebels had their own woes, but managed to generate goals off individual efforts, which allowed them to build th early cushion and shrug off the mistakes.

Wellesley needs to generate better chances on offense in the second half to get back in this one and it needs to solve its issues getting the ball upfield. Walpole needs to keep up the defensive intensity and improve its ball movement around the cage on offense.

1st quarter

Walpole, 2-0 (end of 1st)

That might have been the ugliest 12 minutes of lacrosse we've seen this year, but Walpole got two nice individual efforts by Brian Orecchio and Greg Nash for two unassisted goals for a 2-0 advantage over Wellesley after one quarter.

Walpole dominated time of possession over the final 10 minutes of the quarter, thanks largely to Wellesley's inability to generate a clean clear. The Raiders threw an alarming number of passes away (mostly too high) in the first quarter.

Walpole wasn't particularly crisp either and really struggled to throw passes to the front of the goal. Orecchio and Nash made fine runs to put them 1-on-1 with the netminder and scored for the early lead.

Pregame

Welcome to Wellesley, where the Raiders are set to host Walpole in a Bay State Conference battle.

The Forsberg Cruiser sets the temperature at a friendly 56 degrees. Lot of clouds above, but the sun is shining on the field during pregame warm-ups.

Back with more throughout the afternoon.

***

Postponed by rain yesterday, we'll make the trek to Wellesley today for the Bay State Conference boys' lacrosse showdown between No. 9 Walpole and the 10th-ranked Raiders at 3:45 p.m.

Walpole (8-0) enters on the heels of a solid win over Dover-Sherborn, while Wellesley (9-1) is riding a seven-game winning streak under first-year coach Rocky Batty.

Back with live updates from Wellesley this afternoon.

Here's a look at our updated top 20 polls through games on Sunday, April 27. Below each poll you'll find our top 5 by division. Click HERE to jump to the girls' rankings.

Boys

1. Duxbury (7-2) -- Still undefeated in Massachusetts, still No. 1 in the polls.

2. Medfield (10-1) -- The Warriors are likewise undefeated in Massachusetts (their lone loss coming in an 8-7 defeat to Glastonbury (Conn.) on April 19). With quality wins over ranked opponents like Xaverian, Wellesley, and Dover-Sherborn, Medfield has earned this lofty spot.

3. Xaverian (8-2) -- Sure, the Hawks lost to BC High and Medfield, but in a wide-open Catholic Conference, they remain the team to beat.

4. St. John's Prep (8-1) -- The Eagles could have entrenched themselves at the top of the Catholic Conference with a win over Xaverian, but struggled mightily against the reigning conference champs.

5. BC High (8-2) -- It might not seem fair to have them rated ahead of a Malden Catholic team it lost to, but the Eagles have greater potential and bigger wins in the early season, though coach Kevin Bibeau is still striving for consistency in his team's efforts.

6. Lexington (7-2) -- The Minutemen are eager for that rematch with Reading (May 13) and sent a message with an 8-2 thumping of Andover last week.

7. Cohasset (7-2) -- Cohasset's losses have come against Duxbury and Scituate. In other words, No. 1 and No. 1 rival.

8. Scituate (7-3) -- Early season losses to Barnstable and Cohasset had us wondering if the Sailors had taken a big step backwards this spring, but recent wins over Cohasset and Catholic Memorial seem to suggest otherwise.

9. Walpole (8-0) -- Undefeated, but still largely untested. Tuesday's showdown with Wellesley will tell us more.

10. Wellesley (9-1) -- Phenomenal job so far by first-year coach Rocky Batty, whose team carries a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday's tilt with Walpole.

Two full-length highlights reels available below from recent lacrosse action. Click the links below to view action from Walpole vs. Dover-Sherborn boys and Westwood vs. Framingham girls.

