Conference Previews for the 2026 Season - Peach Belt

Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Creest with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's Lacrosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is our prodigious prognosticator, Danny Moran. Hey, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Kevin, good thing I'm not drinking because I couldn't possibly even try to pronounce that again.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Well, we went from the coaching carousel continues, whatever it was. There was like four of them in there that you did several times. I had to go with alliteration again tonight.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

That was pretty good. How's everything going tonight in Northern Virginia, my friend?

SPEAKER_00 1:10

It's going great. You know, I am fired up, Danny. Fired up for the start of our conference previews. You know why? Because people are already asking me who's in your top 20.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

I'm like, they're asking that already?

SPEAKER_00 1:26

I'm like, it's October, November. Now it's November. I'm like, I got to do my research. So this is this is my research. Get into all these previews 10 weeks in a row. It's good for us. It's good for the listeners. Get a sense of where all the teams are and then move on from there. We can get our top 20 in January.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

You know what, Kev? A lot more people are listening than I even even thought of originally. Like even after getting the numbers and stuff every month, and it gets better and better. I'm just finding out more and more people are actually listening. Hey, love the new logo I hear out there. Hey, when is this going to start? But I didn't hear nothing about the top 20 yet.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Well, we got a few, I got it from a few people and from a few coaches that were asking, you know, as we went forward. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

Hey, coaches, we don't know nothing. What the heck are you asking us for?

SPEAKER_00 2:16

I think what they really want is don't put me in your top five, because that's the death knell.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

No, they want to be in that top five. They want to be in Kevin and Danny's top five. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Well, and we may have some teams in this conference. The first one we're bringing could be at least in the top ten, maybe, I think.

Peach Belt Preview

SPEAKER_00 2:35

But we're starting off like we usually do, Danny, with I'll let you do the intro here. The peach belt.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Move into the country, I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches. That's right, cuz. Move into the country, I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches. Move into the country. You think they need a lot of peaches in the peach belt conference? Well, I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches. Peach belt rocks. There we go. Peach belt rocks, guys.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

That's right. This is where this conference really gets going. And that's what I wanted to point out, Danny. Oh, yeah, the peach belt. You know, they're up to five teams now. They add Virginia State. Yeah. And what I would say is do not sleep on this conference. I mean, you may start off just like that song. It seems like there's only five teams. They're not as well known as conferences like the SAC or the NE10, but they are growing. This conference and the conference we do next week, the RAC, they're growing and they're getting more competitive, not only within the conference, but within the division.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Yeah, this conference gets teams ranked. There's only five teams in the conference. There's only four for the last couple of years.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

And two or three of them getting ranked every year. And Kevin, so much parody. You and I talk about the Peach Belt all the time with the parody. You know, each one of them can beat up each other at any given day. The championships are exciting down in the Peach Belt. They draw a lot of people. It's just, it's just a really up-and-coming conference. And to see Virginia State jump into the conference was great because, you know, we've talked to some of the coaches in the Peach Belt, and they love the fact that Virginia State's coming in. It just makes the whole conference stronger and better. So it's uh great to start off with the Peach Belt. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

I love it. And and we won't end with that either, in the sense that I'm sure we'll be talking about these teams throughout the season. So let's get into it. Where do you want to start?

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Might as well start with the team that was kicking booty last year, right? Yeah. Yeah. Flagler Saints. The Saints. The Flagler Saints. Located, Kev.

unknown 5:04

St.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Augustine, Florida. Beautiful Saint Augustine, Florida. You know how much I love the South, and state of Florida's one of them. And St. Augustine might be one of the most beautiful cities in all of Florida. Oldest city. It's the oldest city in the country. Yeah. Yeah. We actually went to history class, you and I, huh? Oh my God.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Well, I used to live right near that, so it's tough to miss that. When you live in Jackson, you go to St. Augustine. That's the first thing you hear.

SPEAKER_02 5:31

Well, when I was at the University of Florida, we used to drive to St. Augustine to go to the beach. It's a straight line.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah, it is. Well, and that was the other thing, Danny. I have to admit, I almost went with uh like a frustrated gator fan for the intro, but then I went to the prognosticator.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

Oh, you're so lucky you didn't say anything about my gators. So the flag was saints in St. Augustine. Coach Brian Duncan, what can you say about Coach Duncan, Kev?

SPEAKER_00 5:57

He's just done an amazing job. And and he gets the respect of every coach we have talked to. He gets that respect.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yeah, they know he's done good things. It's only his, what, their fifth year now? I think so. Fifth year into their, you know, they were a club program five years ago. 14-3 last year, 3-1 in conference. They finished number nine, Kev, in the top ten for the first time in school history, and the first time a Peach Belt conference team has made the top 10. So they had quite the year last year.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah, they beat five top 20 teams, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

