The History of Lacrosse in North Florida Part I So you think you know something about the history of lacrosse in North Florida? I thought I did too. Were Joe Avadutti
and Mike Lettera a couple of guys who ran a pizza place in Atlantic Beach? Isn't Mike Buzzell that dad who helps out in
Fleming Island? Kevin Finn? Oh yeah, he is the old guy with the bad knees who has been around forever and was helping
out at Stanton Prep. And if you haven't heard of Scott "Scooch" Cleary there is no need to read any further because you
probably aren't a North Florida lacrosse fan anyway.
Long before Jacksonville University pondered a Division I lacrosse program, before the Ponte Vedra Predators, Bolles
Bulldogs, Episcopal or the Nease Panthers formed their teams, there was lacrosse being played in North Florida. I'm not
referring to a few novices throwing a ball around, I am talking about some of the best players in the world playing
organized lacrosse and laying the foundation for the meteoric rise in popularity and participation that we see on Florida's
First Coast today. The very first documented team in the state was at the University of Florida in 1971. It was formed by
Lehn Abrams who was there from day one is still very involved as a referee and with US lacrosse. That season UF played
two games, one against the University of the South (Suwanee), in Gainesville and an away game at Georgia Tech. In
1973 the Florida Lacrosse League was formed with teams at Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida International University,
Orlando, Tampa and Pensacola. The Jacksonville Lacrosse Club was formed in 1975.
Many of the original Jacksonville lacrosse players came to area for Navy deployments, forming a team that included many
guys that had played together at the US Naval Academy and while at flight training in Pensacola. They filled out the squad
with other transplanted lacrosse players whose jobs or families brought them to North Florida. The Jacksonville Lacrosse
Club won their first Florida Lacrosse League Championship in 1977. The Jacksonville Roadside Armadillos were soon a
force to be reckoned with in Florida. In the mid 1970’s the Florida Lacrosse League was formed as similar teams that
were comprised of predominantly transplanted college players and a few curious Floridians were popping up throughout
the state. FLL Championships were won by the Jacksonville Armadillos in 1981, 1987 and after a name change, The
Jacksonville Hooters in 1994.
Editor’s note- The team’s name was changed to the Jacksonville Predators a few years back but will return to
their roots and become the Jacksonville Armadillos for the upcoming 2010-2011 season with the expectation of
ending a 17 year drought and bringing the FLL title back to North Florida.
The teams of the late 1970’s early 1980’s were packed with college stars such as US Naval Academy alumni Wayne
Dunham, Tim Supko, All-American and 1987 FLL MVP Joe Avedutti, three time All-American and current Lacrosse Hall of
Fame Member Mike Buzzell, Jeb Stuart, Pat Lee, Goalie Ed Solar, Bobby Corolla, Chris Burgin, Rich Weyman, Wally
Holstein, Danny Molten, Wayne Dunham, Mike Gurney as well as Corky and Al Vasquez. Other college lacrosse stars on
the early Armadillo teams include Virginia standout Barry Robertson, Ray Finnegan, Mike Robinson from the University of
Maryland, Danny Caruso, Ray Pierson, Dr. Sol Brotman along with Mike Lettera from UMass, Dr. Dave O’Brien from
Brown, current University of Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley from Hobart, Ted Harkin and Kevin Finn from the US
Military Academy at West Point as well as Florida lacrosse legend Scott Cleary. The team would travel around the state
taking on all comers. The running joke from the team’s opponents would be that the Jacksonville team’s won/ loss record
was dictated by who was on deployment at any given time. This 1981 newspaper article from the Ft. Lauderdale Sentinel
paints a great picture of the team’s bruising style of defense, faceoff supremacy of Mike Robinson and the domination
from the pairing of Joe Avaduti and Wayne Dunham who had played together for nearly two decade at that time beginning
with their time at the Naval Academy.
