FITCHBURG, Mass. --- The fall lacrosse season is in full swing.
But Sunday's event at Game On Fitchburg was not your ordinary October tournament. If anything, one might have thought it was March due to the brisk temperatures and high school and prep teams flocking to the turf.
Road to Prep's Battle Ground showcase is unique for that reason: It is a fall event, but high school and prep squads compete as a team. A total of 18 programs played three games apiece, with over 50 college coaches on hand. Sunday marked the second year of the growing event, which featured 10 teams in its debut a year ago.
I spent Sunday bouncing around the fields in Fitchburg to take in as much action as possible. That amounted to seeing 10 different teams compete across five games. That means I didn't have the chance to see every squad play. I focused on watching each game in full to get a sense of the competition.
Teams were certainly playing to win. The intensity level was high. But final scores aren't at the forefront of what I want to take away from events like this, so I won't focus on them.
Here is what stood out to me from Sunday's action, including takeaways and standouts from each game:
