[dropcap style=”light” size=”4″]I[/dropcap]t wasn’t long ago that RBHS was last place in Columbia lacrosse with multiple straight losses to Hickman in the Golden Crosse game. In recent years, however, the team has been able to change the script. On March 28, 2018, the Bruins beat the Kewpies for the sixth time in a row, tying the previous record for most consecutive wins in the rivalry. Now, no longer contained to competition just in town, the team looks to build upon this and work towards it’s first playoff win in the program’s history.
For head coach Tim Baird, having large expectations for the team and playing competition such as Christian Brothers College (CBC)  is the best way to make sure that both the players and coaches perform at a level he knows is possible.
“I have high expectations for the team this season–we have the components to make a deep playoff push into territory this program has never experienced before and set a precedent for future RBHS lacrosse teams,” Baird said. “With conference games still looming, its safe to say the team still have loads to improve upon and must work hard everyday to end up in St. Charles on Memorial Day weekend.”
Much of this success falls to having nine seniors on the team with seven of those playing all four years. Senior defenseman Connor Buckley, who has committed to play at Benedictine College, says he feels this is the most driven team he has been a part of during his time at RBHS, and can see the team going far in the postseason.  
“Having lotta seniors definitely helps as it gives us a competitive edge that other teams don’t have,” Buckley said. “We have been really close against Clayton but we just need to execute what we put in place and not let other factors affect how we play. They have some talented players but so do we. ”
One of those close calls has been trying to beat Clayton High School, whom the program has never beaten, but is scheduled to play once again on April 28. For sophomore attackmen Matt Covert, though the rivalry is still quite new, he still sees it as something that needs to happen for the team to make a deep run in May.
“It was tough to lose to them last year when we all know we should have won,” Covert said. “I know everyone on the team wants to beat them really badly because of what it would mean for the program but also because it could earn us our first playoff game at home.”
Though there have been many player and coach changes over the years, Baird says this team still has the same drive to fight through games, but now with the improved skill, sees this as a great opportunity to show the state who RBHS lacrosse is.
“To beat Clayton, we must continue to play the Bruin way of being fundamentally sound and willingness to dig deep when the time calls for it,” Baird said. “Clayton has a sophomore, Trystan Goette who is currently 6th in State for total points (37 goals and 5 assists). If we can keep him in check and under 3 goals, then we should be able to pull off a hard fought victory.”