From left, Harrison Graves, Benjamin Graves, Gordon Pollock, and Fenner Pollock, at Montgomery Bell Academy, Tuesday, May 10, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn.
If you go to Montgomery Bell Academy’s Andrews Field on Saturday to watch the Big Red lacrosse team play Baylor in the state quarterfinals (1 p.m.), you may notice a certain flow to the team’s offense.
While the entire team shares a developed chemistry as evidenced by its No.2 state ranking and its 13-4 record, for some the bond is in the blood.
“The guys against us will question why we look at each other so much or why we talk to each other so much,” said sophomore Harrison Graves, the younger brother of senior team captain Benjamin Graves. “You can just trust that he’s going to be in this spot at this time.”
The Graves brothers make up half of MBA’s top four points leaders, while the other two are sophomore twins Gordon and Fenner Pollock.
Together, the four have accounted for 196 points this season (goals plus assists), and have the Big Red just two wins from playing for its state title since 2006.
Changing the mold
To earn the chance to play for a state title, MBA will have get past Baylor Saturday and two state powerhouses in McCallie and Memphis University School.
With 11 state titles each, McCallie and MUS have ruled the Tennessee lacrosse scene since its inception in 1989, combining to win 22 of the 28 Division I state titles in that time, including the last eight.
“There’s really three teams that are at the top,” MBA coach Matt Garvey said. “It’s MUS, us and McCallie. MUS beat us (15-4), we beat McCallie (11-10) and McCallie beat MUS (9-7).”
To get by the two powerhouses in the playoffs, MBA may need some magic from its brothers. Luckily for the Big Red, it’s happened before.
Feeling it
Last year, MBA topped Ravenwood in an overtime thriller thanks to a connection from the Pollock twins when Fenner hit Gordon for the game-winning goal.
“When we’re on the field together I feel like we have a connection unlike any other person,” Gordon Pollock said. “When he’s on the field, I can feel him. I can feel where he’s going to be and he can do the same for me.”
Garvey, who also played lacrosse with his brother in high school, said being able to dish out tough love provides an advantage.
“You communicate a little differently with them,” he said. “You can get on them a little bit more and they know that it’s not a bad thing. Coming from someone else, they might see it as a negative thing.”
But he said where you may notice the bond most is when one of them gets injured.
“They all have each other’s backs, but you see it even more with the brothers,” Garvey said. “When one goes down, the other is right there at his side.”
Montgomery Bell Academy’s Fenner Pollock (11) takes a stick to the neck from Ravenwood’s Evan Bentley (32) during a game at Crockett Park, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Brentwood, Tenn.
No one-trick ponies
Being there for one another is something that the brothers may have picked up from their other extra curricular activities.
All three sophomores played on the MBA football team that finished runner-up to Brentwood Academy last year seeing significant minutes on the field. Benjamin Graves played football until a second concussion caused him to focus solely on lacrosse two years ago.
And while the strings of a lacrosse net may be what the Graves brothers are most known for, they’ve also been known to show up to MBA’s orchestra practice hot and sweaty after lacrosse to practice violin.
Their last performance with the Big Red orchestra is Wednesday, but that pales in comparison to another final they have in mind.
They’re out to accomplish something they set their sights on as little kids in the back yard.
“My brother and I have always talked about since we were little; winning a state championship in high school is our dream,” Benjamin Graves said. “That’s been our main goal since day one.”
Reach Sam Brown at 615-259-8232 and on Twitter @SamBrownTN.
MBA Team Leaders
Benjamin Graves: 37 goals, 13 assists
Harrison Graves: 34 goals, 22 assists
Gordon Pollock: 26 goals, 29 assists
Fenner Pollock: 20 goals, 15 assists
Montgomery Bell Academy’s, from left, Harrison Graves, Fenner Pollock, Benjamin Graves, and Will Beasley, celebrate scoring a goal against Ravenwood during a game at Crockett Park, Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Brentwood, Tenn.