Westlake High boys lacrosse carries Julius Poppinga's memory into the CIF-SS playoffs
The Westlake High boys lacrosse team still feels Julius Poppinga’s presence.
And is shaped by his absence.
Poppinga, a senior, died from complications after a severe asthma attack last August.
“He’s part of our group,” Westlake coach Pete Swander said. “That kind of changed the energy of the team. They’ve been playing for each other a little more.”
After sweeping through the Marmonte League 8-0 and playing its strongest nonleague schedule in recent memory, the Warriors (15-4) feel prepared for the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
Westlake was seeded No. 5 in Division 1 on Saturday morning. It will host St. Francis (14-7) in Wednesday’s first round.
“They’re playing really, really well,” Swander said.
The winner advances to play at Santa Ana-Mater Dei in Friday's quarterfinals. Westlake is the lone local team in this year's 12-team Division 1 bracket.
Westlake has been powered by high-scoring attackman Jack Follette, the reigning Marmonte League Most Valuable Player, who has 65 goals, 27 assists and is committed to Penn.
He is supported by senior midfielder Seth Jordan, who has 52 goals, 24 assists and will play at UC Berkeley, and junior attack Colin Andrews, who has 31 goals and 39 assists. Faceoff-specialst Osho Miglino has won 52% of his draws. Goaltender Jacob Schnelldorfer averages 11.5 saves per game.
The Warriors have been working towards closing the gap with the Southern Section’s elite, like Loyola, Santa Ana-Foothill, Santa Ana-Mater Dei and San Juan Capistrano-St. Margaret’s.
Their four losses came against three of those programs and San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic. Progress was shown by going 2-1 on a trip to San Diego earlier this month, beating Carlsbad and Scripps Ranch, and also handing Marin Academy an eye-opening, 12-11 loss on April 2.
Despite losing program architect Sean Lindsay, who stepped down in the offseason, Agoura continues to roll.
The Chargers (12-3) have only suffered two losses since Feb. 13, both to Westlake in league play.
“There really wasn’t too much of a disruption,” said Agoura coach Mike Horowitz. “Our senior class and leaders have helped stabilize things and keep things moving forward.”
Midfielders Kieran Brennan, Alex Suski and Weston Harris have led the Chargers. Football star Miles Hull has thrived in an energy role.
“He’s an unsung guy,” Horowitz said. “He’s been invaluable, between the boxes controlling the middle of the field with his athleticism.”
Agoura will host Huntington Beach-Edison (7-8) in Monday's Division 2 wild-card round. The winner advances to play Chino-Santiago (14-4) in Wednesday's first round.
Oaks Christian (9-6) is the No. 1 seed in Division 3. The Lions will host Calabasas-Viewpoint in Wednesday's first round.
Oak Park, which received a first-round bye in Division 3, will host either Hart or Corona in Friday's second round.
The Eagles (11-7) didn’t let an 0-7 start short-circuit their season. They enter the postseason riding high on an 11-game winning streak, which includes an eight-game sweep of the Coastal Canyon League.
“This team is super young,” said first-year coach Max Luchs. “My senior night was one kid.”
Oak Park has been powered by junior attackmen Colton Winsick and Grey Stevens, midfielder Tyler Kang, faceoff-specialist Micah DeCloedt, defenseman Aaron Nagy, and goaltender Timmy Jasso.
Also in Division 3, Newbury Park (9-8) will visit El Segundo (9-6), Simi Valley (11-3) will host El Dorado (10-5), and Grace Brethren (8-7) will visit Brentwood (9-6) in Wednesday's first round.
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Westlake boys lacrosse team carries Poppinga's memory into the playoffs
