When it passed the midway point of its regular-season slate, the West Genesee boys lacrosse team not only stood at 8-1 and no. 6 in the state Class A rankings, it had reestablished itself as a championship favorite.
Now, the rest of the regular season would be dedicated to maintaining that perch, and that work started last Tuesday at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, where the Wildcats erased an early deficit and, led by Jack Howes, recorded an impressive 14-10 win over the Baldwinsville Bees.
They headed into this game going in different directions. WG had won six in a row, while B’ville had lost two of its last three games, to Fayetteville-Manlius and Webster Thomas, and would not get a reprieve here.
For a brief while, the Bees had some control, taking a 3-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. But WG turned it around for good by outscoring B’ville 6-2 the rest of the half.
And it turned the rest of the game into a futile chase on the Bees’ part. Every time it scored, the Wildcats had an answer, especially Howes, who set a career mark by pouring in six goals as Ryan Smith (two goals, two assists), Jay Considine (one goal, three assists), Max Rosa and Kevin Sheehan (two goals each) helped out. Ryan Sheehan also had a goal.
The problem for B’ville was that no one got close to what Howes accomplished. Ryan Gebhardt, Cole Peters and Austin Bolton had two goals apiece, with Matt Dickman getting one goal and one assist. Brandon Mimas and Spencer Wirtheim scored, too, but Pete Fiorini was held to a single assist, the same as Mike Tangredi. Frank Delia made nine saves.
Back home at Mike Messere Field on Thursday night, the Wildcats did not get caught looking ahead to its Tuesday trip to Fayetteville-Manlius, instead dealing with the opponent right in front of them – Liverpool – and shutting them out for three quarters on the way to an 11-4 victory.
Through those first 36 minutes, everything the Warriors tried to get on the board didn’t work, with WG’s defense remaining stingy even after it had gained a comfortable lead that stretched to 10-0 by the start of the final period.
Considine roared back to goal-scoring form, finding the net four times, while Howes got three goals and two assists. Kevin Sheehan had two goals and one assist as Smith and Patrick Stanistreet also scored and Manny Castro earned three assists. John Bergan and Matt Corbett picked up one assist apiece.
Tuesday brought, for WG, a trip to Fayetteville-Manlius for a rematch of the game the Wildcats won April 13 in Camillus. A Thursday-night game at Syracuse follows.