And some big signature wins against Rollins. Yep. A big win against ranked St.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Leo, and a great game with the Malloy Lions. And here's what's funny about some of those games, Danny. Three of those games were one goal games, two in overtime, Florida Southern, St. Leo, and then Malloy was a one-goal game. And you say, like, okay, well, that wasn't. I think we talked about this last year. You look at it two ways. It's like, okay, well, maybe they weren't as good as they as they as a number nine because though those games were really close. The other way you can say it is they pulled out every one of those games. And that's a testament to their grit.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Oh, they beat everybody, a lot of people that were on their schedule. They only lost three games all year, Kev. Yeah. That's remarkable. You know, and and they play a lot of Sunshine State conference, you know, at a conference. Gets them ready. Yeah. And that Sunshine State Conference is no joke. So it definitely gets them ready. And then they go into the Peach Belt, and they did well last year.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, and the game, they they won the cut their conference championship, the beat Peach Belt, and then they go against Colorado Mesa to get that AQ. And they lost 18-14 in a really exciting game, though. That was a great game. And I remember you and I talking about it and picking, I think I picked Colorado Mesa. You may have picked Colorado Mesa, too. Yeah, we both did. But it really was one of those games that could have been a pick-up.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

Yeah, you know, I I went with Colorado Mesa last year because of just the back. The experience of being there. The experience of being there. They've been there before. Flagler, young, although talented and great, sometimes the bright lights get to you, you know. And you know what? Colorado Mesa is one of those teams that have been knocking on the door. And, you know, they got they got some valid points. You know, they're a squad, they're a squad. So, Kev, Flagler, man, they return six out of their top seven scorers. I mean, they're gonna be lethal again on offense.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah, they only lose Tyler Douglas, their number two scorer.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

Yeah, Trace McDonnell comes back and his 67 points, he's just gonna be bigger, better, bolder, smaller.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

And you look at it, 29 goals, 38 assists. He's the orchestrator. I watch him, I see him score goals, but you forget that he's really the orchestrator and the and the passer for their team.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

You know what? And and he's and the energizer bunny for that team, too. He gets them going, he's the pump up guy. And you know what? We had him on our program last year. He was great. We talked about him. Hey, he wasn't even highly recruited. Right. I think Flagler was the only team that made an offer to him. You know, and there's one of those kids that slipped through the cracks, right? You know, and and Coach Duncan found him, and he's just been nothing but phenomenal for the Saints since he's gotten there.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, and they also bring back Ben Nyberg, Jack Pila, Luke Burton, Griffin Moore. I mean, they like you said, they bring back a lot of scores. So they're look they are set, I think, on the offensive side.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Yep. Goalie Josh Stevens comes back, enters his junior year between the pipes, defense tie Shecken back comes back. 34 caused turnovers last year, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 9:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

And like you said, Nyberg's 34 points, pillars fucking uh 26 points. You know, uh they're they're good. They do they do lose face off Matt Matriga, who was really good for them last year.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Yeah, and they also lose a lot more on the defensive line side. They lose two defensive middies, Ben Burns, Ethan Lyles. Right. They lose LSM Gordon Ogden and D pull Bannon Gashalt. So there's gonna be there's a little bit of a turnover, I think, more on the defensive side that has to come back. Now they bring in a lot of transfers on the defensive side, Mikai Nelson from Mount St. Mary's, um, Brent Brexton Carter, a D Midi from McDaniel, and another D pull from UMBC, Andrew Weiberg.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

So they're gonna be just fine.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

My question is how seamless is it? Like, is it gonna be that way day one uh uh in the season, or will it take time to kind of ramp up? The thing we know about them is regardless of that, they have depth also in who they have in their program.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

So these guys can say they're deep, you know.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Yeah, if these guys can come in and assimilate and be a part of that team, be a part of that culture, then I personally think even with that defensive turnover, I expect them to be in the top ten, huh?

SPEAKER_02 11:18

You know, I I I'm gonna go back, you know, and and say it's you know, Coach Duncan. He's gonna be just fine. He knows these he's good at what he does, Kev. He's very good, he's a very good coach. The kids love him, you know, he's got a good staff with him. Yeah, Coach Duncan. Um yeah, and it's not a hard sell to sell, you know, you know, kids put their name in the portal at UNBC, they're not getting burned, but they can play. They put their name in the portal, and you know, Coach Duncan comes calling, hey, you want to come to St. Augustine? It's like, hey man, that sounds like a pretty good deal. It's not gonna be hard for them to assimilate, I don't think, with the kind of coach that Duncan is and the kind of players that he's gotten in there in the last four or five years. Right. I think I think Flagler's gonna be tough again this year. I agree. Uh they'll they'll be in my top 20 this year, I promise you that.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

I don't doubt that.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Now, my question, you know, the only question I had last year about Flagler was those bright lights because they were young. And when they got put into the top 10, Kevin, I questioned, are they really a top 10 team? And I wasn't taking anything away from Flagler at all because they're a super talented team and they did great things last year. But I just wasn't sure if they could hang with those elite squads that were, you know, it's top seven, eight, nine, ten, you know, the the Lenore Rhines, the Tampas, the, you know, those schools, those those guys. Could they hang with them? And Colorado Mesa was a big test for them at a big time, and they came up just a little bit short. I think they're gonna have a little fire under their ass because of that. They might have a little chip in the shoulder and say, hey, fellas, we were this close last year going to the tournament. So New Year turnover.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, I agree. I think if they play Colorado Mesa during the season, that may be something different than when it was at the end of the season for all the marbles, right? And Colorado Mesa had that experience. Let's look at their 2026 out of conference for them. Once again, heavy Sunshine State. No problem with that. I mean, it's it's just made for them geographically and it's made for them competitively. It's perfect. So they're Henry Riddle, Lynn, Tampa, Florida Southern, Emmanuel, Rollins, St. Leo, Palm Beach Atlantic, Florida Tech, and tentatively, they've got Colorado Mesa on the schedule. So that's that's a great every year. You all you can say is if you get to the sunshine, if you run through the Sunshine State out of conference, you're more than ready starting conference play.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

