A perfect 8-0 tear through the first half of its regular season helped the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse soar to no. 3 in the first state Class C rankings of the season.
Yet few games it faced compared to what it would on Thursday afternoon when the Red Rams faced state Class D no. 3-ranked Marcellus, and it made a stirring late-game comeback, only to have it turn into a 12-11 overtime defeat.
Slow out of the gate, J-D trailed 4-0 after one period, and that margin held until the third quarter, when it started to take over and put together a 9-2 run to grab the lead late in regulation.
Yet that 11-10 lead did not hold. Adam Rayfield scored for the Mustangs with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, and he returned in the last minute of the first OT period to put in the game-winner, completing a hat trick.
Prior to that, Andrew Laubenstein’s four goals paced the Rams. Sam Brazell had three goals and two assists, while Alex Carolin scored twice. Single goals went to Ben Porter and Ryan Babikan.
Chris Doshna led Marcellus with three goals and two assists, with Nick Rayfield also scoring three times. Jimmy Cox converted twice as Donovan Fraher earned a goal and three assists. Quenten Polkowski finished with 11 saves.
A similar thing happened on Saturday when J-D faced Section V powerhouse Victor. Again, the Rams led in the fourth quarter and, again, it got away, this time in a 9-8 defeat that ended in regulation.
The two sides played on even terms throughout the first half. J-D then inched in front 7-6 by the end of the third quarter, yet could not hold on, Victor catching up and overtaking the Rams in the final minutes.
Lucas Patchen, quiet in the Marcellus game, scored three goals here, with Graham Kesserling scoring twice. Brazell and Eli Goldberg got the other goals and Jackson King added an assist.
The only other undefeated team in Section III going into the week was New Hartford, 8-0 and no. 12 in the state in Class C, but Christian Brothers Academy gave those Spartans its first blemish last Tuesday night in a 12-11 classic.
Despite a 1-5 record, the Brothers had faced a far tougher early schedule than New Hartford did, and demonstrated this by jumping out to a 5-1 lead through one quarter.
After the Spartans cut it to 6-4 by halftime, CBA again stretched it out and, up 9-6 going to the final period, had to withstand a furious New Hartford surge led by Sawyer Kramer, who netted six goals, as Rico Petrosillo was sensational, recording 17 saves.
It took three-goal hat tricks from Ben Anderson and Jack Ludington, plus two goals and three assists from Vince Lazzaro, to help the Brothers hang on. John Fallon also scored twice as Will Cannizzo and Jack Wichmann had single goals.
In a non-league game Friday against St. Joseph’s (Buffalo), CBA again found itself in a one-goal game, but this time took the loss by the same 9-8 margin that J-D experienced against Victor, only in overtime.
CBA had a great start, blanking St. Joe’s in the second quarter and taking a 7-3 lead to the break, but it only managed one goal in the third quarter and none in the final period, allowing the Marauders to rally and pull it out.
Rico Petrosillo had a spectacular game in the net, stopping 21 of St. Joe’s 30 shots. Cannizzo led the offense with four goals, with Vince Lazzaro scoring twice. Single goals went to Vaughn and Anderson, who also got two assists.
