Firmly placed at the no. 3 spot in the state Class B rankings, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse team shot past two more overmatched foes during the school break.
But it was Saturday’s game against Section V power Fairport at Onondaga Community College that grabbed the most attention – and the Red Rams again came out on top, beating the Red Raiders 13-11.
The game, part of LaFayette’s “Stick It to Cancer” fund-raiser for Coaches vs. Cancer, gave J-D a second chance to measure itself against a large-school power, having already disposed of West Genesee 16-8 in its March 29 season opener.
Fairport, like the Rams, was undefeated entering this game and held the no. 7 spot in the Class A rankings. Yet before it could even play a minute against J-D, the Red Raiders found itself trailing 3-0, a direct result of Tim Edwards winning three clean face-offs in a row.
Jake Bratek hit first, scoring 32 seconds into the game. Seven seconds later, Eric DeJohn converted, and after winning the next face-off, Bratek returned for a second tally at the 55-second mark.
Regrouping after a time-out, Fairport tied it, 3-3, by the middle of the period, then traded goals as the two sides went to the second quarter 4-4.
J-D would go back in front for good in that period, helped by Bratek and Cam Stone scoring 19 seconds apart. And early in the third quarter, a huge hit by David Sacco led to an Edwards goal, and Bratek’s fourth tally made it 10-6.
Again, Fairport fought back, moving within one, 12-11, early in the fourth quarter. But the Red Rams’ defense, led by Sacco, Matt Kopp, Mac Feiner and Dmitriy Bakrukov, made several key stops down the stretch, protecting goalie Dan DiStefano.
DeJohn’s fourth goal with 6:50 left stretched J-D’s margin back to two, and it spent the last four minutes effectively running out the clock, keeping Fairport from catching up.
It had already been a week on J-D’s part, given the way it ran over two other opponents.
The long road to New Hartford last Tuesday did not do anything to derail the Red Rams as it used a first-half blitz to overwhelm the Spartans in a 16-2 decision.
Before New Hartford could even get settled (or possess the ball on a regular basis), J-D had a 6-1 lead, something it built upon with eight unanswered goals in the second quarter to make it 14-1.
Bratek had enough time to pour in five goals, with Rob Elbers earning a three-goal hat trick. Drew Wanamaker and Jordan Evans each scored twice as Cam Stone got one goal and three assists and Ed Kiesa also had three assists. DeJohn, Alex Hatem and Steven Aziz also scored.
Back home Thursday afternoon to face Cortland, the Red Rams continued its assault, with Bratek in particular taking the Purple Tigers apart in a 19-4 romp.
The rout didn’t happen right away. J-D led, 4-1, through one period, but Cortland won a fair share of face-offs in the second period and played on even terms, only trailing 6-3 as they went to the break.
Here’s where Bratek took over. Constantly driving into the Purple Tigers’ defenses, his string of goals helped J-D pummel Cortland 13-1 in the second half.
All told, Bratek had nine goals, adding two assists to get his point total into double digits. DeJohn wasn’t quiet, either, finishing with five goals as Stone, Aziz, Hatem, Elbers and Joe Shepard also notched goals. DiStefano had eight saves.
J-D will rest through much of next week, then play defending Class C champion LaFayette on Saturday. The Lancers were unbeaten before Skaneateles beat them 15-3 in the same Saturday doubleheader at OCC where the Red Rams beat Fairport.
