Towson defeated Catonsville to win its second consecutive Baltimore County championship in high school lacrosse. The postgame celebration quickly devolved into chaos over an attempted flag plant.
Fortunately, it did not escalate beyond some pushing and shoving.
Both high school lacrosse programs were able to prevent an ugly situation before it got out of hand. They shook hands just a few moments later.
Towson beat Catonsville by one goal.
Towson High School is located in Towson, Maryland to the north of downtown Baltimore. Founded in 1873, it enrolls approximately 1,442 students in Grades 9-12. Catonsville High School is located ~19 miles away to the west of downtown Baltimore. It enrolls approximately 1,800 students in Grades 9-12.
The suburbs of Baltimore is one of the biggest hotbed lacrosse areas in the United States. Both of these programs are ranked in the top-200 nationally.
Towson finished the regular season at 12-1 to rank No. 5 in the state and No. 76 in the country. Catonsville finished at 8-4 to rank No. 18 in the state and No. 163 in the country. They faced off in the Baltimore County boys high school lacrosse championship on Monday night. The higher-seeded Generals do not have a home field this season so the lower-seeded Comets actually served as the host.
It was an instant classic.
Catonsville opened the game with five unanswered goals in the first eight minutes. The Comets held a three-goal lead at halftime. They were up by two after three quarters.
And then the momentum flipped.
Towson tied the game around the 9:30-mark. The Generals took their first lead of the game just a few minutes later. They went up by two goals with 5:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Although Catonsville was able to cut the deficit to one with 34 seconds remaining, it could not find the back of the net for the game-tying goal before the clock hit zero. Towson came all of the way back to win.
A flag plant sparked a high school lacrosse scuffle.
Tension was already high between these two powerhouse programs before the opening face-off. They are two of the most dominant teams in the area and their campuses are separated by less than 20 miles.
You could call them rivals.
Thus, things get even more testy when the stakes are even higher at the regional championship. For Catonsville to then blow a 5-0 first quarter lead to Towson makes the relationship even less friendly. Emotions run high. Things get chippy!
The Generals also added fuel to the fire by trying to plant a flag on the midfield logo, which did not go over well with the Comets. A scuffle ensued.
No. 15 Towson boys lacrosse defeated Catonsville, 10-9, Monday night to claim its second consecutive Baltimore County title.
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) May 5, 2026
Afterward, the Generals attempted to plant a flag on the Comets’ midfield logo, inciting a brief postgame scuffle. The two teams shook hands minutes… pic.twitter.com/AUsw45fbW1
Coaches from both teams stepped in to break up the brouhaha before it became a brawl. Cantonsville apologized for the retaliation. Towson head coach Phil Rossetti also issued an apology.
“That’s not us. That was unexpected. The emotions — they’re very unlike the character of this team. They’re a very resilient group. We’ve been down all season… we responded [in the game].”
Both teams took a moment to regather their emotions. They shook hands just a few moments later.