The parity in MIAA A Conference lacrosse is unrivaled anywhere in the country and that fact was on display once again on Friday, as No.1 Calvert Hall survived a strong road challenge from No. 8 Severn to prevail, 12-8, and remain unbeaten in 2011.

Severn (5-6 overall) is now just 1-4 in the conference, but the Admirals led for much of the first half and hung in the contest until the very end.

Sophomore Stephen Kelly, who has established himself as one of the league’s premiere face-off men, won 17-of-20 draws and sparked the Calvert Hall offense with seven points.

Kelly scored three goals and handed out four assists to lead seven Cardinals who scored goals. Kelton Black also had a hat-trick for the Cards (8-0, 4-0), while Ryan Brown scored twice.

Severn led 5-3 in the second quarter, but Stephen Kelly dished an assist to Black and then scored on a feed from Patrick Kelly to even the contest. Then, Tommy Hollenback added a clutch score, at the end of the period, to send Calvert Hall to the half with a 6-5 lead.

Severn tied the game at six early in the third quarter, but Calvert Hall established a lead with consecutive goals from Brian Boliewicki (from Patrick Kelly), defenseman Garrett Epple (unassisted) and Ryan Brown (from Stephen Kelly).

After Severn’s seventh goal, Stephen Kelly closed out the win with a unassisted score and assists on scores by Patrick Kelly and Ryan Brown.

In addition to his goal, Patrick Kelly finished with two assists. Joe Linkous and Carter Brown also had assists for Calvert Hall.

p> PT Lamon had a big day for Severn, scoring four goals and adding an assist. The Admirals got single goals from Nick Manis, Brett Bedard, Tony Olmert and Cole Bailey. Manis and Bedard each had a pair of assists, while Olmert, Bailey and Kyle Moran had one each for Severn.

Despite the setback, Severn head coach Brian Wood believes his squad gained something from the contest.

“Our team played very hard today against a quality opponent,” said Wood. “We became a better team today even though we lost the game.”

Calvert Hall 12, Severn 8
CH 2 4 2 4 — 12
SEV 2 3 2 1 — 8
Goals: CH-S. Kelly 3, Black 3, R. Brown 2, P.Kelly, Hollenback, Bolewicki, Epple; SEV-Lamon 4, Manis, Bedard, Olmert, Bailey.
Assists: CH-S. Kelly 4, P. Kelly 2, Linkous, C. Brown; SEV-Lamon, Manis, Bedard, Moran.
Saves: CH-Brust 8; SEV-Blaszczak 14.