Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/24/08

La Salle, which won the final Keystone Cup championship, was ranked in the top five in two recently released national scholastic polls.

The Explorers (31-2) finished fourth in the LaxPower National Coaches/Computer Ratings and fifth in the STX/Inside Lacrosse National High School Rankings. They also were the top team in the Phillylacrosse.com Top 10 Poll.

The Explorers claimed the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association title with a 4-3 win over Malvern Prep and then defeated Manheim Township, 7-5, for the state title.

Malvern Prep (21-3), meanwhile, was 11th in the LaxPower poll and 13th in the STX/Inside Lacrosse poll.

The LaxPower poll is based equally on national computer rankings and a poll that involves 48 high school coaches around the country. The STX/Inside Lacrosse rankings are released each week until the playoffs begin.

Gilman School (18-1) of Maryland was the top-ranked team in the LaxPower poll, followed by West Genesee (21-3) of New York and West Islip (19-2) of New York.

Brother Rice (23-0) of Michigan was the top-rated team in the STX/Inside Lacrosse Poll. The Michigan state champions feature 11 Division I commitments from their junior and senior classes.

Following Brother Rice were Loyola-Blakefield (13-4) of Maryland, West Genesee, and Darien (22-1) of Connecticut. Each of these teams won state championships.

Also, in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, La Salle was second and Malvern Prep was sixth.