The path of least resistance yields very few results.
Like many other coaches, Pat Ammendolia of Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) High School didn’t make his team’s schedule this year. But even if he did, he couldn’t have predicted that playing Lincoln Sudbury in the team’s final two regular-season games of the spring -- both victories -- would be the team’s ultimate litmus test.
“They're a great program and always had a lot of success,” said Ammendolia. “To be on par with those guys is to be on par with all the other top teams in the state. It's always a battle in all sports.
“I went to Acton and graduated in ‘99 and it was a big rivalry for football and lacrosse back then. We weren't quite at their level, but we've been creeping up. I think the kids really get fired up to play them and they know they're going to play a good team and have to bring their best -- more often than not, they do.”