Two local lacrosse teams trying for longest game

Published 10:34 pm Thursday, August 22, 2013

EVERETT — The members of the Everett and Monroe boys lacrosse teams aren’t going to get much sleep this weekend.

The two high school squads square off tonight at Kasch Park in south Everett in an exhibition game they hope will last 15 hours.

If successful, they will top the record for the longest men’s lacrosse game ever played. According to the Guinness World Records website, the current mark of 13 hours, 14 minutes was set in 2011 by an indoor team in North Carolina.

“Our plan is to go from 7:30 (p.m. today) to 10:30 (a.m. Saturday),” said Mike Hanold, the vice president of high school operations for the Everett Lacrosse Club.

The event is a fund-raiser for the two clubs. The Everett players each have been asked to secure at least $250 in donations. The goal is to raise $3,000-$5,000, which will be used to offset the cost of camps and tournaments, said Mike Hess, Everett’s varsity boys coach.

The game will be played in 15-minute periods, with a five-minute break between periods. Halftime is scheduled for 3 a.m.

Although sleeping bags will be available “in case we have someone crash and burn,” Hanold said, making it to halftime shouldn’t be a problem for the youngsters.

“The only thing missing is the Xbox,” Hanold said. “They are used to staying up all night.”

That’s not true for many of the parent-volunteers staffing the event.

“I may be the only adult awake at 3 a.m.,” Hess, whose job routinely requires working the graveyard shift, said with a laugh.

Each team hopes to have about 30 players available, though fatigue and other factors could blur the competitive lines.

“We may have a kid change jerseys in the middle of the night …,” Hanold said. “After 10 hours, we are prepared for anything.”

Lacrosse is a physical game, so the rules have been modified to help the players last 15 hours. For example, hard checks and pokes are not allowed, and players must keep two hands on their sticks at all times, which eliminates slashing.

The rule changes favor the offensive players, and the two teams are expected to combine for about 200 goals.

“We don’t have a scoreboard that goes up to 100, so we are going to have to staple a one in front of the score,” Hanold said. “We were hoping to get a basketball scoreboard, but we couldn’t find one.”

The event marks the first time Kasch Park has played host to an all-night sporting event, said Cory Rettenmier of the Everett Parks Department.

The game will be open to the public from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. today, but the park closes to visitors at 11 p.m.

The park reopens at 7 a.m. Saturday.