By Bill Alden

In his first two seasons with the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team, Jack Ruddy soaked up some valuable lessons from star defender Chris Fake.

“I was fortunate enough to have Chris Fake with me; he was my leader,” said Ruddy of Fake, who is now starting as a freshman for the top-ranked Yale men’s lax team.

“He paved the way and showed me the work ethic that I need to have.”

Applying that work ethic, junior Ruddy has emerged as a star defender and co-captain for Hun this spring.

Last Monday, Ruddy demonstrated his leadership when top-seeded Hun yielded two straight first quarter goals to fifth-seeded Blair Academy in the state Prep A semis to see a 3-0 lead shrink to a one goal margin.

“We weren’t communicating early but we noticed it,” said Ruddy. “We knew how to fix it. It was just be more aggressive, get on ground balls and talk. We said we have to pick it up; we have got to start getting it going.”

Hun’s aggressive defense stifled the Buccaneers from that point, allowing only one more goal on the day in cruising to an 11-3 win. The Raiders, now 7-2, will host third-seeded Lawrenceville in the Prep A title game on May 7.

In reflecting on the team’s recent surge, which has seen it post five straight wins and give up just 15 goals in those games, Ruddy believes the defense has come together.

“We have been playing a lot better; we have become more of a unit,” said Ruddy. “We have become closer; a lot of it is communicating and just hustle, getting on ground balls, and doubling quickly. We are just having fun with it.”

As a team captain along with senior defender Jake Keller and senior midfielder Devon Tavani and senior attackman Devon Cowan, Ruddy is having fun with his leadership role.

“It is a lot of responsibility; I love these guys that I am playing with so they make that job a lot easier,” said Ruddy. “I am just happy to be a captain.”

Making steady progress during his time at Hun, Ruddy has worked hard to do a better job on the field.

“I had slow feet coming in and coach [MV] Whitlow helped me notice my weakness,” said Ruddy, who has verbally committed to attend Johns Hopkins and play for its men’s lax program. “I have worked with the jump rope and doing the ladder drills.”

Hun head coach Whitlow likes how his players have taken care of business this spring.

“I’m happy with the guys, they work hard,” said Whitlow. “They are a great group and they are a tight knit group. They are a group that believes in each other.”

Whitlow is happy to see Ruddy step up as a defensive stalwart.

“Jack has definitely come along as a communicator; he has got two great teammates beside him in Brett Renna and Jake Keller to help him,” said Whitlow.

“He has emerged as a leader; he is finding his leadership voice. That is what you like to see out of a junior. It is always nice when you have a junior captain because there it that continuity of coming back.”

On offense, the Raiders have come along nicely, featuring a diversified attack.

“I think balance is the key word; we are not looking to focus on one guy,” said Whitlow, who got four goals from Grant Hansen in the win over Blair with Jackson Barletta and Trevor Deubner chipping in two apiece.

“Coach [Jeffrey] Snow does a great job with the offense. He really emphasizes selflessness and moving the ball. We always count our goals as team goals, not individual goals.”

Whitlow and the Raiders are fired up to be in position to achieve their goal of a Prep A title.

“We always want a chance at a championship; the goal every year is to be playing your best lacrosse in May,” said Whitlow, whose team hosts Hill School (Pa.) in a regular season game on May 2 before taking on the Big Red. “We will be very excited and honored to be there.”

Ruddy, for his part, believes that Hun is at its best heading into the championship clash with Big Red, who have won two straight Prep A titles after the Raiders took the crown in 2015.

“We are going to give it our best shot,” said Ruddy. “We have been working really hard all off season and all season. We are playing hard, we are playing fast, and we are looking to get that state championship back.”