Most of the time, the Jamesville-DeWitt and Chrisitian Brothers Academy boys lacrosse teams act as courteous neighbors — maybe watching each other, but not colliding on the field.
That changed on Saturday afternoon, when the Red Rams and Brothers met at Alibrandi Stadium in a hard-fought contest — but it was J-D that did most of the damage early on its way to a 12-9 victory.
The Red Rams’ defense told a good part of the story. All through the first half, as the Rams patiently scored goals, the back line took away anything CBA tried to establish and, if that didn’t work, goalie Mike Jorgenson would gobble up the ball, as he finished with 12 saves.
By the time the two side reached halftime, the Red Rams had a 7-0 advantage, and it continued to have control even when CBA went on the board in the third period. A furious late comeback only magnified the importance of J-D’s first-half domination.
John Clark and Jeff Vetter led the Rams with three-goal hat tricks, while Mike Edwards and Jake Bratek each scored twice. Colin Short and Eric DeJohn also scored, as Mac Keefus and Cam Stone got two assists apiece.
David Biegler, with five goals, led the Brothers’ late comeback bid as Jared DePalma added two goals and one assist. Ben Ashenburg and Matt Dugan had single goals, with Casey Lasda adding three assists and Ty Murphy two assists.
Important as this game was for neighborhood bragging rights, what CBA and J-D had done earlier in the week mattered, too.
CBA, in particular, had a huge battle Thursday at Alibrandi against LaFayette, the state’s top-ranked Class C team, who had ripped CBA 17-7 back on April 5 in Marcellus.
The Brothers played the Lancers much closer in the rematch, but a long scoring drought proved costly in a 15-10 defeat.
Through most of the first half, CBA and LaFayette took turns exchanging goals, each side taking advantage of man-up situations for the most part.
But after Ashenburg converted at the 6:52 mark of the second quarter to give his team a 4-3 lead, the Brothers would not score again for more than 18 minutes of game time.
As this went on, a new star would emerge. Just an eighth-grader, LaFayette’s Austin Cavender scored twice in a span of eight seconds to put his team ahead for good, and the margin stretched to 9-4 before Lasda scored early in the fourth quarter to break the drought. Overall, Cavender would finish with five goals.
LaFayette laid back in a zone defense, giving CBA plenty of room to circle the net, but at a distance where the shot would not prove threatening. And even when the shots took place, Lancer goalie Tony Pizzuto often scooped them up, earning 14 saves.
Down the stretch, the Brothers would close within three, 10-7, but another LaFayette outburst that included goals by Brandon DeCaire and Jeremy Bersevoy seven seconds apart would all but clinch the outcome.
Ashenburg, in defeat, led the Brothers with four goals. Lasda finished with two goals and two assists, while Tom Trasolini, Biegler, DePalma and Dugan also scored, and Nate Frechette earned three assists.
Before these headliners, CBA warmed up with “Holy War” rival Bishop Ludden last Tuesday and beat the Gaelic Knights 13-4.
Ludden dictated the pace throughout the early stages, and CBA only inched in front 4-2 by halftime, but a six-goal third-quarter outburst allowed the Brothers to draw clear.
Trasolini and Dugan each had three goals and one assist, part of a balanced attack where Ashenburg and Frechette put up two goals apiece. Lasda had a goal and two assists as Murphy and DePalma also scored. Biegler added two assists.
As this was going on, J-D was ripping Cortland 16-4, using a 6-1 outburst in the second quarter to break a close game open. The Rams’ defense improved as it went along, too, surrendering just one goal in the second half.
Bratek stood out front with five goals, while Keefus got three goals. Edwards and DeJohn each got three assists, as Edwards scored twice and DeJohn, Short, Clark, Cam Stone, Jeff Sciera and Vetter landed single goals. Jorgensen made a total of 14 saves.
And as CBA was losing to LaFayette, J-D was putting away Fulton, overcoming a high-scoring first half to get away from the Red Raiders and prevail 18-10.
A shaky defense nearly cost the Rams early, as it fell behind 5-4 in the first quarter. J-D answered by making a big second-quarter push and going in front, 10-7. Gradually, the Rams wore the Red Raiders down on the offensive side.
Clark and Keefus each finished with three goals and two assists, with Vetter also earning a three-goal hat trick. Edwards had two goals and two assists, with Stone and Short each scoring twice. DeJohn had a goal and two assists as Bratek and Sciera also converted.
Moving on from the win over CBA, J-D (13-2) plays at New Hartford Thursday night, as the Brothers (9-5) play Tully and Manlius-Pebble Hill before a Saturday trip to Skaneateles.