• Click HERE to watch Walpole vs. Dover-Sherborn
• Click HERE to watch Framingham vs. Westwood

boys' lacrosse
No. 20 Walpole 11, No. 11 Dover-Sherborn 7

• Click HERE to watch complete game highlights

WALPOLE -- Consider this the start of the "Make Them Believers" tour for the Walpole boys' lacrosse team.

Sure the Rebels carried an undefeated record into Saturday's matinée with Dover-Sherborn, but Walpole's competition boasted a mere 21-41 combined record and there was reason to question whether the Rebels were for real with only two wins over teams with records better than .500.

The pundits were licking their chops when visiting Dover-Sherborn scored four of the game's first five goals, but Walpole responded by scoring 10 of the next 11 to build a six-goal advantage early in the fourth quarter and emerge with a rock-solid 11-7 triumph at Turco Memorial Field.

It was the perfect start of a rigorous stretch for the Rebels, who travel to meet Bay State Conference juggernaut Wellesley Tuesday before a trek to dance with Needham on May 7.

"We took care of our first seven, but we knew coming into this one that today would be a good test," said Walpole coach Jason Andalo. "This is a good win for our program. I'm sure some people out there said, 'Yeah, Walpole is undefeated, but the level of competition hasn't been great.' We beat a very good D-S team that should do well in the state tournament at the Division 3 level. It gives us a little confidence, but not an arrogance."

Andalo said his team would enjoy this one for the rest of the weekend, then come back ready to work Monday in advance of the Wellesley showdown. He'll have to nitpick to find flaws in this effort. Here's why:

• First comeback -- Walpole (8-0) hadn't trailed this season, but staring at a 4-1 deficit with 10:16 to play in the first half, the Rebels proceeded to limit D-S (7-3) to only one goal over the next 27 minutes. Walpole led, 6-5, at the intermission and 10-5 heading to the fourth quarter.

• It worked! -- The biggest goal in that run might have been Davis Butts's goal with 28.4 seconds to play in the first half. Andalo said the Rebels ran a play that hadn't worked all season, but they caught D-S in a zone and Davis popped a goal from the slot off a pretty feed by Mike White.

• Desire -- Walpole simply wanted it more after the first quarter. Butts minds well have put a "sale pending" sign near the faceoff circle as he took ownership there, while scrappy midfielders like super sophomore Ryan Izzo (he of the Globe's Division 2 football Player of the Year fame) seemed to vacuum up any loose balls on the ground.

  "In that second quarter, we were winning ground balls and started to capitalize on offense," said Andalo.

  D-S coach Brian McLaughlin added, "We stopped moving the ball and we tried to get a little too individual. They have Davis Butts, and we don't have that type of player that can create individually. We got away from the team effort."

Dover-Sherborn's Alex Paganelli potted his second goal of the game to put the Raiders out front, 4-1, with 10:16 to go in the second quarter, but Walpole struck for three goals in a span of just 2:27 to even the game with 5:24 to go in the half.

Butts and Leo Ajemian -- who both scored four goals on the day overall -- sandwiched tallies around a D-S score to send Walpole into the break up, 6-5. But it was all Walpole in the third quarter. The Rebels scored four times, including a three-goal blizzard in a 30-second span starting with 1:17 to go that made it 10-5 heading to the final frame.

Butts work in the faceoff circle simply prevented D-S from clawing its way back into the game. The Raiders popped the final two goals of the game to trim their final deficit.

Walpole's Greg Nash finished with two scores, while Paganelli, Chris Whelan, and Geoff Akie each scored twice for Dover-Sherborn.

D-S must right this ship quickly as, after a matchup with Ashland, the Raiders host Medfield in a rematch of a double-overtime thriller that the Warriors took earlier this season.

Beyond that game, D-S -- a Division 3 sectional finalist last year -- plays only one team that entered today's competition with a record better than .500 and that's the final game of the year against Franklin. Coach McLaughlin believes his team will rebound and find the form that had it take top squads like Medfield and Cohasset to the wire.

Walpole emerges with an 11-7 triumph over Dover-Sherborn.

