All-state faceoff ace Boe Briggs eyeing Section 4 title before heading to SUNY Cortland to continue lacrosse career.
Faceoff success is largely considered an individual pursuit. Horseheads senior standout Boe Briggs points to family and teammates when it comes to his dominance on the faceoff X.
Briggs' path to becoming an all-state player began when he was a 5-year-old who looked up to his big brother, Garrette Briggs, who starred at Horseheads. Garrette went on to lead the Empire 8 in faceoff percentage multiple seasons at Alfred University, highlighted by a 29-for-30 performance in one game.
"I always wanted to be like him," Boe said. "He’s my role model, so I just started doing what he did. Now that we’re older, we go against each other and battle, and we just get stronger and better as we go against each other."
Boe's family also includes parents Chad Briggs and Valerie Reed, along with older sister Rebecca Briggs.
He recalls facing off as a tyke against his brother, who is 10 years older.
"I was always frustrated that he was bigger and better than me," Boe said. "But now we’re kind of neck and neck, I’d say.
"I give him a big credit. I let him know every day that he’s my superhero. Everything he’s taught me is what I’ve done now."
What Boe, 17, is doing now is setting the tone for a Horseheads team with its sights set on its first Section 4 championship since 2016.
Last season Briggs won 213 of 295 faceoffs, an eye-popping 72% success rate against a schedule that features matchups with top Section 4 programs such as Corning and Ithaca. He was named a Section 4 first-team all-star and a seventh-team Class B all-state selection.
This season Briggs is winning faceoffs at a 76% clip through 11 games.
"He’s just been around it since he was a little kid and he’s worked at it and he’s gotten better each year," Blue Raiders head coach Jason Neubauer said. "He was kind of thrown into the fire on varsity as a sophomore and did it really well for us.
"He’s just been asked to do a lot more this year. He’s played some offense, man-up, where normally he just has to worry about facing off. Now he’s doing all that and he’s having probably his best season yet. We’re really proud of him for his work ethic."
Neubauer said goaltending and faceoffs are keys to the sport and can help teams overcome subpar play on the offensive or defensive ends.
"Having a good faceoff guy is a huge advantage for us," Neubauer said.
Boe, who has committed to play lacrosse and study criminology at SUNY Cortland, immediately pointed to the efforts' of his teammates when asked about his win rate at the X. Neubauer praised Briggs as "a great communicator" with his wings.
Keenan McCarthy has been a stalwart picking up ground balls as a long-stick midfielder. Neubauer also praised Wyatt Macneal, Johnny Lowe and others for holding back opponents or being in position for Briggs to get the ball to them.
"You've got to start out and have good wingmen," Briggs said. "Trust your wingmen, trust yourself, be strong, be happy.
"It's all chemistry with the boys. Whoever I have on my wing, they know me, they know what I'm going to do next."
Faceoffs a mental and physical challenge
A common trait of players who excel on faceoffs is core strength. Briggs said forearm control and leg strength are big components for him. He viewed his legs as a weakness at the beginning of his sophomore year, hitting the weight room to turn them into an edge.
Briggs returned to football last fall and played safety for the Blue Raiders, adding he really enjoyed his time on that team while helping him to stay in top shape.
Along with the physical side, there are strategic and mental elements that go with the position.
Briggs tries to switch things up to keep opponents guessing.
"If I can win it clean, then I'm going to go to the goal every time," he said. "A lot of teams have a plan just to cut off the fast break on me, but sometimes I try to go to the goalie even when they try to cut off the fast break."
There is no time for disappointment after a faceoff loss.
"The faceoff position is a win-lose battle, so you can’t really be hard on yourself," Briggs said. "You’ve always got to have that goldfish memory. You’ve got to just throw it in the past, you can’t do nothing about it. Just trust yourself, trust your wingmen."
Horseheads' 9-5 loss to Ithaca on Monday, April 27 was the rare game Briggs' faceoff percentage was below .500. That contest saw him square off with Quentin Getzin, also a Section 4 all-star on faceoffs last season and one of the section's top wrestlers.
Briggs had the edge on Getzin during the teams' previous meeting this season, finishing 10-for-13.
"I love that part of the game," Briggs said of going up against top competition. "I love scrapping with the other kids. Whenever I see a kid I go against, I'm glad I'm facing off against somebody like that, somebody who gives me a real battle."
Hoping to go out a Section 4 champion
Last year Horseheads saw the Section 4 Class B title slip away when Vestal scored three goals in the final three minutes of regulation before a sudden-victory goal in overtime for an 11-10 victory.
It was about as tough a loss as possible, but Briggs said that is in the past and the focus is on securing a sectional title this spring. Horseheads can clinch a sectional berth with a victory at Vestal on Friday, May 1.
When Horseheads won its last title in 2016 with a 13-11 win over Vestal, Garrette Briggs was named Most Valuable Player after winning 21 of 23 faceoffs. That win gave Horseheads its first sectional title since 1998.
"Obviously we're going to try to win that sectional title," said Boe, who added he's grateful for everything that has come his way.
"I really want to enjoy this last moment with these boys and these coaches. They've done a lot for our team, done a lot for me."
The feeling is mutual.
"He’s a great kid," Neubauer said. "He’s got a great personality, his teammates love him. He’s vocal, he’s loud, he’s energetic.
"He brings a lot of personality to our team and we’re certainly going to miss him after this year, but we’re glad we have him for a while now."
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Boe Briggs gives Horseheads boys lacrosse an edge with faceoff success
Category: General Sports