You know, Emory Riddle's gonna be tough. They're gonna be more improved, I guarantee it, with John Jez and another year of recruiting. I think you know, St. Leo's tough. They don't lose a whole lot there at St. Leo. I think they're gonna be tough, and you know, Rollins is tough, and Tampa's gonna put a squad together. You know that. So they're gonna get themselves ready for uh Peach Belt Conference play, you know. They're playing some big boys. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

All right, let's move on. How about we go to the Lander Bearcats? The Lander Bearcats. Head coach Tony Lapoore. Yeah. Out there in Greenwood, South Carolina.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

Greenwood, South Carolina. Never been there, have you?

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Never been there.

unknown 14:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

Never been there.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Nine and seven overall, three-o in conference. Now, total record, not as dominant as they were in 2024, but obviously 3-0 in conference. You know, they beat Flagler in the regular season, then they lost to them in the conference championship by one. So what they weren't far off.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

No, had two good signature wins, a 16-13 win over the Montevala Falcons and 14-9 win over Flagler. Those were two big signature wins for the Bearcats last year. They lose two biggies, though. They lose two biggies.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Yeah, Zane Dalpey and Carter Wilcox.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Yeah, Zane Dalpy got it uh drafted into the NLL. Good for him, man. Yeah. Quality lacrosse player right there, Zane Dalpey.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

That was the delayed bell right there for a second. That was a delayed bell.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Uh where the buttons are. And you know, Carter Wilcox had 85 points and Dalpy had 79. Yeah, that's a lot of points between two guys.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

Now, however, and we had this discussion, we talked to Coach Lapoor on the phone. Yep. And he said, look, their offense ran through Carter Wilcox last year.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Just like it did for Wingate back when Willie Greco was there.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

Right? And so can it be the same thing that happened to Wingate last year when they no longer had Willie Greco and Danny Riley? And it's really addition by subtraction. Because Coach Lapore says where he feels they have the most depth is at midfield.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

Time for Mike Metaliano to step in, huh? Yeah. And Jeremy Woodrock. They were number three and number four. So they're not You know where Mike's from? Where is he from?

SPEAKER_02 16:44

He's from Fishers, Indiana, Kev. Good player. 27 goals and 17 assists last year. Senior MIDI, Jeremy Woodruck, 22 goals and 15 assists. Their Fogo comes back. He was at 57% last year. Uh Brayton Crew. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Yeah. And they uh, you know, they also get Levi Roast who started off playing D MIDI, switched over to offense, and now he's a a mainstay on their for their midfield. They've also got guys like Chase Hansen. So they've got some depth in the offense, especially at midfield now, where they really lose some, I think, is once again on defense.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

They do, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

They lose goalkeeper Nicholas Page, Jack Kinney at D Pole, Brenton Weems, LSM, and Josh Davies as an LSM. And that creates a little bit of a gap. Now, Sebastian Porto Portando, uh, he started eight games at D, and he's returning. But that's where I think there's a little bit of turnover. You got to see where that goes.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Yeah, Britain Weems, Kenny, Jake Mintz, the short stick D mid, he's gone. So yeah, they lose a ton of senior leadership, particularly on defense, Kev. I feel, you know, on defense, I think they got some big shoes to fill, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Yeah, now Coach says they've got some transfers coming in, and they do have some guys that like Sebastian, who had playing time. I think once again, it really depends. Now, the other thing is goalkeeper.

unknown 18:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

I mean, Max Porterfield is the most experienced attorney, and they've got three others competing for the job, a total of four in the goalie room. So we also have to see where that ends up when they get back and they start playing in January, February.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Didn't Coach say there was competition there?

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

He did. So now it's time for the younger guys like Jaden Harrison and Anthony Shura, uh, Nathan DeTom Tomasis last year who played well. It's time for these guys to probably step into larger roles, Kev, and and maybe perhaps we might see some freshmen working their way into the rotation on the on this team into the lineup. I don't know. I think it's going to be a new look Bearcat team this year.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Yeah, on defense without a doubt. Now, what's interesting is they had some good stats last year. Like, look at their man up. Their po was 54%. Like, I don't even know how you get back to that year over year. That's just incredible.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

You know, they're a solid squad, you know, and and they have a really well who do they have out of conference this year?

