By Ryan Rohde

Kentucky is not the first place that comes to mind when talking about elite lacrosse states. A little more than a decade ago, the sport simply didn't exist in the Bluegrass State. But fast-forward to the present day and lacrosse is now beginning to thrive throughout the Louisville region.

Thanks to the efforts of St. Xavier head coach Scott Howe and a few others, Kentucky now boasts more than 20 high school programs.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Howe comes from a prestigious lacrosse background. He played high school lacrosse at national power Gilman and was a four-year letter winner at the University of Virginia and a member of the 1972 national championship team. Then in 1990, work moved Howe to Louisville, where lacrosse was nowhere to be seen.

After a trip to the NCAA final four in 1997, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of Virginia's '72 title, Howe's two sons experienced lacrosse for the first time and begged their father to play. The following year, Howe initiated "Boys' High School Lacrosse," which consisted of 15 kids from different Louisville-area high schools. Since there were no other programs in Kentucky, the squad played teams from Cincinnati and other nearby locations.

"We began by playing other schools' JV teams," Howe said. "The scores were like 30 to nothing. It took six or seven games to score our first goal and the kids celebrated like they'd won the Super Bowl."

After the inaugural season, the program experienced some growth. Known as just the Louisville high school team, there were finally enough players to field a varsity and JV team, but the program was still playing out of state competition. This laid the groundwork for high school lacrosse in the state.

The establishment of the Kentucky Lacrosse Association really got the wheels turning. Howe led St. Xavier to the first KLA state title in 2001, and has won three since, including the '08 championship.

Meanwhile, St. Xavier's current schedule is a microcosm of the direction that the state is headed in lacrosse. The Tigers play St. Anne's Belfield and have a scrimmage against Ohio power Upper Arlington on its spring break trip to Virginia. Just a few years ago, the announcement of a spring break trip came as a shock to the St. Xavier community, since students were used to taking trips to tropical climates with their friends and families.

"Spring Break is like a right -- everyone in Louisville disappears," Howe said. "But now if you want be on varsity, you go on spring break with the lacrosse team."

It's this commitment to winning that has enabled St. Xavier to grown into the premier program in the state, one that now competes against some of the top teams in the country.

"We expect to be very competitive against every squad we face," Howe said. "We are trying to beat everybody, not just hang with the better teams."

And the '09 Tigers might just have what it takes to knock off those upper echelon teams. Senior Chase Carraro is the leader of this group. The standout face-off midfielder is arguably the best player in the state and will take his talents to Denver next fall.

Running with Carraro at midfield is Hugh Madison, who Howe says is a "Kyle Dixon- type player equipped with a hard shot." Returning at attack is junior Peter Murphy. As the state's leading scorer a year ago, Murphy is very fast and has ankle-breaking moves combined with great work ethic. All the while, the Tigers defense is surely intimidating. All three poles stand at six feet and above and are very athletic.

And so while the sport is just starting to get its feet wet in the state, the rapid growth is undeniable.

Said Howe, "Lacrosse is here to stay."

Those words would have been hard to fathom just a few years ago in Kentucky. But thanks to the achievements of Howe and a few other pioneers a little more than a decade ago, they certainly make a lot of sense now.

2009-03-13