Back with more in a bit.

3rd quarter

Walpole, 10-5 (end of 3rd)

A defensive-minded (though sloppy at times) third quarter gave way to a late Walpole offensive explosion and the Rebels lead Dover-Sherorn, 10-5, heading to the final frame.

Walpole struck for the only four goals of the quarter, including three over the final 1:17 (the three goals came in a span of just 30 seconds overall).

Half

Walpole, 6-5 (half)

Walpole's Davis Butts scored with 28.4 seconds to play in the first half to help the Rebels carry a 6-5 advantage over Dover-Sherborn into the intermission.

The Raiders led by three goals early in the second quarter before Walpole charged. Two goals by Leo Ajemian and Butts, along with a single score by Greg Nash put the Rebels out front before the break.

Walpole, 5-4 (3:30, 2nd)

Four consecutive goals by Walpole, including two by Leo Ajemian, have the Rebels out front, 5-4, with 3:30 to go in the half.

1st quarter

D-S, 3-1 (end of 1st)

Dover-Sherborn scored three consecutive goals to close out the first quarter with a 3-1 lead over Walpole.

The Raiders will start the second quarter with a man advantage as well.

Pregame

Welcome to Walpole, where the Rebels are set to host Dover-Sherbor in a boys' lacrosse nonleague battle this morning.

The Forsberg Cruiser sets the temperature at 56 degrees, a bit cooler than we enjoyed for much of this April Vacation week, but still pleasant (hey, it's better than the rain that's coming soon).

Back with more throughout the morning.

***

We'll be live from Walpole Saturday morning, where the undefeated Rebels boys' lacrosse team hosts Dover-Sherborn in a nonleague battle at 10 a.m.

Walpole (7-0) is off to a fast start, but the Rebels have beaten teams with a combined record of 21-41, so Dover-Sherborn (7-2) should provide the stiffest test of a still young season.

The Raiders ripped off six straight wins following an 8-7 loss to Medfield in double overtime on April 10. They dropped an 11-9 decision to Division 3 state champion Cohasset Thursday and will undoubtedly be looking to get back on the right track.

We'll have more from Walpole Saturday morning. Stay close.

In the Play of the Game clip below: Watch the final two minutes of play as top-ranked Westwood and third-ranked Framingham battle to a 15-15 tie in girls' lacrosse action. In the clip, Framingham's Melanie Baskind scores with 1:38 to play to put her team on top by a goal, but Westwood's Erica Nangerino answers with the tying score soon after.

Later, Westwood goalie Abbie Brown makes a big save against Framingham's Sam Zetlin to preserve the tie.

• Click HERE to watch the Play of the Game

girls' lacrosse
No. 1 Westwood 15, No. 3 Framingham 15

• Click HERE to watch Framingham vs. Westwood
• Click HERE to watch the Play of the Game

WESTWOOD -- Maybe its appropriate that draw control led to a draw.

The third-ranked Framingham girls' lacrosse team dominated top-ranked Westwood in the faceoff circle while erasing a five-goal, second-half deficit as the Flyers battled back to earn a 15-15 tie Friday morning at Flahive Field.

The Flyers scored four consecutive times capped by Melanie Baskind's sixth goal of the game to take a 15-14 lead with 1:38 to play, but Westwood's Alex Frank forced a crucial turnover in the defensive end that set up the tying goal by Erica Nangeroni with 1:03 remaining.

Westwood netminder Abbie Brown produced a monster save on a Sam Zetlin shot from the slot to preserve the tie in the final seconds.

While it's rare to see any team satisfied with a tie, both sides seemed to find a bit of a silver lining in this one, particularly the defending state champs from Framingham, who trailed 12-7 with 18:40 to go.

"I think the kids are really excited, especially after being down five goals against a team like this," said Framingham assistant coach Gretchen Biggins, assigned the task of team spokesman by head coach Stacey Freda following the game.

