JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Rivalry on the River lacrosse event returns for its second installment this week as one of the country’s fastest-growing sports takes center stage.
After focusing on the major team sports like baseball, basketball and football with iterations of the High School 9:12 Classic, the Fortegra High School 9:12 and the Bold City Showcase, lacrosse came into the fold. The event was very well received last year and that interest has only grown.
This year, a big perk of the showcase returns. The majority of the tournament will be streamed on News4JAX+, News4JAX.com and broadcast on the radio at 92.5 FM/1010AM. Due to inclement weather, the streaming of Thursday’s games will be shown through the NFHS Network here. The remaining games will be streamed on News4JAX+ and News4JAX.com.
The final four games on Saturday (Bartram Trail-Ponte Vedra girls at noon, Menendez-Episcopal girls at 2:30 p.m., Maclay-Bolles at 5 p.m. and Creekside-Ponte Vedra at 7:30 p.m.) will be televised live on CW17.
Tickets begin at $5 for students and $12 for adults. Those can be purchased here.
“I think it is really exciting,” said Episcopal attacker Sofia Chepenik, a Clemson signee. “Definitely lacrosse in North Florida isn’t as big so to have the opportunity to showcase our skills will definitely hopefully spread the sport.”
The television aspect is significant for the programs. Eleven of the area’s 12 teams in News4JAX Super 6 rankings will be showcased in the tournament. The Bartram Trail girls are ranked No. 1, while the Ponte Vedra boys are No. 1.
“It’s just such great exposure for them. It’s exciting for the community for the young girls in the area watching girls they know on TV,” said Bartram Trail girls coach Meghan Jackowiak. “It’s just really exciting. Last year was so much fun and we’re really looking forward to doing it again.”
Added Bears player Madison Stevens: “We think it’s a really big deal. We love where we get to play Ponte Vedra on TV. We think it’s such a big deal being able to go home and watch it, like on our recordings, like we love it.”
Last year, the event had six girls teams and 10 boys teams. They played eight games spread over three days. This time, the field has grown by the addition of two girls teams, Atlantic Coast and Mandarin, the first two from the Gateway Conference to be featured. Last year, the tournament consisted of just schools from Duval County (Bolles, Episcopal), Clay (Fleming Island) and St. Johns (Creekside, Menendez, Nease, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine).
This year, it’s expanding to include the Stingrays and Mustangs girls teams, as well as the Tallahassee Maclay boys. What doesn’t change is the spotlight on the game.
It puts lacrosse front and center across three days and adds both the TV and radio broadcast elements to it.
“It’s really special for these girls who have put in so much work and for that recognition to happen,” said Episcopal girls coach Krista Grabher. “I think that a lot of these girls are going to be playing in college, too. And they’re going to be doing media training and being in front of, on the TV and this is kind of that first step for them to see what that feels like.”
While the storylines loop throughout the event, the headlining game of the tournament remains the finale on Saturday night. For the second year in a row, it’s Creekside and Ponte Vedra playing in the showcase game of the tournament. The Knights and Sharks are both 8-2. Ponte Vedra edged Creekside 9-8 last season in the game, but returned the favor, a 9-8 win, in the playoffs.
“It’s gonna be awesome,” said Ponte Vedra coach Chris Polanski, now in his first season as the program’s head coach. “We’re looking forward to it all year. It’s an awesome lineup. You know, we got the last game of the night. Our boys are very excited.”
Polanski said the TV element provides attention on participating schools that’s not usually there.
“To have two hours dedicated just to our boys and you know talking about each individual player, you know where they’re committed, it was huge,” he said.
For girls programs, it’s an ever greater moment for visibility and players and coaches are soaking it up.
“It’s awesome. Because when I was growing up, we didn’t have anything like this,” said Creekside girls coach Nicki Hartz. “So, it’s nice for the girls to be representing the sport like that, especially in the North Florida area.”
Rivalry on the River schedule
All games at Bolles; News4JAX Super 6 rankings in parentheses
Thursday
(3) Creekside 20, Bolles (girls) 13
(4) Nease 20, St. Augustine (boys) 6
Friday
(5) Episcopal 16, Providence 1 (boys)
Bartram Trail 13, (6) Fleming Island 4 (boys)
Saturday
Mandarin 6, Atlantic Coast 5 (girls)
(1) Bartram Trail 13, (4) Ponte Vedra 8 (girls)
(2) Episcopal 18, (6) Menendez 0 (girls)
(3) Bolles 16, Maclay 4 (boys)
(1) Ponte Vedra 16, (2) Creekside 6 (boys)
Out of market fans can stream every game by going to News4JAX.com or can stream on their TV by downloading the News4JAX+ app on their Roku, Apple TV, Fire Stick, and Chromecast or Android TV streaming device.