In 1987 Steve McGann set the tone in goal by shutting down and frustrating the team from Tampa Bay who were heavily
favored coming into the game following an undefeated season. UVA Grad Barry Robertson went 3-2 and Army’s Ted
Harkin contributed with 5 assists. Naval duty assignments left the team at less than full strength but the Armadillos
prevailed. Joe Avedutti who played a pivotal role in the 1981 Championship season scored the winning goal in the semifinal game against Ft. Lauderdale and was named the 1987 Florida Lacrosse League MVP.
Mike Lettera was one of the transition players from the teams of the 1980’s to the teams of the 1990’s. He joined the club
in 1986 just in time to be a part of the 1987 Championship team. While living and playing lacrosse in Virginia Beach he
developed numerous contacts with players in the Navy. He used those contacts to find out about the Armadillos after his
relocation to North Florida. Mike memories of his early years surround great friendships, lots of parties and great lacrosse
although he doesn’t recall the team ever practicing. Through their connections at the University of Florida, the team had
plenty of access to the Gator football games which led to many good times and a lifelong love of the Gators. The rivalries
against Tampa and Orlando which started in the 1970’s did not mellow during his tenure on the team.
In the early 1990’s many of the players from the Armadillo glory days either moved away or decided to transition their
lacrosse playing to Alumni Masters tournaments. A few players like Teddy Harkin, Dan Toole, Kevin Finn, Mike Lettera,
Barry Robertson, Dave O’Brien and Scott Cleary remained involved with the team. They provided a very important link to
the past and to the Jacksonville lacrosse tradition. They would tell the stories of the games and the parties and the
camaraderie amongst the members of the club. They were welcoming to the new crop of players and seemed to take
pride in the fact that the tradition they helped to build was being passed on to a new group of players. In 1992 partially
due to the fact that many members of the team spent so much time at the establishment in Jacksonville Beach, Hooters
restaurants became the sponsor of the team and the team’s name officially change to the Jacksonville Hooters. Members
of the US Navy would still be integral to the success of the team in coming years; in addition to an influx of former college
players as well as some players completely new to the game. Many of the new players didn’t have same Division I
lacrosse pedigree but they did have same intensity, commitment and love of the game.
In 1994 the Jacksonville Hooters took and undermanned squad to Ft. Myers and as a four seed had a difficult road ahead
of them facing number the number one seed Ft. Lauderdale Flamingos in the semifinals. The game came down to the
final minutes and when the final whistle blew, Jacksonville stunned the Flamingo’s setting up the Championship game
against powerhouse West Palm Beach. In 100+ degree weather and on little sleep, the 16 members of the team stunned
the Florida lacrosse community and captured the trophy that had eluded the club for 8 seasons. Ohio Wesleyan’s Jeff
Podo led the way with five goals while throwback to 1980’s Dan Toole and Scott Cleary along with the efforts of Navy man
Pat Curtan, Jacksonville was able to control the ball, score enough goals and let their defense finish the job. Tom
Bruchman from Salisbury State, George Fox from Duke, Brad Sterling from Drexel and newcomer to the sport, Mike
Atzenhofer continually frustrated WPB. Goalie Ray Carnicelli from Cortland State was named the Florida Lacrosse league
MVP for the 1994 season following in the footsteps of Joe Avedutti as the only other Jacksonville player to win FLL MVP
honors.
The 1994 Jacksonville Hooters shocked the Florida Lacrosse Community by upsetting #1 seed Ft. Lauderdale in the semi‐finals and finishing the job by defeating the #2 seed West Palm Beach the next day. One of the highlights of the weekend was at the game’s conclusion when the previously over confident West Palm Beach team captain removed their chilled celebratory champagne from the cooler on the sidelines and handed it over to the new FLL Champions. It has been 17 years since that last championship. To the five remaining club members who played that weekend in Ft.
Myers in 1994 (Buddy Dominger, Ray Carnicelli, Brad Sterling, Scott Cleary and Dan Toole), it seems like an eternity.
