In between, there will be interesting matchups between D.C. private school Gonzaga and Montgomery County public power Wootton, and Philadelphia private school Upper Darby and Fairfax County public power James Madison. In addition, there are games between private schools Loyola Blakefield (Baltimore) and Upper Arlington (Ohio), and Germantown Academy (Pa.) versus the Bullis School.   

“We thought it would be great to bring together a wide range of public and private schools from D.C., Baltimore, and beyond,” said Landon assistant coach J.R. Bordley, one of the organizers of the event.

Bordley, a former player at Maryland, is excited about his team’s game Friday night with last year’s No. 1-ranked team Haverford, riding a 30-game winning streak. But he is most proud of the pairing of Wilson and Baltimore Poly, schools which recently undertook lacrosse and are made up largely of African-American and Hispanic players.

“To me, that’s the most intriguing game,” Bordley said. “We want our sport to be more accessible to people who traditionally couldn’t play it. A game like this helps.”

The festival began as a challenge series between the schools of the Washington area’s top private school league, the Interstate Athletic Conference, and its counterpart in Philadelphia, the Inter-Ac.

When the plan fell through, organizers of the Patriot Football Classic, which included games between top private school teams from Baltimore and Washington last fall at the Naval Academy, helped get the lacrosse event established and more inclusive.

Schedule Friday

Haverford (Pa.) vs. Landon (Bethesda), 7 p.m.

Schedule Saturday

Upper Arlington (Ohio) vs. Loyola (Baltimore), 12

Upper Darby (Pa.) vs. James Madison (Vienna), 2

Gonzaga (D.C.) vs. Wootton (Rockville), 4

Germantown Academy (Pa.) vs. Bullis (Potomac), 6

Woodrow Wilson (D.C.) vs. Baltimore Poly, 8 

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