Anthony Scaramucci cradled the 12-pound black marble trophy in his gloves, awkwardly trying to keep the lacrosse stick tucked under his arm from falling.
“This thing’s heavy—it’s unreal.” he said, looking at Regs Rock, the prize for winning the annual contest held between the varsity high school lacrosse teams of Manhasset and Chaminade, after he and the rest of the Indians had beaten the Flyers 10-5 Sunday evening.
The Flyers managed to only score one goal in the first half of the game, as Manhasset goalie Brendan Haggerty had 15 saves in the contest.
“He’s been playing well all year,” said junior Jack Keogh, who also scored four of the Indians’ goals. “[Brendan’s] been bailing us out all year.”
At one point, Manhasset (5-0) had scored an unanswered seven goals against Chaminade (2-3).
Chaminade had won the four previous meetings between the two teams. Manhasset last won Reg’s Rock in 2011. The Flyers continue to lead 5-4 overall since the annual matchup began in 2008.
“We were fortunate enough to win it three years in a row, then we lost it. It was important to the kids, number one, because it’s Jimmy’s game, number two, it’s Chaminade. We have kids that go there and the kids play with them in summer league. They talk about it all year and now Manhasset has the bragging rights for this year,” said Indians Head Coach Bill Cherry.
The annual matchup is named for Jimmy Regan, Jr., a Duke University graduate and a national championship lacrosse player for the Tar Heels, who forwent a lucrative Wall Street career to enlist in the armed services in 2004, becoming an Army Ranger in the Third Battalion and completing two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq before an IED took his life during his second Iraqi tour of duty. Today, his father, James Regan, Sr., heads the Lead the Way Foundation, a nonprofit which serves to support disabled U.S. Army Rangers and their families and survivors.
The elder Regan tries to keep his son’s spirit alive in the lacrosse players from both Chaminade and in Manhasset, his hometown.
“Jimmy’s been gone nine years now,” he said before the start of the varsity contest. “(But) with the rise of ISIS and the trouble in the world today, we need these guys (Rangers) more than ever.”
The nonprofit has recently completed its first home for a former Ranger, Sgt. First Class Corey Remsburg, in Arizona. Approximately 98 percent of every dollar collected goes toward programs for former Rangers and their families. Members of all the Chaminade and Manhasset squads recently received a visit from Remsburg, who had survived a gunshot wound to the head during one of his service tours.
“He gave up his entire life for me to be able to walk out onto that field; I have a huge amount of respect for him,” said Chaminade senior William Renz, whose teammates voted for him to wear the No. 19 jersey—the same number Jimmy wore as a member of the Flyers—before the start of the season.
“It’s really an honor just to wear the number of someone who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said the Rockville Centre resident. “It’s a huge responsibility and an honor, too. It’s kind of a simple thing, but it always hits me pretty hard. The coaches say ‘he stood where you guys are standing right now’. I think everyone, not just me, can connect to that.”
