2024 Schedule Rundown: Taft (Conn.) and Lawrenceville (N.J.)

We're back with another rundown of notable HS schedule releases, having highlighted Haverford (Pa.), Malvern Prep (Pa.), and Gonzaga (D.C.) last week. Today, the spotlight is on a pair of defending champions and boarding school powers.

Coming off a No. 1 finish last spring, Lawrenceville has put together another challenging schedule, one that features seven opponents that weren't a part of the 2023 slate. Of course, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) headlines that list, with the Big Red set to host the Friars on April 13 in a matchup that would have been the defacto national championship game at the end of last season. In the span of seven days, Lawrenceville will hit the road to play Malvern Prep (Pa.) on a Saturday and host Brunswick (Conn.) four days later before welcoming St. A's to town. 

However, a season-opening stretch should have the Big Red prepared for what's to come. Lawrenceville won't jump right into a Top 25 showdown like it did last year — a 9-6 loss to Boys' Latin (Md.) was the only blemish on the schedule — and will instead open up with Westtown (Pa.) before heading to Maryland to play Calvert Hall and Gilman during the third weekend of March. St. Sebastian's (Mass.) is also back on the schedule this year, a Thursday game that will serve as a tune-up before the Big Red welcome Brian Farrell's BL Lakers to town on March 23. 

Miscellaneous notes: 

— Also new to the schedule is a Tuesday tilt against California power St. Ignatius that will lead the Big Red into the aforementioned seven-day stretch against perennial Top 25 teams in April
— The Big Red will only play one other squad from New Jersey in 2023, squaring off with longtime local rival Hun on April 23 
— In what has become an annual tradition with seeding implications since the Prep Nationals came into play for the 2022 season, Lawrenceville will meet Deerfield (Mass.) at Brunswick in a neutral site affair set for May 1

ADDED: Westtown (Pa.), Gilman (Md.), Penn Charter (Pa.), St. Ignatius (Calif.), St. Anthony's (N.Y.), Perkiomen (Pa.), Salesianum (Del.)

DROPPED: Peddie (N.J.), Blair (N.J.), St. Augustine (N.J.)

After former head coach Nic Bell left for St. Anne's Belfield (Va.) at the end of the 2023 season, Taft wasted no time and went in-house for Bell's successor, picking assistant Max Rosner to lead the Rhinos' lacrosse program going forward. Continuity should be helpful for a program that has a 40-7 record over the last three seasons, with last year's squad winning Taft's first Western New England championship since 2003 in addition to a Founders League crown. 

Taft will once again spend spring break in Florida, where it will scrimmage IMG Academy (Fla.), St. George's (R.I.), and Holderness (N.H.), looking to give the younger players plenty of reps before the Rhinos venture back to Connecticut. When it comes to scheduling, there's always been very little room for the Rhinos to have a stocked non-conference slate since they're members of both leagues. In 2024, they've added early season matchups at Haverford (Pa.) and St. John's (D.C.), the latter being a night game. A week later, they'll look to get revenge against St. Sebastian's (Mass.) after the Arrows pulled the 15-11 upset in Taft's season opener on April Fool's Day. Dates with Kiski Prep (Pa.) and Hill Academy (Ont.) round out the non-league schedule, and a Founder's League showdown with Trinity-Pawling (N.Y.) will be sandwiched in between. 

The most challenging week for the Rhinos? Look no further than a mid-April stretch that features a home game with Brunswick (Conn.) and road tests at Deerfield (Mass.) and Choate (Conn.) — Taft beat all three in seven days' time a year ago. 

ADDED: St. John's (D.C.), Haverford (Pa.), Kiski (Pa.)

DROPPED: Navy Prep (R.I.), Phillips Andover (Mass.)