SPEAKER_00 19:30

So here's who they're playing out of conference. They're playing Coker, Lincoln Memorial, Emmanuel, Young Harris, Anderson, Palm Beach Atlantic, North Greenville, Emory Riddle, U Indy, and Belmont Abbey. Now that is a good and building and progressive out-of-conference schedule.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Wow, I don't know what to say. Just repeat those one more time. Repeat that out-of-conference schedule one more time.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Coker, Lincoln Memorial, Emmanuel, Young Harris, Anderson, Palm Beach Atlantic, North Greenville, Emery Riddle, U Indy, and Belmont Abbey.

unknown 20:12

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

I wonder where they're going to line up before where they're going to be at. I don't know, man. It's a hard, it's hard to say where Lander's going to be this year. A lot of, like you said, a lot of new guys on defense. Coach got some uh he's got some transfers coming in. You know, let's see. It's gonna be a new look. We're gonna see some new faces and hear some new names this year and see which one of these younger guys step up. And it wouldn't surprise me to see some freshmen work their way into the I I agree.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

I agree. I think that's a possibility. I think look it. They could be, especially on defense, like some other teams we've seen in the past, where they just build. If that if that conference schedule is in order, they keep on building on it, and they end with you Indy and Belmont Abbey, if that's the actual order in the schedule. And that is just a great one. You look at Sunshine State conference that that Flagler does, Lander's building this like you're just you're going up higher, higher up the mountain in a lot of ways.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

How many different conferences are they're playing?

SPEAKER_00 21:26

They're playing Cokers and the uh playing they're playing the SAC, they're playing Conference Carolinas, they're playing GLVC, Sunshine State. Wow. Good for land, good for Lander. That's a great mix. It's a great mix. It'll be fun to see where they where they go.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

They're playing some big boys, man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah. And it what's interesting as you're going through this, you hear with the Peach Belt all these out of conference games. They only have five teams in the conference. So they have four. So they're only playing four games. They've got a lot. If they're going to have a 14, 15. Game season, they gotta put a lot, they've got to do those coaches, they have got to do a lot of work to build their schedule versus a team in the sack that has to get three or four.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

Right. Yeah, 100%. I get it. I got it.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

I don't know how you build that schedule.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

You start early, start calling early and making three years ago. Yeah. Probably. Yeah. But you know what? Again, Lander's been one of those teams that have been spunky and gritty and put out good squads. You know, like they put out good squads. They were 3-0 last year in conference. They handled their business in conference.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Yep, exactly. Exactly. So now let's move to Montevallo, the Falcons.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

The Falcons.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Oh, ho.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

I'm not good at making hawk sounds.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

Better hawk sound than I could do.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

No, it's actually the bear cats, right?

SPEAKER_00 23:00

No, the the Falcons. You were at Lander. We're leaving the mammals. We're heading to the birds. It's been a long day. Land of the Falcons in Montevallo, Alabama. Kind of easy to know where they're from. Yeah. Montevideo University.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

45 minutes outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Jason Lang.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Jason Lang. He's another really good coach. If you look at this, they and that's why I think there's so much parody in this in this league. Just the timing of when the teams started was about the same. A lot of them, you know, back in the 2018 timeframe, whether they started in club or not, they all were starting to build. They're all starting to build at the same time. And they're all, they most of them have stayed as the head coaches, except for like we talked about with UAA, right? So it's really interesting. Now, last year, Montevala was 10-6 and 1-2 in conference. Not what they wanted in conference play for themselves. No, absolutely not. But they had some great wins. They beat number nine U Indy, and then they followed up the next same the next week and beat North Greenville. So they had some good wins. They lost to number 12 Merriville and St. Leo. But of their losses, half of their six losses, Danny, were by one goal. Two were in overtime.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

Now we talked about this with Flagler. Yeah. They were able to win theirs. Right. And Monavalo didn't pull those off.

SPEAKER_02 24:36

Yeah, 10 and 6, and half of them were one goal games that went into overtime. They could have easily been 13 and 3, Cap. Easily. 100%. You know, the Falcons are a good team. Uh Coach Lang does an outstanding job there. He really does. He gets a lot of players to come there. Um six out of their top seven come back. I mean, I think they're going to be pretty tough this year.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

They get a lot coming back both on offense and defense. Yeah. And they've got senior goalie Alex Agorshian coming back.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Big, it's huge. He's got a lot of saves under his belt as a Division II goalie.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

And then you add in, Danny, you add in their face-off specialist, Brandon Shaffner. He was at 70% last year. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:29

That's a great middle of the field core to go with. 70% at the dot is amazing. Okay. So that means you're getting a lot of possessions. You know? Like I said, they were close to being 13 and 3. Definitely, definitely a team to be watched. Not to be taken lightly this year. I mean, they Colin Schuster comes back, the defenseman, 20 calls, turnovers, 34 ground balls. Defenseman Chris Humphrey, 43 ground balls last year. Schaffner comes back at 70%. They attack John Spawn's 40 points.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Yeah, and along with Matthew Boaz. Yeah. Their number one score. 54 goals last year.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

18 assists for 72 points. Paul Boyd just balled out from Montevallo. He took over some games for them. Literally. I just I think they're good. I think they're seasoned. A lot of these guys come back, Kev. I think Montevallo's going to be a tough game.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Yeah, they've got defensive midfielders, Ryan Andrews and Nick Gacka coming back. They they're not losing. James Trainer on defense, Nolan Ross on defense. But other than that, like you're going to get new faces.

SPEAKER_02 26:47

Yeah, no. I think the best part of this whole squad comes back, the majority of them. And just think, they know, they know they could have been 13-3 easy last year. Could have been a much different season with a pipe here, a ground ball there. I think this is a team that's going to, like Flagler, gonna have a little fire under their ass, knowing that they're just so close last year. I don't know. I like Montevalla this year.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

I do too. The more I look at it. We talk about we we've said it already several times on this podcast. It'll be interesting to see, but I if you look on paper right now, they can rival what we saw from Flagler.

