The Eastlake High School boys lacrosse team will hold its annual awards banquet on Sunday, May 17. The team’s coaching staff presents several awards each year. But none likely carries the impact than the one named in honor of one of the Titans’ former heroes: Tommy Henderson.
The Tommy Henderson Award has become emblematic of the team’s top defenseman. There’s little question its first two winners — Santiago Andujo and Christian Haffner — embodied Henderson’s spirit on the field.
Henderson, a team captain his senior year, died a handful of games into the 2013 season in a swimming pool accident. His untimely death left a void in leadership on the team — and an even bigger hole defensively.
But the Titans rallied to the cause. They dedicated the season to Henderson’s memory and captured the first of three consecutive Mesa League championships.
Henderson’s memory lives on with the coveted award named in his honor.
Both Andujo and Haffner said it’s been a career highlight to receive it.
“I felt honored that my teammates thought I had the same qualities that he had,” said Andujo, a three-year varsity performer who received the award at the end of the 2014 season.
Haffner received the award in 2015.
Henderson’s death occurred just two-and-and-half weeks into the season when both Andujo and Haffner were sophomores.
It was Andujo’s first season with the team. “I barely knew him but you could tell he had all the dedication to play the game,” explained Andujo, who expects to play football at San Diego State University as a walk-on.
While Andujo only briefly knew Henderson, Haffner was well acquainted with the former Titan standout.
“Even before I was in high school, I would come out to watch Eastlake lacrosse games because my older brother was on the team then — that’s how I met Tommy,” said Haffner, who will continue his lacrosse career at Clarke University in Iowa. “We were very close. He was the one who helped get me pulled up to the varsity team.”
Haffner played on the same team with Henderson for two years. He concurs with everything that has been said about the late Titan great.
“He was all into it,” Haffner recalled of Henderson. “The ball would be on the other side of the field and he’d be sprinting toward it to hit someone or pick it up.”
As a junior, Haffner made up his mind to win the Tommy Henderson award. To do that, he had to prove himself on the field as one of the team’s defensive leaders.
Fielding ground balls was an area in which he felt he could excel — and did. He led the team with 138 ground balls in 17 games last year — a whopping 52 more than the next player on the team in the category.
“That’s what I wanted to do,” he said. “I’m not the biggest guy out there on the field but I knew I could help my teammates by winning ground balls and being a good defender.”
The Titans had a game scheduled at Mar Vista High School the day following Henderson’s death. After much debate, school administrators allowed the game to be played after input from team coaches, players and Henderson’s family.
Haffner admitted it was a difficult situation.
“When we first heard about Tommy, we could barely believe it,” Haffner recalled. “I put all of what I had into that game. I wanted to play for both of us.”
Haffner shattered the team’s ground ball record with 151 after recording 15 ground balls in last Wednesday’s Mesa League finale at Hilltop High School. He also scored one goal and picked up an assist in the Titans’ 18-1 win that secured an undefeated 8-0 league season.
The next stop for Eastlake will be Tuesday’s opening round of the Division I San Diego Section playoffs. The Titans, who will take a 10-game winning streak into the match-up, will be looking to build on last year’s history-making first playoff win.
Defense has been at the forefront of Eastlake’s achievements this season. The Titans allowed just 10 goals in eight league games and 66 goals in 17 regular season games to record the section’s top goal-scoring defense (3.88 goals-per game).
Henderson obviously would be proud of that.
With such defensive prowess exhibited by the team this season, there should be no shortage of deserving candidates up for selection for the Tommy Henderson Award.
In fact, Tommy’s mother Teresa will present the award.
San Diego Section Boys Lacrosse Playoffs
Division I
First round
Tuesday, May 19
(11) Carlsbad at (6) Eastlake, 7 p.m.
Winner meets (3) La Costa Canyon in the quarterfinals
Result: Eastlake 9, Carlsbad 8 (OT)
Division II
First round
Wednesday, May 20
(11) Monte Vista at (6) Olympian, 6 p.m.
Winner meets (3) Helix in the quarterfinals
(7) Bonita Vista at (10 Mar Vista. TBA
Winner meets (2) Fallbrook in the quarterfinals