"It's tough to come back from that and they really persevered. The kids knew what they needed to do. Draw control was huge, especially down the homestretch. We made a point of it at halftime and in timeouts, and the kids did a great job executing. Give them credit for coming up with the ball when we really needed possession."

Moira Barry stood tall in the faceoff circle while being pitted against the likes of Westwood's All-Scholastic tandem of Frank and Erin Massimi. But it was Framingham's collection of scrappy midfielders that really allowed the Flyers to control the draws by running down loose balls or forcing immediate turnovers by Westwood players.

Lizzie Rubenfield and Brianna Davis came up with a number of balls to spark the late heroics. Framingham trailed, 14-11, with 6:21 to go, but scored four times in a span of 3:18 (three goals by Baskind) to take the lead.

"I felt the intensity of my team wasn't sustained," said Westwood coach Leslie Frank. "I felt like we cruised for many minutes defensively, particularly in the midfield, and you can't do that. I don't think they discounted the level of the competitions, it's just that the kids are in vacation mode. It happens every single year. They love to play, but there's still some on the couch a little bit.

"I'm always happy to stay in a game with a competitor like Framingham. I really felt like we lost the draw control with about seven minutes to go and, it wasn't so much getting them, but getting them checked as soon as we got the ball. The intensity in the circle was flat."

Westwood (7-0-1) pulled away slightly in the first half as four consecutive goals, including two by Alex Frank, put the Wolverines out front, 8-4, with 3:12 to play in the first half. Framingham (8-1-1) cut that deficit in half with a pair of goals in the final minute, but Frank scored with just a tick left on the clock to close out the first half with Westwood on top, 9-6.

The Wolverines battled foul trouble all day, however. The hosts were whistled for a total of six yellow cards for sticks to the head of Framingham players. That included a costly second yellow card for top defender Joan O'Neil, who missed the final 21:24 of the game after picking up the second infraction.

Westwood also had to play man-down for three minutes, but it actually managed to stretch out its lead on goals by Frank and Massimi that made it 12-7 with 18:40 to go.

Coach Frank admitted it was a physical game, but took umbrage with the fact that the calls didn't see to go both ways.

"I'm sure my girls were guilty of several, but I'm not sure they were guilty of six," coach Frank said of the yellow cards.

"It's very difficult to make those calls, but it's not much different than basketball. When the fouls are stacking up on only one side, it raises the question. I'm not pointing any fingers, but you have to question it."

Coach Frank commended Framingham for being able to maintain its own intensity without drawing similar penalty calls. "It's something we'll have to work on," she said.

Alex Frank finished with six goals and two assists, while Massimi added four goals and two assists for the Wolverines. In addition to the six scores by Baskind, sophomore Moira Barry chipped in four goals and an assist for Framingham.

Westwood and Framingham played to a 15-15 tie (there's no overtime during the regular season in girls' lacrosse).

Westwood's Erica Nangeroni scored with 1:03 remaining to tie the game and Wolverines netminder Abbie Brown came up with a monster save on a Sam Zetlin shot in the closing seconds to preserve the tie.

Back with more on this one in a bit.

Framingham, 15-14 (1:38, 2nd)

Wow. Framingham ripped off four consecutive goals and the Flyers now lead Westwood, 15-14, with 1:38 to go following a free-position goal by Melanie Baskind.

Westwood, 14-11 (6:21, 2nd)

Framingham has charged within a pair of goals on two occasions, but Westwood is keeping the Flyers at arm's length with a 14-11 advantage with 6:21 to play in the game.

Westwood scored twice while playing a man down due to yellow cards to build as much as a five-goal lead before Framingham charged.

1st half

Westwood, 9-6 (half)

Framingham scored a pair of goals in the final minute to trim a four-goal deficit in half, but Westwood's Alex Frank potted her fifth goal of the first half with only a second to play as the Wolverines carried a 9-6 advantage into the intermission.

The two teams essentially traded goals for the first eight scores of the game before Westwood scored four consecutive times (two goals by Frank in that spurt) to open an 8-4 advantage.