SPEAKER_02 27:34

I think they have a really I think they might, you know, them and Flagler might have the edge right now as far as in the conference, yeah. One and two.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

One A, one B, even possible.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

Yes, that's what I'm thinking. Who's their out of conference?

SPEAKER_00 27:51

So their out of conference is Emmanuel, Amory Riddle, St. Leo, North Greenville, Mars Hill, Belmont Abbey, Anderson, Young Harris, Tampa, Palm Beach Atlantic, and Maryville.

SPEAKER_02 28:07

Very similar to Landers instead instead of you, Indy, they're playing Maryville. So they're playing multiple conferences as well.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

Yeah, they're playing a lot. It'll be a good test. You can watch are they going to go?

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Are they going up anywhere or are they coming as all those teams coming down?

SPEAKER_00 28:24

No, I'm sure they're they're mixing up. I don't know exactly who goes who goes where. I don't I I'd have to look it up, but uh, it's a good mix. They're not all going, they're all going to Monavalo.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

So, man, I don't know, man. I just think it's a team that's definitely a team to watch. I think they're not to be taken lightly. I think Coach Lang really knows what he's doing there. He's been kind of molding this team for a couple of years. They've been ranked in and out, kind of, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

But they get that win on you, Wendy, they get ranked. They get north, beat North Greenville, they stay ranked. Then they lose, they drop out. You know, that's kind of where they've been. They're right on that 18-19 curve.

SPEAKER_02 29:08

And I think this year, I think they have a little bit more, you know, been there, done that, a lot of big games under their belt. And we also short, just a couple. Again, it could have been 13-3. I don't know. I like the Falcons this year. I do too.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

They also add in a transfer, Lucas Mullen from Stack, who was their leading scorer last year at 46 points. So add that into the mix. Like, I agree. This is going to be a dangerous, dangerous team.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Just, you know, again, just with everything that they were last year, and all those guys come back, they really only lose one or two kids on D. I think they're going to be tough. Yeah, I agree. When you're getting the ball 70% at face-off, man, it makes it nice.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

You know, it makes a yeah. Can he can he can Brandon continue that this year with that level? I mean, 70% is just great astronomical. Great. But even if even if he drops down a little bit, you're still saying like he's if he's in the 60%, that's still phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Yeah, you know, but the seven out of ten is coming up in a Falcon stick. Yeah. You know, so it's a that's huge. You know, and you now you can do things, you know what I mean? So I expect them to have a lot of shots per game. You know, I expect you know, like again, most all their boys come back. So I like, I like, I like Montevallo.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

Yeah. Yeah, they're like I said, they're gonna be dangerous. Let's move on, though. Let's move on to the Chargers at Alabama Huntsville. That's UAH.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

Located?

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Huntsville, Alabama.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Huntsville, Alabama, Cap. You know what I found out this when I was doing my homework for UAH? There's close, there's 7,000 undergrads at UAH.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

It's a nice size school. That's a nice size school.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

That's a nice size size.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

I've been on the campus. That almost surprised me a little bit, although I'm dated. I haven't been there in nine, ten years, so they may have grown a lot. I used to go running through that campus a lot. It look at it, it's in a beautiful area, as Coach Warren pointed out, right? They're an engineering school, they're right in the heart of it with NASA. There's just a lot of opportunity there if you can do both things. Right. You know, and they have a huge roster coming back. But let's let's get to where they were last year. They were 2-14 and 0-3, not the season they wanted.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

New head coach this year. Like I said, Jordan Warren comes in. Yeah. Four years as an assistant, and he takes the helm this year.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Yeah, and I think that helps. I think there was turmoil through the season. You know, the Coach Fry at the end of the season wasn't coaching the last few games. Yeah, I think there was the he and Coach uh Warren was kind of the interim doing things. Makes it a little bit messy, right? And so now he takes the reins, he knows the program, he's been there, he's got a great story of how he has really grown up in in the lacrosse game. From playing in the Marine Corps to becoming an assistant to being the head coach now. I think there's a lot of positives for this team, and there isn't, and there isn't there's still stability there, is what I want to say.

SPEAKER_02 32:47

Yeah. You know, again, they they struggled last year. Again, there might have been some turmoil going on. I don't know any particulars, to be honest with you. I don't. Um, but they struggled last year, and UAH hasn't struggled. This last year was the first year that they really couldn't put put put it together. They just couldn't do it. Right. Uh I mean, the 2-14, 0-3. Uh they were very young last year, too, Kev. They they played a lot of freshmen and sophomores last year. Um see what Coach Warren does replacing some of those graduates because they do lose Pete Fabrizio, who was a big player for them.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:30

Um, Mitty Will Ford, uh, Craig Ryan, the attackman, and defenser, defenseman Colin Galinski. These guys were big names for for them last year. They do lose those guys, but they do have some returners and mostly were freshmen and sophomores last year.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

