May 8, 2024 By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read

When Mt. Lebanon defeated Upper St. Clair, 14-9, on May 1, Mike Ermer recorded his 200th career victory as Blue Devils head coach. The triumph, however, is not the significant win he’s after.

“Two hundred is cool,” Ermer said. “It’s still nice but it’s really not a big deal. It was like any other game. I am sure there will be time to reflect on the achievement after the season. Right now, another WPIAL (title) is our focus.”

The Blue Devils enter the 2024 WPIAL boys lacrosse playoffs as the defending Class 3A champions. Lebo defeated Shady Side Academy, 10-8, in last year’s championship match.

Because they won the Section I title with an undefeated 7-0 slate, the Blue Devils received a first-round bye in the tournament that commences May 13. The championship games are set for May 22-23 at Joe Walton Stadium on the campus of Robert Morris University.

“I don’t think there is pressure on us because the 2024 team is a totally different beast. It’s a new year and everybody is starting 0-0 in the playoffs,” Ermer said.

Before Lebo closed out the regular season against Hill Academy on Saturday, May 11, the Blue Devils sported a 13-4 record. One of those losses was a one-goal defeat to Shady Side Academy. The Bulldogs won the Section II title ahead of North Allegheny and Pine-Richland.

“Thirteen is a good amount of wins so far,” Ermer said. “We have had two successful trips to Ohio and the games we’ve scheduled have been good tuneups. The whole season has come along nicely. Hopefully, we are hitting our stride.”

Elmer added that while the Bulldogs are the top seed, the WPIAL title is up for grabs and could involve NA or USC as well as the Blue Devils.

“Anyone can beat each other. It’s high school sports and kids.”

Since autumn, the Blue Devils have set their sights on advancing further in the PIAA tournament. Last spring, Lebo lost to Springfield, 15-8, in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

“As a group, we collectively agreed to do everything in our power to be practicing on June 14,” Ermer said of the day before this year’s PIAA finals set for 4:30 p.m. June 15 at Panzer Stadium on the Penn State University campus. “We have the personnel but it can be challenging coaching a high school sport at this time of year with all the distractions.”

The Blue Devils have weathered from cold to hot conditions for practices and contests, spring vacations and Easter break. Senior week activities that include proms, graduation and parties, loom on the horizon during the playoff run.

“One of our team’s strengths has been its ability to focus,” Ermer said.

Other assets are experience and depth. The Blue Devils returned a core of veterans from last year’s 19-4 squad, including eight starters. Additionally, the team has received contributions from 22 to 25 players every game. “We have a lot of guys playing,” Ermer said.

“We have players who have been through the grind and that has allowed us to coach differently. Not drill down on the basics but rather to make tweaks here and there. Like all coaches will say though, we are still waiting to put a full game together. We have shown spurts but we need to do it for 48 minutes.”

While Miles Halter has been working his way through injuries, Luke Prezioso and Fred Lasota have picked up the slack offensively.

“Miles is a special kid and player,” Ermer said. “Luke and Fred have shouldered the responsibility on the offense end. They have been doing a great job of scoring.”

While Halter will play lacrosse at Loyola University in Maryland, Prezioso will take his game to Robert Morris. Lasota is attending Ohio State in the fall.

Lebo’s midfield is dominated by the play of Joey Hetz, Jack Estabrook, Sully Kish and Keegan Green.

Ben McAuley has been the “workhorse” on faceoffs while Brady Lockwich has filled the void caused by graduation in the nets. A junior, Lockwich was particularly impressive, says Ermer, in a game against Mars. “They are the class of 2A in Western Pennsylvania and Brady did a good job. He’s really hanging in there.”

Lockwich has benefited from the defense in front of him. While the Blue Devils “throw a lot of bodies in there” on defense, the anchors have been Navy football recruit Connor Young, Jake Schraven, AJ Hyland, Aden Riitchey and Aidan Carlstrom.

As the Blue Devils continue to improve and polish their skills, Ermer is optimistic over their playoff prospects.

“I hope we play well,” he said. “It’s really all about playing well. Winning is a result of playing the game correctly. If we play well ,the scoreboard will take care of itself.

Other seniors on the club include: Jonas Wells, Brandon Green, Quinn Lynam and Zane Zeidler while the remaining juniors are: Ty Pirain, Mason Prettyman, Nicholas Zundel and Parker Westbrook.

The roster includes a 13 sophomores: Among them are: Cole Gibbons, Michael Skocik, Benton Thompson, Sam McAuley, Andrew Pinilla, Pierce Conrardy, Max Prezioso, Kyle Quigley, Grayson Beck, Zach Lynam, Riley Wagner, Coltyn Whalen and Kris Kambitsis.

Freshmen

Some 17 freshmen fill out the roster. They are: Garrett Cramer, Max Pirain, Griffin Krupp, Adrian Bucek, Adam Hetz, Lukas Bilec, Spencer Paul, Aiden Halter, Gabriel Provins, Liam DeLuca, James Halter, Marko Janjic, Aiden Reynolds, Rocco Neidinger, Nolan Reddy, Xavier Bias and Parker Boyd.