The toughest decision St. John's Prep senior Griffin Cardew had to make was whether to accept a scholarship to play lacrosse at Providence College or go to prep school.

In the end, it all came down to football — which the Eagles' two sport captain decided he wasn't ready to give it up.

He'll attend Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., where he'll play both football and lacrosse for the school located 10 minutes outside Hartford.

"It was tough, especially since Providence will be playing in the Big East in Division 1 (lacrosse) next season," said Cardew, a speedy midfielder from Ipswich best known for long runs through opposing defenses. "They gave me a really good offer, and I was mulling it over for quite a while, but I wasn't ready to say that was it for football.

"I had been talking to a bunch of colleges, with Williams at the top of my list. Things didn't work out there because of my SAT's weren't high enough, but football coach Mike Whalen and (lacrosse coach) George McCormick (also the linebackers coach in football) set up a post graduate program for me. They really wanted me to do that, then re-apply (to Williams next year)."

The NESCAC was appealing to Cardew because he could likely play both sports there. To do that, he was willing to prep for a year.

"I loved Providence and the coaches, but I wasn't comfortable about committing because of football," said Cardew. "At the end of next year I might have to make a choice, but if I have the opportunity for Williams I'll jump at the chance to do both."

Loomis Chaffee brought in two new coaches for football and lacrosse, and Cardew is thrilled to play for Ted Garber and Chuck Reid. He even got asked to play hockey by the coach there, something he's considering.

"Coach Garber was the lacrosse coach at UMass, and has coached a pro team (assistant for Boston Cannons)," said Cardew. "Reid completely turned the Proctor football program around in four years from one that didn't win a game the year before he came to an undefeated season last fall. I'm excited about learning from them."

Griffin, an outside linebacker and backup fullback, and his brother Connor Cardew, an incoming junior fullback at Bryant University, work out together every morning for two hours at Athletic Evolution in Woburn.

Griffin picked up a couple of nice honors before graduating. He was voted St. John's Prep Athlete of the Year by his fellow students, and received the Athletic Director's award, presented by Jim O'Leary at Awards Night. That award is the biggest given by the Eagles, handed out each year to the athlete that works hardest in the offseason, gives 100 percent in practice and games, and is a true leader.

"Those honors were a pretty special way to end my career at St. John's. We have 1200 guys at the school, and it's a great feeling to be selected," Cardew said.

Cardew leaves the Prep as the only captain in school history to not only end Everett's regular season football winning streak last fall (which dated back to 2001), but also stop the Duxbury lacrosse team from reaching 100 straight victories against Massachusetts opponents when he Eagles snapped that streak at 99 this past spring.

He just returned from the Elite 180 lacrosse camp at Keane State and is a member of the Top Gun Fighting Clams along with Prep teammates Garrett Campbell, Jimmy O'Connell, Jeff Dube, and Jon Siderewicz. The Clams are ranked eighth best summer club team in the country and the tops in New England, fresh off winning the King of the Hill Tournament at Swarthmore College in Penn.

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Daniel Kohn, the starting catcher for the Peabody American Williamsport Little League all-stars, had quite a scare in his team's opening win over Gloucester National last weekend.

Kohn was batting in the fifth inning when he fouled a high inside fastball off his face. The ball hit in between his nose and eye, fortunately not higher where his injury could have been even more severe. Manager Jay Wickeri praised the medical team and Hamilton-Wenham Little League people at Cheeseman Field for their quick response.

"Daniel handled the entire ordeal like the true competitor he is," said Wickeri. "He'll be out at least a week, and we'll miss him dearly. As our catcher he is not only a leader on and off the field, but controls the tempo of the game and our pitching staff. The whole team wishes him a speedy recovery."

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Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer and columnist for The Salem News. Contact her at jmdeplacido@aol.com.