Another Section III championship was welcomed by the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse team in 2015, but it wanted much more.
And after Victor derailed the Red Rams in the state semifinals on its way to a first-ever state championship, the work began again to get a prize that has eluded J-D since 2011, with two state finals losses part of that mini-drought.
Though 14 seniors departed from last year’s squad, including most of the starting defense and goalie Joe Morgan, J-D returns most of its potent attack, which should flourish even more by having its home games on the school’s brand-new Field Turf that opened for play during football season.
J-D debuted on that turf last Tuesday night, taking on Oswego and proving quite steady on the way to a 17-4 victory over the Buccaneers, scoring five times in each of the first three periods while keeping Oswego off the board in the first and third quarters.
Sophomore Griffin Cook, with three goals and three assists, led the way, though junior Ryan Archer also scored three times, adding an assist. Charlie Digristina got two goals and three assists.
Another returning starter, Grayson Burns, earned a pair of goals, as did Andrew Barclay and Tyler McKee. Adam Fontana, Jai Benson and Jake Brazile had one goal apiece, with Joe Kiesa getting two assists. Sam Mueller, expected to anchor J-D’s defense, and Kyle Hurley each got single assists.
Having won its opener over LaFayette on March 24, Christian Brothers Academy did not meet with similar success against Tully last Tuesday night, taking a 12-7 defeat to the Black Knights.
Tully, who won its March 24 opener at Marcellus in overtime, exchanged goals with the Brothers until going on a 4-1 run late in the first half. Though only trailing 8-6 at the break, CBA went quiet in the third quarter and saw the Black Knights stretch its margin to 11-6, which proved too much to overcome.
Alex Calkins still had four goals for the Brothers, adding an assist. Patrick O’Brien found the net twice as Lincoln McGarrity had the other goal. Ben McCreary tacked on an assist as Matt Vavonese recorded 10 saves. On Tully’s side, Nick Edinger led the way, with four goals and two assists, while Drew McNerney contributed three goals and one assist.
It would not get easier for the Brothers on Saturday since Section V powerhouse Penn Yan was paying a visit to Alibrandi Stadium. But steeled by the tough competition it had faced so far, CBA stepped up and earned a 10-9 overtime victory over the Mustangs.
Most of all, the Brothers improved on the defensive side, never letting Penn Yan get away after falling behind 3-1 in the first quarter and seeing Vavonese pick up 14 saves.
CBA tied it, 4-4, by halftime, and then traded goals with the Mustangs for the rest of regulation before getting the OT game-winner. McCreary had a big day, scoring four goals and adding an assist. Close behind, Calkins got three goals and one assist, with McGarrity contributing a goal and three assists. Augie Bonacci and John Mullin also scored.
East Syracuse Minoa was 1-1 going into Thursday night’s game at Chittenango, but it got away from the 0-2 Bears in the game’s middle stages, eventually prevailing by a 14-7 margin.
With a well-balanced attack, the Spartans broke out of a 1-1 first-quarter tie, leading 5-3 by halftime and then outscoring Chittenango 6-2 in the decisive third quarter, led by Derrek Madonna and Connor Smith, who each had three-goal hat tricks.
Luke Rosaschi earned a season-best four assists to go with his pair of goals, with Jeremy Perry scoring twice and tacking on three assists. Mark Willette had a goal and assist as David Neff also picked up a goal.