Framingham pulled a pair back and seemed to have the momentum heading into the break, but, following a Moira Barry goal with 12 seconds to play, Westwood won the faceoff and Alex Frank raced in for the last-second goal.

Frank is the only player for Westwood with multiple goals (Erin Massimi, Kelly Rich, Megan Lally, and Erica Nangeroni each have a score).

Westwood, 5-4 (10:55, 1st)

Framingham and Westwood traded goals throughout the first 15 minutes of play, but back-to-back goals by Erin Massimi and Alex Frank has put the Wolverines out front, 5-4, with 10:55 to go in the first half.

Pregame

Welcome to Westwood, where the Forsberg Cruiser sets the morning temperature at a pleasant 62 degrees. Both teams are on the field warming up. We'll have more throughout the morning.

***

A head's up that we'll be live from Flahive Field Friday, where the top-ranked Westwood girls' lacrosse team hosts third-ranked Framingham in a rematch of last year's Eastern Mass. Division 1 title game at 10 a.m.

Westwood (7-0) has only played one team with a record below .500 this season, but still boasts an average goal differential against of 13.6 per game. That includes a 14-5 shellacking of Western Mass. power Longmeadow and a 19-5 triumph over defending Division 2 state champion Duxbury.

Framingham (8-1) watched its 52-game winning streak get snapped in a 6-5 loss to Bay State Conference rival Wellesley on April 7. The Flyers have rebounded with quality wins over fourth-ranked Lincoln-Sudbury and fifth-ranked Andover.

Framingham defeated Westwood, 10-9, during last year's Eastern Mass. title game at Flahive Field. Click HERE to watch highlights from last year's game, which saw Kristin Igoe score with nine seconds remaining to lift the Flyers to victory.

***

The Globe's Chris Estrada will also be out Friday morning, catching the Lexington-Stoneham Middlesex League softball battle. He'll have a full recap from that as well.

For those curious, the Globe begins collecting high school sports standings for the spring season this Sunday, April 27.

Standings will start appearing in Monday's paper (and online) along with our first batch of in-season top 20 polls, which will update each week from there.

League representatives are reminded to call the Globe between 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday at 617-929-3235, 2860, 2861, or 2862. Our toll-free number is 1-800-232-2860. Standings can also be faxed to 617-929-2670 or e-mailed to hssports@globe.com, but please confirm all fax and e-mail transmissions by calling one of the numbers above.

boys' lacrosse
No. 5 BC High 11, No. 3 Billerica 8

• Click HERE to watch the Play of the Game

On the heels of an upset of previously undefeated Billerica, BC High boys' lacrosse coach Kevin Bibeau was asked to assess his team's recent progress.

"Ask me tomorrow," Bibeau said with a smile.

"We beat Xaverian (last week), but we turned around and lost to Malden Catholic. We beat a Billerica squad that took a state finalist to overtime in last year's state semifinals, but we struggle against Newton South. Right now we're searching for a little bit of consistency."

The Eagles (6-2) didn't exactly produce an even effort Wednesday afternoon, but a fast start allowed the hosts to open a four-goal lead in the first quarter, which blossomed to a six-goal halftime advantage and carried BC High to the finish line in an 11-8 triumph.

What was consistent was the defensive play. BC High's athletic defense hounded Billerica attackers, who endured some physical play from the Eagles' long-stick middies while trying to find a lane to the net.

BC High effectively shut down all lanes for cutters, forcing Billerica (7-1) to often rely on individual efforts in rushing to the cage or firing from the perimeter. The Indians were able to squeeze some shots past BC High's David Barton in the second half, but the senior netminder made plenty of saves to atone and assured the visitors would claw no closer than the final spread.

"There are shots we ask and expect David to stop," said Bibeau. "Today he gave us a couple extra."

On one of the first hot days of the lacrosse season, BC High wasted little time building a comfortable cushion. The Eagle