I mean, look at Chris Ayeli, who who was the tacman, he was a freshman last year, 18 goals, 21 assists, number two scorer on the team. Yeah. Yep. Mikhail Hillman, another tacman, comes back as well. So they've got some pieces. Midfielder Carter Heninger is back. They've got some pieces to build. There is some turnover on both both sides of the field, which is a little bit different than what we saw from like Montevallo and Flagler. It seems like and Lander. It seems like more on the defense for all those. A lot of the offensive guys are coming back. This is kind of a mix. They are getting back goalkeeper Tommy Pier. Right. Logan Grimm, defenseman, who started eight games as a freshman. So they've got look at, I think, I actually think they've got a good foundation on defense, even though they lose guys like Alex Dorncott and Colin Colin Galinsol, right? They've got a foundation. They've got a foundation on both sides of the field. It really depends. And a deep roster, 63 players on that roster.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

Yeah, yeah. Again, so they've got the depth. They were super young last year again. Yeah. And you know what? When I was doing my homework, I noticed a lot of guys saw playtime. It wasn't like the same 20 games. There was a ton of guys that did get into games and see playtime. Maybe coach was just searching for that right rotation, that right group. You know, again, so young, so many freshmen and so many sophomores basically on the field. And so most of the guys coming back this year are going to be sophomores and juniors. I wonder how many freshmen they brought in. 29 from what I counted. So I bet you're going to see some freshmen in regular rotation.

SPEAKER_00 35:35

I I'd agree. You know, they may not be starting, but they get some playtime. Let's see if they, you know, let's see if they've got some freshman middies, if they've got some D middies, or you know, maybe some close D that's going to help out on uh on defense for rotation. I personally think, like I said, I think it all depends. Can they put it together? They've got the foundation, they've got players with good experience on both sides of the ball. They do. But it's whether or not they can make that that next step. Now, look, like you said, Danny, really last year was somewhat of a blip on the radar screen within conference, right? And yet I'll tell you what, they made it close against Montevallo at the end. So it's not like they can't compete in conference, and they made it close against St. Louis Leo last year. So I think it all depends. They're they're one of those teams that are just going to be interesting to keep an eye on which way they go. Because it could go the adversity route if they get if they're not resilient and they get down, you know, can those players that have enough of that experience, those sophomores and juniors that have been there, carry them through?

SPEAKER_02 36:56

That's what they're gonna need. They're gonna need that. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like these good, they're again, they're still gonna be young. Yeah. You know, there's not a whole lot of seniors gonna be on this squad and uh or on the field. They're still gonna be young. These guys that played last year will have some of that, again, games under their belt, know a little bit more about the NCAA game. You know what I say when freshmen come back from sophomore year, they're smarter, bigger, stronger, faster. They get it. It's a different year for them. They they they improve so much. I looked at their out-of-conference schedule, and boy, this is some schedule. Ready for this one, Kev? Yeah. They host Lees, who's gonna be super duper improved. You know that. You know that. Then they go on the road to St. Leo, then two days later, they play Emory Riddle. Okay. Then they travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, where they play two games in three days. They'll play Dominican and CUI. Then they travel to Missouri to play Maryville, then to Indiana to face Quincy, only to come back to Huntsville to host U Indie. Then Belmont Abbey, and then finally they open uh they play Catawba before they start Peach Belt.

SPEAKER_00 38:25

That's yeah, then they've got I think they've got Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum mixed in there during the Peach Belt stuff. But yeah, that's a crazy schedule. I really think that's a really good mix.

SPEAKER_02 38:36

That's how fun is that gonna be for the kids, man. Yeah, they're gonna be in 90 roads. They are becoming the Road Warriors. They're gonna be in Missouri. Good for them, man. Yeah. Good for them. Yeah. That's cool. That's a that's a cool season, I think, if you're a kid. I agree with that.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

And I think, to be honest, part of that builds the chemistry of a team. 100%. Oh, you're on the road together. They go back to the room. You know, that's where you start finding.

SPEAKER_02 39:06

They'll maybe go to an amusement park or an arcade or something, you know, they get out as a team. It's you know, it's great. I think that's great. Again, I think they're gonna be young. Uh the Chargers, uh, I think Jordan Warren's gonna. I'm interested to see what he puts out there. Yeah. And and how that team operates. I want to see what they do offensively and what they do defensively. And uh hopefully they can uh I know that they hope they hope for sure that they can improve on that two and four team.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

I think they will. I think they will. I don't think we'll see that same team. The question will be can they get to 500 or better?

SPEAKER_02 39:45

Man, they play St. Leo and Lee. They've got Henry Reddle and Maryville and Undy and oh my God. It's crazy. And Belmont Abbey don't suck, and Cataba don't suck either.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Like they're Taba's gonna be better. It's it's a I'll tell you, I'm very impressed with these four teams and their out of conference schedule. So am I. So am I.

SPEAKER_02 40:10

It's very cool.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

Okay, let's move on to the last team, the newest team in the peach belt, the Virginia State Trojans. Yeah, Virginia State.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Finally get a home conference. Good for you guys. I love that. I'm coach Sean Church. What a job this guy's done with basically not much, Kev.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

I agree. I mean, he's building from scratch, and he's got this team continually improving, not only year over year, but really throughout the season. And I told you last year, Danny, when I went and saw the game, the UDC Virginia State game, first of all, both teams played better than the year before I saw them. Of course. Virginia State, and I saw them a few other games on you know, streaming. They were much improved that second year, and I believe in my heart, that's we're gonna see again because they're bringing back almost everyone.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

Yeah, well, it was a new program two years ago.