Over the years we have had many great players come through town including Mickey Jarboe who was a two time AllAmerica, two time NCAA Goalie of the Year and MLL Goalie of the Year. The names of all of the great players, good
players and players who were just out to have fun are too many to mention. There have been many greats who have
spent time with the club however that is not what this group has been about for the last 35 years. It is about a group of
guys coming together for their shared passion, upholding the traditions of the game they love and giving back to the
community and continuing to compete for a championship. Scott Cleary, Dan Tools and Buddy Dominger are the three
players on the team who have played in the 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s and the 2010’s. Scott Cleary and Scott Cleary Jr are
the first Father/ Son team-members in our club’s history. The 2011 FLL season is fast approaching. The Jacksonville
Men’s team is going back to their roots and has adopted their original nickname The Jacksonville Roadside Armadillos for
their upcoming campaign. The length of the shorts, the design of the sticks and the recognition of lacrosse in the area
may have changed but the passion, camaraderie and the love of the sport amongst these lacrosse True Believers has
not. If you are a lacrosse junkie or just a casual fan, check out the schedule below and come out to watch some great
lacrosse action, hear a story or two and learn more about lacrosse in North Florida.
Note- When I started this project I thought I knew a great deal about the history of lacrosse in North Florida. After all, I
joined the team 20 years ago and there were still a few of the holdovers from the pioneering days of the 1970’s and early
1980’s. I soon realized that I knew very little. For one thing, we thought Kevin Finn and Ray Pierson were old back then.
As I thought about who to contact to help me with my project, a few names jumped to the front of the line. They happen to
be some of the first people I met when I moved to Jacksonville right out of college in 1990. The first two people were Scott
Cleary and Dan Toole. They are the two of only three people to play on the Jacksonville Men’s lacrosse team in the
1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s and 2010’s. The other is Buddy Dominger. Neither of them shows any signs of backing down.
Slowing down? Maybe, maybe not. Backing down? No way. In the days before the internet you had to rely on phone
calls, word of mouth and luck to find a team in Florida. Prior to making my move to Florida, I looked in the back of my
Lacrosse Magazine for the phone number for the US Lacrosse Foundation. I called US Lacrosse and waited for them to
call me back with a contact in Florida. They put me in touch with Lehn Abrams in Orlando. Lehn is still heavily involved in
Florida lacrosse. He gave me the phone number for Dr. Sol Brotman, a Jacksonville dentist, lacrosse enthusiast and
member of the Jacksonville Armadillos. Sol was at the tail end of his lacrosse playing career but seemed excited that a
young goalie was moving to town. He put me in touch with Scott “Scooch” Cleary. I told Scooch that I just finished college
and was moving to Jacksonville. He made me promise to call him when I came to town. A week later I called Scooch and
he showed up at my door the next morning dressed and ready to give me a tryout. We have been great friends ever
since. Many of the lacrosse pioneers from the 1970’s and 1980’s are still involved in North Florida Lacrosse. People like
Scott Cleary, Chris Bergin, Ray Pierson, Kevin Finn, Mike Buzzell, Mike Gurney, Dan Toole and many others laid the
foundation and are in many ways, along with the presence of the US Navy, responsible for meteoric growth of lacrosse in
our area. I will attempt to add to, delete from and correct the information contained here as more information comes my
way, memories become clearer and stories improve over time
-Ray Carnicelli
THURS OCT 7
@UNF 6PM
SAT OCT 16-
UNF @ PALM COAST PUMPKIN SHOOTOUT 2PM
SAT/SUN OCT 23 & 24
JACKSONVILLE CROSS OVER -TBD **3 FLL GAMES** SAVE THIS DATE!!!
SUN NOV 7
@ Embry Riddle 1PM DAYTONA
SUN NOV 21
@TALLY 1PM TALLAHASSE
SAT DEC 4
HOGTOWN 12 PM LANDRUM
SAT JAN 9
ORLANDO 12PM LANDRUM
SAT JAN 16
@ TAMPA 11AM & @ U OF TAMPA 130PM** DOUBLE HEADER**
SAT/SUN FEB 12 & 13
MIAMI CROSS OVER- TBD **3 FLL GAMES** SAVE THIS DATE!!!
SAT FEB 26
@STETSON 12PM DELAND
SAT/SUN MARCH 12 & 13 FLL PLAYOFFS IN ORLANDO (SAT= QUARTER AND SEMI'S) (SUN= FINALS)