By Zach Smart
South Western senior Carnie Fryfogle III carried a
vanilla milk shake to his table at Dutch Country Diner in Hanover, clutching it
with the same fervor that a father does his newborn son.
“You see this,” Fryfogle said pointing she shake. “I
treat this like the lacrosse ball. You can’t ever let it hit the ground. That
would be criminal.”
For the South Western boys’ lacrosse team, Fryfogle
has done quite more than just carry the ball with care and value possession.
He’s carried the scoring mantle. He’s carried the
burden of leader. A light but chiseled middie, Fryfogle facilitates the patented
high-low game that his father (South Western head coach Carnie Fryfogle Jr.)
preaches.
“Our focus as a team is always to beat some kids
down, to play tough and blanketing defense, to lock up on the top scorer and
handcuff him,” said Fryfogle, who scored a team-best 77 points on the strength
of 44 goals and 33 assists.
“My Dad and I
both hate to lose. That’s something we’ve also shared, is that distaste for
losing. We hate it. When I was a young kid, we would play everything from
t-ball to a simple game of cards and he’d always go out and do everything in
his power to beat me. He put some pressure on me about playing lacrosse. It
almost became an everyday thing. Finally I just said, ‘yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll
play.’”
Fryfogle III like his father, loves the physical
aspect of the game.
Fryfogle III’s proclivity for bulldozing through
traffic has attracted NCAA suitors such as Gettysburg, Essex College (Md.), and
Elizabethtown. Fryfogle said he’s leaning towards Essex, albeit the 18-year-old
remains undecided.
Fryfogle’s
father hails from Carrol County. He’s known for a four-year career as a running
back in football and a midfielder in lacrosse at South Carrol High School.
“The one game my Dad was being recruited,” said
Fryfogle III, “he blew out his knee.”
While sustaining that fatal blow tarnished his
athletic career, it did nothing to dampen Fryfogle Jr.’s competitive spirit.
He added, “From as long back as I can remember, he’s
given me speeches about what it takes to be the best, what it takes to throttle
the competition. He put some pressure on me about playing lacrosse. It almost
became an everyday thing, something he couldn’t let go.”
“Finally I just said, ‘yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll play.’”
Dad knows best.
Fryfogle III learned the game as a bone-thin
sixth-grader on the Mustangs Lacrosse Club team. He was thrust into the role of
senior savior this season.
During critical stages, Fryfogle put a patchwork
team derailed by a rash of early injuries on his shoulders. Fryfogle morphed
into a prolific scorer, exploding for five goals during the Mustangs’ 13-12
double overtime victory over Susquehannock.
During that game, which featured a matchup between
Susquehannock’s Zach Speights, who had four goals, and Fryfogle II, the
Mustangs stormed back from an 11-8 deficit for the victory.
Fryfogle was similarly impressive during an 11-9
triumph over Central York on May 1. In that game, Fryfogle popped three goals
and dealt three assists. The win avenged a 15-10 loss on April 10.
Rivalry games seem to have extra juice for Fryfogle.
Against crosstown rival Spring Grove, Fryfogle led a 13-5 pelting with four
goals and a game-high 12 groundballs. Against SW’s heated rival, New Oxford,
Fryfogle scored five goals and had three assists.
Fryfogle’s presence has frequently lured double
teams, opening up seams for a cluster of cutters. That’s even as he entered the
season a marked man.
Partly because of the confidence he's always had in his teammate and partly at his father's urging, Fryfogle III helped accelerate the production of Mai. Both Fryfogles implored Mai to be more aggressive this season and to hunt for his shot. Mai found the trigger, scoring 28 goals and adding 17 assists.
With teammate Rich Delea, who had 38 goals, South Western had three legitimate scoring threats.
Fryfogle Jr. did not have the luxury of playing his high school games in the traditional lacrosse hotbed of Maryland. Despite his gaudy stats, Fryfogle III hasn't earned the same star status as Maryland players of similar style and make-up.
Fryfogle has proven he can hold his own with players from all over the country. He got a taste of elevated competition this summer when he played for the Bryne National All American team and competed in the Top 205 camp in Towson, Md.
"It was sweet," Fryfogle said of the experience. "My team clicked from the very beginning.
"With the higher level of competition, everything is so much quicker. The game just goes by so quick, considering the ball never hits the ground. You've got to carry it with pride and a sense of value. You can't ever let the ball drop."
Just
like his beloved milkshake.