SPEAKER_00 41:17

Yeah, they lose one guy, a defender, Travis McDonald, 27 ground balls, 19 cause turnovers, but everyone else come back. And look at what they've got. And really, guys like Andre Brigham, John Gobel, Kalani Laughlin.

SPEAKER_02 41:33

My man, Kalani Laughlin.

SPEAKER_00 41:35

And I say look out for Donovan Elmore.

SPEAKER_02 41:37

He's good.

SPEAKER_00 41:38

This guy is big and he's athletic.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

You know, Kev, I watched him play twice last year. Again, young team, a lot of freshmen, a lot of sophomore, not a whole lot of depth. It was only like 28, 29 on the roster. It's a new program. It's new, you know, it's brand new. It's an HBCU. The numbers are different there. Um, I thought what Coach Church did with this team was absolutely remarkable. What I saw these kids doing on the field. And I they went toe-to-toe with Mount Olive in Mount Olive in a shitty day. It was rainy, windy, windy, cold. Everybody's in, you know, hoodies on the side, you know, the umbrella sideways. It was just a shitty day, you know. And they went toe-to-toe with Mount Olive, who's a much more established squad.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Right.

SPEAKER_02 42:34

And all right, so Mount Olive broke it open a little bit in the middle of the third, you know. Uh, you know, Vincent got into a little, you know, in the box, you know, some penalties. They just didn't have the legs to stick with them. But I saw them do such great things. Move the ball right, get it to the open man. Um, they started, they initiated from different spots. They initiated from the top, they initiated from X, they initiated from the side, they cleared the ball well. They played defense with their feet, they just weren't hacking guys with their stick. You know, they were making slides, they were they did a lot of good things for a young team. So I think Coach Church does a really good job. I think this team will improve this year. Again, a lot of these guys come back. They got some games under their belt. They're gonna be in the peach belt, they're gonna be playing quality lacrosse and the peach belt. I think I think everything's trending upwards, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:36

You know, for a second, and I think brand new programs being in a conference just even mentally helps that team. It helps they have a goal, they have more of a goal when they were independent and where they stood as a second year program.

SPEAKER_02 43:51

Yeah, what what are you playing for, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

You're playing, you're playing for the guy on the left and the right, and which you always are, right? And you're playing for your squad and and the pride in your team, which I know. These guys are. Exactly. I know how Coach Church does this. Oh, yeah. But now they've got more incentive. And they've got a mark. They've got a great conference to mark themselves at where they stand when they start playing in conference against Flagler, against Montevallo, against Lander, against UAH.

SPEAKER_02 44:21

Did their roster come out for the new?

SPEAKER_00 44:24

It has not yet. I checked it.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

Yeah, because I checked it the other day.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

I wanted to see what the what the numbers were.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

Yeah, I wanted to see how many freshmen came in. I think Coach Church does have some pretty good players like Andre Bigham, Donovan Elmore, like you said, my boy Kalani Laughlin. I like that short stick D-mitty Elijah Briant. You know where he's from? Snell, Snellville, Georgia, Kev. He had six assists and 22 ground balls and 18 cost turnovers. He's a little, he's one of those gnats out there that won't go away. Yeah. And he you know picks up ground balls and he can clear and transition. So I like that kid. Um what about Hagard Taylor? 25 ground balls and 20 cause turnovers. Senior defenseman Ailen Starks, 36 ground balls, 24 cause turnovers, Kev. Where they struggled was face-offs. You know, they just didn't have great face-off play. They were less than 50%.

SPEAKER_00 45:28

So and then they're clears, their clears only at 78%, which which, oh, by the way, you look at most teams in their second year, they're struggling in that category. That's got to improve. They've got to they've got to control the ball a little bit better, even though, like you talked about, they're but what they did last year versus the year before, right, marked improvement.

SPEAKER_02 45:50

Completely marked improvement. And I expect more improvement. I think Coach Church has the right, you know, he's got the cake. He's you know, he's making that cake down there in Electric, Virginia.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

Right near Petersburg, right in there.

SPEAKER_02 46:06

So like he's got he's got the ingredients. Now he just needs a little bit, maybe another egg or two, you know, just maybe a little bit more than a little bit. Yeah, and let's let's look at their out of conference. He's got a good start. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:20

And I think his out of conference, which I don't think is as stacked as we saw the other ones, but it's a really good mix, and it's challenging for where they're at. They play Emory and Henry, Barton, Point University, which is an N-A-I-A team, Davis and Elkhams, Tusculum, Assumption.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:44

Very good squad. Chouan, Stack, UDC, and Mount Olive.

SPEAKER_02 46:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:51

So that's a good, that is a really good schedule for them, I think.

SPEAKER_02 46:55

That's competitive for them. Yeah. Yeah. And uh, I think it's gonna be great. I'm just psyched that they're in the peach belt. Um, like you said, they have a home, something to play for now. It it means a little bit more when you got something to play for, right?

SPEAKER_00 47:10

It does. I totally agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 47:12

Yeah, you gotta admit that. So I like Coach Church. He's been on with us on the program. Uh love his energy. Yeah. Love his, you know, just you know, everything about him, you know. He's good at what he does. He he knows that it's gonna take time. You know, we talked to him off off uh off pod. He knows it's gonna take time, but he's got he's got the good start, you know. And I I'm psyched that he's in the in the peach belt.

