Seneca Valley's Playoff Run Ends with Rain-Shortened Loss to Middletown

Seneca Valley lacrosse coach John Holt called it "outrageous."

The school's Athletic Director, Ray Sacramo, said it was the "right decision."

Either way, the Screamin' Eagles are out of the Maryland 3A/2A lacrosse playoffs after a 14-1 loss to host Middletown, the top-seeded team in the region, in a game that was shortened due to severe weather conditions in the Frederick County, Md., area Monday and Tuesday.

The third-round game was 14-1 at half-time on Monday night, after it had already experienced one mandatory 30-minute lightning delay earlier in the game. When lightning struck again at the beginning of half-time, rather than wait another 30 minutes to start the second half, Holt said the decision was made to resume second-half play the following evening.

However, that wouldn't be the case.

Holt said he received a call early Tuesday morning that the game would not be continued and would end, 14-1. While Holt said he knew his team would be facing an up-hill battle in terms of making a come-back, he felt his kids deserved a chance to play and finish the season on their own terms, particularly his group of seniors.

"This is the last game for 11 of my 16 players," he told patch in an email.  "For some, it will be the last at any level. I have no delusions that we had a chance of going up there and coming back, but why don’t we leave that up to the players?"

According to Sacramo, however, the decision was a mutual one between he and Middletown Athletic Director, Tim Ambrose and was based on several factors. He also said he ensured Holt, who teaches at Montgomery Blair High School, was kept abreast of developments as they unfolded via email and that Holt was well aware of the decision early in the day.

"There were storms throughout the day in Middletown and the forecast indicated that it would get continually worse throughout the day," Sacramo said.

"Plus, it was going to be a running clock and likely would’ve been over very quickly. We had to ask ourselves, 'Did it make sense to start a game that would’ve eventually been stopped again by weather that may have only lasted about 15 minutes with the running clock?'  That’s pretty much what it boiled down to. It didn’t make sense to continue the game."

According to Ambrose, when the two schools come to a mutual decision, the state really doesn't get involved other than to sign off on the decision, which it did.

Sacramo also stated that many of the players had to take The Maryland High School Assessments (HSA) tests early Wednesday morning and that making the trip north to Middletown to face potential delays and get home late was also a main factor.

"From a parents' perspective, they'd be thinking, 'Why did you send my child up there two nights in a row when they had important testing the next day that is a requirement to graduate high school?' It was the right decision," he said. "The decision has to be made early in the day. And it was the right decision."

When asked if he thought it was unfair to the players, particularly the seniors who ended their careers in an abbreviated game, Sacramo said he thought it was “ridiculous” and that “you make decisions based on what’s right for the kids.”

Seneca Valley was the last remaining team from Montgomery County in the 3A/2A division.