PRLB PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Calvert Hall senior attackman Jacob Kelly
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C Maxwell.
Jacob Kelly has been the leader of the Calvert Hall varsity lacrosse team. That’s not just some cute title to place on him because he’s the coach’s son, or because he’s the senior who’s headed to the University of North Carolina next year. No, Kelly is truly the driving force of the team, the straw that stirs the drink, the glue that holds it all together.
Calvert Hall had the perfect mix of ingredients to be successful this season in one of the toughest schedules in high school lacrosse. The offense averaged close to 12 goals a game this season, according to Laxpower.com.
And the defense was stingy most of the time, and the faceoff unit, coached by Jeremy Rualo was on point.
But observing Kelly lead on the field and off, you can tell this kid had his head on straight and he knows what’s necessary for his teammates to be successful.
After the Gilman victory to open A-conference play this season in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), he told the media afterwards that he addressed his team at halftime and made sure they got their focus back. The Cardinals trailed in that at the half and came back and won. But it was then that you knew that the Cardinals were in good hands and were set to repeat as conference champions.
Then around late May, Kelly came down with flu-like symptoms and wasn’t himself in the loss to McDonogh, and he just wasn’t 100% until the Severn game in late April when he had a 5-point day.
And from that point the leader was back and once again the teams focus was back.
Jacob finished the season with some impressive stats as a senior, He had 46 Goals and 57 Assists. He also finished with 44 GB’s. He led the team in causing turnovers off the ride. He had 21 caused turnovers.
Plus he leaves the program with two conference titles on his belt, which none of his cousins could accomplish.
But like his cousins, Jacob was modest in his opinion of his play. He would always place praise on his teammates after games and would be critical of his play, even when he was the player of the game. That’s the Kelly Way.
