Foothill’s Luke Fox is the O.C. player of the year – Orange County Register
ALL-COUNTY BOYS LACROSSE TEAM
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Luke Fox, Foothill, Sr.
Luke Fox is the son of Foothill head coach Jon Fox and has been going to Foothill lacrosse games since he was in the second grade.
“Since I was a little kid, I ran the flag after every goal and got paid with candy,” said Fox, who has been chosen the Register’s boys lacrosse player of the year. “It’s been a big part of my life since I can remember.”
Fox watched the Knights win eight US Lacrosse Orange County championships. This year, he helped lead Foothill to its first CIF-SS Division 1 championship by scoring four goals in a 9-8 win over Loyola in the final.
The Knights had to overcome what was considered the more challenging half of the Division 1 playoff bracket to reach the championship game. Foothill had to beat the other perennial lacrosse powerhouses in Orange County in the early rounds: St.
Margaret’s, Mater Dei and Corona del Mar.
After beating the county’s best, Foothill beat Loyola for the championship, the team the Knights lost to in the 2022 CIF-SS championship game.
Foothill’s Luke Fox, left, charges toward the goal against Loyola in the championship game of the CIF-SS Division 1 boys lacrosse playoffs at Tustin High in Tustin on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
“It’s a little bittersweet leaving Foothill because it’s all I’ve known my whole life, but it was great to leave with a victory,” Fox said. “We all worked so hard and losing two years in a row, we knew that to win we had to change something and really worked hard.”
Fox, who plays the attack position, had a school-record 122 points this season, breaking the previous record of 121 set by Nate Marano in 2015.
“I have a little bit of bragging rights because I’m really good friends with Nate Marano and he’s over at our house once a week,” Fox said. “He’s a great mentor who taught me a lot about how to play the game.
”
Fox had double-digit points in two games this season, 10 against Canyon and 11 against Vandegrift of Texas. Fox had 83 points in 2022 and earned first-team All-County honors.
Fox will play college lacrosse at Mercer University next season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Eric Bassett, Trabuco Hills
In 2021, the Trabuco Hills boys lacrosse team had its first losing season since 2014 and finished third in the South Coast League.
Since then, coach Eric Bassett has led the Mustangs to two consecutive league championships and two CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals appearances.
Trabuco Hills’ Eric Bassett is the Orange County boys lacrosse coach of the year. (Photo courtesy of Trabuco Hills)
The Mustangs outscored their South Coast League opponents 108-17 this season and beat JSerra 12-11 in the first round of the playoffs.
Bassett, who is the Register’s boys lacrosse coach of the year, was named the head coach at Trabuco Hills in 2016 and has led the Mustangs to four league championships.
Trabuco Hills went 16-4 this season and has three players on the Register’s All-County team, including Bassett’s son Tristan, who is the team’s face-off specialist and had the highest face-off win percentage in the Southern Section.
FIRST TEAM
Jack Almy, JSerra, Jr., Midfield
Tristan Bassett, Trabuco Hills, Jr., Face-off Specialist
Ryder Beull, Los Alamitos, Sr., Midfield.
McClaine Cantrell, Mater Dei, Sr., Long-Stick Midfield
Isaiah Chavez, Foothill, So., Face-off Specialist
Darrell Curtis, Trabuco Hills, Sr., Attack
Gavin Gossen, Corona del Mar, Sr., Attack
Collin Hebble, Corona del Mar, Sr., Long-Stick Midfield
Austin Hicks, St. Margaret’s, Jr., Attack
Jackson Hines, Foothill, Sr., Attack
Bode Jellerson, Foothill, Jr., Midfield
Triston Jewell, Mater Dei, Sr., Midfield
Cohen Krudwig, Foothill, Sr., Goalie
Ethan Messer, Santa Margarita, Sr., Attack
Ethan Scaffidi, Servite, Sr.
, Midfield
Grant Schriber, Corona del Mar, Sr., Defense
Jack Stahl, St. Margaret’s, Sr., Defense
Scott Westrick, Corona del Mar, Sr., Midfield
Thomas White, Mater Dei, Sr., Midfield
SECOND TEAM
Colin Barker, Aliso Niguel, Sr., Midfield.
