High schools: Brian Cameron and Will Bowen battle over weekend

When Bishop Guertin went south to Boston College High School on Saturday, it was an opportunity for New England lacrosse teams to watch one of the most elite matchups they could see in the region.

Brian Cameron, the top attackman for Guertin, is headed to North Carolina in the fall. He’ll be joined by BC High defenseman Will Bowen, who had the assignment to guard his future teammate.

The way Bowen and the Eagles defended Cameron varied during the game. In the end, Cameron didn’t find the scoreboard, but did have multiple assists as the Cardinals won, 12-9 to remain undefeated.

Going in, the focus was on shutting down Brian, which, the Eagles did for the most part. It was the rest of the offense that exploited what might be the best defense in the region.

“We had a defensive gameplan we tried to work,” said BC High coach Steve Lydon. “Number seven [Brian Cameron], we tried to limit him at X. We did a pretty good job of that, but their shooters capitalized.”

For most of the game, the Eagles used a zone that alternated defenders matched with Cameron. There were times where Holy Cross committed defender Tommy Joyce was engaged with Cameron behind the net.

In the second half, it was more Bowen.

“We weren’t locked into any matchups,” said Lydon. “We tried to keep Will on him a lot in the second half, but we were happy with any of our matchups. We run a team defensive gameplan. It wasn’t enough to get the job done against that guy anyways.”

But, Cameron did his part in neutralizing the Eagles defense. He took Bowen out of some plays by disengaging in his own right, forcing Bowen out of the plays as he guided him to the perimeter.

The Cardinals were ready for what the Eagles threw their way.

“We knew when Brian had the ball from behind they had three people waiting on him,” said Cardinals coach Chris Cameron. “But, we were finding lanes and shooting when we got to the inside, and I think they got out of that defense a little bit.”

Sean Cameron did exploit the Eagles defense in some ways. He was left open a couple of times when he was able to fire a shot, or charge to the cage.

The Eagles approach changed to an aggressive ride and they would hold onto the ball more, but when the Cardinals had possession, it was Cameron and his Cardinals that won the battle against his future college teammate.

“We knew that when Brian had the ball, they had a triple team, two guys were waiting in his corner,” said Cameron. “He had to draw the two and then find the skip lane. That’s where we wanted to come from. When we didn’t have that option, we wanted to exploit their short sticks.”

There’s still a lot of time left in both their seasons in their missions in separate states, but for now, the UNC prospect from New Hampshire won the battle.