Team Kahnawake gives it their all

Waking up after an intense day of lacrosse is always accompanied by some aches and pains, but this weekend’s Founders Cup tournament in Pennsylvania left Team Kahnawake exhausted for days, after putting up a valiant effort that led them all the way to the championship game.

“It was just crazy, towards the end everyone was extremely tired,” said Darris Jones, who was part of the team.

In just six hours, the boys played five games of lacrosse, joining the elite high school division, which is typically for players in their final two years of high school, with most players being in grade 12. Ever up for a challenge, Team Kahnawake’s players were grade 11s, adding an extra layer of difficulty.

The team ultimately lost out to the Superstars in the championship game - the only team that had beaten Kahnawake in the round-robin.

Coach Al Jones said that he purposely signed the team up for a challenging tournament, hoping to get them prepared for the season ahead.

“I wanted to test them, I really did. Some of them could possibly get called up to the Hunters this summer, so I wanted to see what they have and let themselves see what they have,” Al said. “If they’re going to compete at the next level, this is going to help.”

The boys kicked off their day bright and early around 7 a.m. with a triumphant 9-3 win over Penn Lacrosse. They stayed on the same field with barely a break before facing the Superstars, who beat Kahnawake 8-6 in a closely fought game. Kahnawake were spurred on by the defeat, serving up a 7-4 win against the NJ Sixers and a 6-4 win against the True MD Rage, earning them a spot in the final game.

Despite giving it their all, Kahnawake was beat 9-4 by the Superstars in the final, finding themselves exhausted after so many hours on their feet.

Jackson Norton played for Kahnawake, and said that he was glad the team made it to the very end.

“I didn’t want to drive all the way there just to not make it that far,” he said, adding that the team had to dig deep to find the energy and stamina to keep going.

Norton is one of many young Kahnawa’kehró:non eyeing the Hunters as a potential future team - he hopes that the more time he dedicates to games like this, the better equipped he’ll be to make it in the big leagues.

“These competitions throughout the winter are going to help out, because I’ll have my stick in my hands, I’ll be running, and I’ll be playing against high-level competition,” he said. “My main goal is definitely to make the Hunters.”

Along with Darris and Norton, Kahnawake’s roster included Leland Lahache, Teiokeraonhatie Horne, Arahkwenhawe Two Axe, Brycin Jones, Rowehrenhatie Jacobs, Keegan Kropp, and Randall John.

Two other familiar names joined that list when Kahnawake found themselves even shorter on players later in the game - Tiohahes Morris and Shakohentinetha Phillips, who were both at the tournament with the East Coast Elite JV team.

The duo helped Kahnawake capture wins in the round robin leg of the tournament, after Al called them up to play with the team.

“I’m really impressed with them, they fought hard, they played really smart, and it just showed me that their IQ is really high to know how to adjust their game accordingly,” said Al.

The boys were able to relax after their intense day of lacrosse by heading to a National Lacrosse League (NLL) game, where the Rochester Knighthawks beat the Philadelphia Wings 15-12.

Darris said it was particularly special to have such a great day of lacrosse followed by time with his teammates, as he’s soon heading to school in Ontario after being drafted by the Whitby Warriors in the first round of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League draft earlier this month.

“It was really fun, because I don’t know the next time I’m going to get to play with them,” said Darris. “Going to play with Whitby is cool, I’m very excited, but it’s still going to feel weird because I’m leaving all of my teammates, all of these kids behind, for who knows how long. It’s not going to be the same.”

For Darris, seeing his team continue to fight to win was what helped him keep his energy up throughout the tournament.

“Everyone showed up happy, spirits were high, and that made us have fun and take on the challenge,” he said. “In our culture, lacrosse is our medicine game, and even though everyone was tired and maybe wanted to quit a bit, we kept going.”

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