AJ Bevacqua, Crean Lutheran, Sr., Midfield
Owen Binder, St. Margaret’s, Sr. Attack
Cole Crisostomo, Mater Dei, Sr., Midfield
Lucas de la Paz, Mater Dei, Sr., Face-Off Specialist
Duke Devault, San Juan Hills, Jr., Attack
Dylan Eidsvold, Foothill, So., Defense
Connor Engel, Los Alamitos, Sr., Attack
Grant Giuliano, Corona del Mar, Sr., Goalie
Mason Kubichek, Corona del Mar, Sr., Defense
Jack Neiger, JSerra, Jr., Goalie
Luke Newton, Corona del Mar, Sr., Midfield
William Peffer, St. Margaret’s, Sr., Defense
Connor Pietras, Foothill, Jr., Attack
James Prado, Servite, Sr., Attack
Ayden Sanchez, Aliso Niguel, Jr., Long-Stick Midfield
Finian Tran, Corona del Mar, Jr.
, Face-off Specialist
Jordan Venz, Trabuco Hills, Sr., Midfield
Ryan Winters, Santa Margarita, So., Midfield
Cheyenne Mountain beats Erie in double-OT, three-peats as 4A boys lacrosse champs
Breaking News
Fueled by a pair of senior captains who will now have five championship rings, Cheyenne Mountain put an exclamation point on its lacrosse dynasty Monday at Peter Barton Stadium.
Cheyenne Mountain beat Erie, 10-9, in double-overtime for its third straight Class 4A title and fourth overall in the program’s fifth consecutive championship appearance.
Senior attack Wyatt Furda had a hat trick, while senior goalie Matty Kelleher held off Erie’s high-powered attack in OT. Both players were also captains on the Red-Tailed Hawks hockey teams that repeated as 4A champions over the past two winters — Furda a forward and Kelleher a defenseman.
“We cemented (the dynasty) tonight,” said Furda, a Colorado College lacrosse commit.
Junior attack Logan Mika put home the game-winner with 55 seconds left in the second OT after Erie stormed back from a five-goal deficit at halftime and had the Red-Tailed Hawks on the ropes down the stretch.
“The past few years, it’s been us and Erie at the top of 4A, so we knew it was going to be a great game and we knew they were going to have an answer in the second half,” Furda said. “It was our job to respond. They punched us a bunch of times, but good teams respond, and that’s what we did.
“In net, Matty’s a superstar — an amazing first half and then two saves in overtime, both on kids who are going Division I. He stood his ground.”
Mika’s golden goal came off a deflection; he got the rebound right in front of the net and put in the winner on a bouncing shot through the bottom shelf.
“That was a feeling that truly just took the breath out of me,” Mika said. “When I got the ball, it was like I blacked out. I knew I needed to get it off quick because the entire Erie defense was closing in.
I went for the back-hand shot, and once I saw the net flicker, it was an unbelievable feeling.”
The Red-Tailed Hawks’ four titles are now tied with Arapahoe and Regis Jesuit for the third-most in CHSAA boys lacrosse history behind Kent Denver (five) and Cherry Creek (seven).
Cheyenne Mountain dominated the first half behind two goals from Furda and a brick wall performance by Kelleher, a Quinnipiac University commit. The Red-Tailed Hawks also controlled tempo, physicality and time of possession.
But Erie came out inspired in the third quarter and quickly flipped the script from blowout to instant classic with a string of three consecutive goals by Cooper Riley, Kooper Anderson and Davis Mundy. Cheyenne Mountain’s Kevin Papa stopped the run with his second goal of the evening midway through the third.
Then, Furda’s assist to Stefan Dingbaum with eight seconds left in the third gave the Red-Tailed Hawks a 7-3 lead. But just when Cheyenne Mountain got comfortable again, Ashton Karch won the faceoff and raced down to score with 1.
7 seconds left, cutting the lead to 7-4 entering the fourth.
Erie, which averaged 13.72 goals coming into the game, continued to pressure Kelleher and the Cheyenne Mountain defense in the final frame. The Tigers were hungry for their first title.
Cheyenne Mountain got goals from Kasey Freeman and Furda to give them cushion. But it wasn’t enough to avoid overtime. Mundy had another goal, while junior captain Liam Connors had four goals in the fourth, including the equalizer with 12.2 seconds left. Kelleher made three saves in the final 90 seconds before Connors beat him on the bottom left shelf.
But it was Cheyenne Mountain who won the war of attrition in overtime, with Furda headlining the pressure and Kelleher and the defense warding off Erie’s momentum on the other end.
“(Furda and Kelleher), those guys know the moment,” 13th-year Cheyenne Mountain head coach Mike Paige said. “And our team doesn’t fold under (pressure) — they’re comfortable being here. That’s why we play 5A teams like Cherry Creek.