SPEAKER_00 47:38

I think it's a great, great fit for them. You know, they're where they're situated in the country, in Petersburg, Virginia, which is southern Virginia, so you're still far from some of those teams like in Alabama, but if you were in the ECC where UDC is, guess what? You gotta travel up north. So either way, you're kind of stuck right in in the middle. Now, teams like the Sack, maybe some of those are closer than some in the Peach Belt, but I think Peach Belt's so much better for them than doing something like the SAC.

SPEAKER_02 48:11

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:12

Yeah, and and let's go, let's finish it up. We've just talked about all the teams, but here's the thing that I didn't know until Coach Lapore uh confirmed it for us. You know, they only have five teams. Typically, you need to have six teams in a conference to get an automatic qualifier. But the Peach Belt does get one and they get one for the next two years because Peach Belt, when they are the ones that converh merged with the RMAC for an AQ, the Peach Belt Conference is the one that applied for the waiver with the RMAC. So they've got they're kind of grandfathered in for two more years to get an AQ before that gives them two more years to get a sixth team in the peach belt. Oh, I think they will too.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

I think they're gonna. I think they're gonna. They're they're already looking at schools to bring in. And it's great. It's it's growing, it's just growing and growing.

SPEAKER_00 49:07

And what Coach Lepore told us was that this conference, the conference leadership in the peach belt really backs and cares about lacrosse. So they're gonna work to make sure that they get that sixth, seventh, eighth team and wait to see what that conference looks like in a few years. But I'm telling you right now, we just talked about it. Don't sleep on them this year.

SPEAKER_02 49:32

No, this they got some good squad. Flagler's gonna be tough. I'm telling you right now. Monte Valo is going to be tough. Lander is going. I saw Lander play a couple of weeks ago. I went down to the scrimmage they had with Wingate. Wingate was receiving their rings for winning the conference championship the year before. So they had like a little thing going on after the lander scrimmage. It was a four-quarter scrimmage referee, actually five quarters, four-quarters with stop time referees the whole nine yards. Lander was very impressive, Kev. I was impressed with Lander's play. I was even telling some of the players, uh, the parents at Wingate. I was like, I was impressed with Lander. They did good at the dot, they moved the ball super duper well. Um, they lost a little bit on defense, like we spoke about. So I think they have to you know work some of that rotation out. But um let me tell you something. They look pretty good against arguably a top five, top six team in the country. Yeah. So I mean, Lander was very impressive. I again, it's fall ball, you know, you can only put so much into fallball, but I like what I saw in Lander in that game.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

And that tells you something because if you're seeing that in fallball and them being able to have that chemistry as a team in moving the ball, I don't see that going away in when the season starts.

SPEAKER_02 51:02

No, they moved the ball well, they were getting good shots off and one attackman they have, he's just kidding was firing him in there, man. He was he was pretty good. So, you know what? Again, I think I love the peach belt. You love the peach belt. We talk about the peach belt all the time. It's one of those conferences where there's tons of parody. Each one can beat up each other, there's a ton of respect for each other. I think Flagler has the edge to be number one. I think Montevallo, maybe right, like 1A, 1B. Yeah. And um I'm excited to watch Pete Belt conference play, you know. And again, out of conference, these teams look at what they're doing out of conference. How cool is it? Yeah. You know, yeah, I think it's all great. So I love the Peach Belt for the 2026 season. Yeah,

Shout outs

SPEAKER_02 51:52

man. Let's go. Let's go. All right. You're getting bumped up.

SPEAKER_00 51:56

I know. We've got one shout out. You and I have talked about this. It's once again, it's a little bit time late. Remember, we recorded our conference, I mean our coaching carousel several weeks ago. And since then, since the last time we recorded, we had some sad news in the D2 lacrosse world. Baden Boyanko, who played for Lewis and graduated in 24, passed away. And it is a it was a tough thing to hear about. I reached out to Coach Peruzzi, and I think from you and me, we just want to tell the Boyanko family and the Lewis lacrosse family that you're in our thoughts and prayers and we're thinking of you. It's a tough loss. It's a tough loss for the lacrosse community because Baden was not only a great player, he was somewhat the heart and soul of what that Lewis program is. And everyone I've talked to since then say what a great person he was as well.

SPEAKER_02 52:54

Yeah, he was a he was a leader for them, you know, a heart and soul kind of player. You know, big boy. He he was truck guys, you know, he was a good player. And uh I reached out to Coach Peruzzi as well, shot him an email, and uh send him my condolences. Uh, it's a sad thing. It was unexpected, you know, and my heart and uh my thoughts and prayers to the Voljanko family. You guys are a big part of division too, whether you realize it or not. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 53:20

So with that, Danny, we move on. We move on from the Peach Belt. Next week, we hit up the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in our conference preview number two. But for tonight, Danny. I gotta wait for the real peaches part.

SPEAKER_02 53:41

You know what the name of this band is? President of the United States.

SPEAKER_00 53:51

Here we go.

SPEAKER_02 53:52

Peach belt, cuff, peach belt raps.

SPEAKER_00 53:55

And that, Danny. That's a wrap. That's a wrap, Cup.