Player of the Week: Canyon Birch from Manasquan (N.J.)

Canyon Birch, Manasquan (N.J.)

Birch became New Jersey’s all-time leading scorer with a seven-point game against Rumson-Fair Haven (N.J.) on April 27. The Manasquan senior broke Matt Poskay’s 17-year old record of 468 career points.

Birch finished the game with a career total of 473 points and appears likely to become the first player in New Jersey history to score 500 career points.

Birch has been on a tear this season. He is averaging 8.4 points per game, the highest in his career and almost a point more than last season when he finished with 175 points and broke the state’s single-season scoring record.

The Penn State commit is not done setting records either. With 331 career goals, he could break Poskay’s state record in that category. Poskay scored 362 goals for A.L. Johnson from 1999 to 2002. Birch has 57 goals this season and scored 123 as a junior.

Player of the Week Honor Roll

Jake Bonomi, St. Anthony's (N.Y.)
Bonomi scored 10 goals and two assists in two games on national television. The senior opened the GEICO Lacrosse Showcase with five goals and two assists against Lincoln-Sudbury (Mass.), then scored five goals against Darien (Conn.) on Day 2. The Michigan commit has 39 goals and 10 assists this season.

Thomas Colucci, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.)
Colucci won 15-of-16 faceoffs as the Pirates defeated Summit (N.J.) 8-5 to start last week. Colucci also scored a goal in the Summit win. The senior followed that up by going 20-for-27 in the Pirates 12-11 come-from-behind victory over Darien (Conn.) on Saturday.

Andy Demopoulos, Darien (Conn.)
The goalie made 26 saves in two games against nationally-ranked opponents last weekend. Darien took part in the GEICO Lacrosse Showcase and while the Blue Wave went 0-2, dropping two tight games, Demopoulos made 13 saves against St. Anthony's and Seton Hall Prep (N.J.). His made a series of saves against St. Anthony's that is Plays of the Week worthy.

Andy Demopoulos been playing out of his mind ????‍♂️@DHSbluewave pic.twitter.com/AhEaYsYOJ0

— Who's Next (@WhosNextHS) April 28, 2019

Pete Garno, Haverford School (Pa.)
Garno scored 10 goals and one assist in two games against nationally-ranked programs last week. The senior scored seven goals and an assist against IMG Academy (Fla.) on Thursday to lead the Fords to a 14-11 victory. He followed that up with a three-goal, one-assist game against No. 22 Ward Melville (N.Y.) as part of the GEICO Lacrosse Showcase on April 27. He added two goals against Lincoln-Sudbury (Mass.) on Sunday.

Daniel Kelly, Calvert Hall (Md.)
Kelly had 12 points in two games for the Cardinals last week. His performance helped Calvert Hall improve to 7-0 in the conference. The senior posted identical five-assist, one-goal games against Mount St. Joseph (Md.) and Gilman (Md.).

Jack Shipman, Wando (S.C.)
The senior scored five goals and two assists in Wando’s 17-5 win over Dutch Fork (S.C.) in the Class 5A semifinal.

Billy Spilman, Gilman (Md.)
The junior scored three goals and an assist as Gilman came from behind to defeat Loyola-Blakefield (Md.) 14-13. The win stopped a two-game conference losing streak for the Greyhounds.

Zack Terry, Fort Mill (S.C.)
Terry helped lead the Yellow Jackets to their first state championship since 2014 with a six-goal performance against Wando (S.C.). Terry and teammate Trenton Wiley led the attack with a combined 11 goals in the 13-8 victory.

Nick Whittall, Murrieta Mesa (Calif.)
Whittall appears to have broken the California record for most goals in a game with 13 against Murrieta Valley (Calif.) on April 24. Whittall’s 13 goals surpass the previous known-and-reported record of 12 by J.K. Torres from West Ranch (Calif.) that was set in 2014. Teammate Miles Crowley totaled 11 points in the 25-2 win.