In a full slate of regular-season finales last Tuesday, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse team won at East Syracuse Minoa, beating the Spartans 18-6 as F-M had to work hard to beat Syracuse 7-5 and CBA needed a big fourth quarter to subdue Marcellus 11-7.
Even though it was ESM’s Senior Night, it was J-D, at no. 2 in the state Class C rankings, possessing plenty of momentum after big back-to-back home wins over Homer and reigning state Class A champion Victor the week before.
Steadily, the Rams’ attack battered the Spartans during the first half, not letting up until it had a 13-2 lead at intermission. Ryan Archer, by himself, matched ESM with six goals, adding two assists as Joe Kiesa (who scored the overtime game-winner against Victor) got three goals and two assists.
Griffin Cook scored twice, as did Adam Fontana and Vincenzo Digristina. Matt Paul, Jacob Risavi and Casey Platenik had one goal apiece, with Eric Antosh and Ryan Collins gaining single assists as Bennett Chirco and Corey Rinaldi combined for eight saves.
ESM had goalie Andrew Steigerwald make 16 saves to keep things from getting even more lopsided. Lance Madonna was the lone Spartans player to score twice as Derrek Madonna, Nate Jacobs, Dillon May and Kegan Lance had one goal apiece.
As this went on, F-M did not find it easy against a Syracuse side it routed 21-3 back on April 27. Slowing the game down to its tempo with long possessions, the Cougars went to halftime tied at 2-2 with the Hornets.
The third quarter made the difference, F-M outscoring Syracuse 3-1 in those 12 minutes. Then it held on as Mac Fish got two goals and one assist, with Luke Burnam adding a goal and two assists. Ryan Cicci, James Rettinger, Nick Papa and Tommy Ryu had the other goals. Ryan Boshart stopped nine of the 14 shots he faced.
With a home crowd to spur them on, Marcellus dictated the early pace, but even when CBA picked it up, the Mustangs were able to match it and led, 6-5, at halftime.
Only in the fourth quarter, with the score tied 7-7, did Marcellus falter, CBA netting four straight goals and playing strong defense as Alex Calkins, Ben McCreary and Mike Matheson each got three-goal hat tricks to overcome the work of Mustangs goalie Sam Cusick, who amassed 19 saves.
Calkins had three assists and McCreary two assists, with Augie Bonacci getting one goal and one assist as Patrick O’Brien earned the other goal. Gabe VanOrder scored four times for Marcellus, adding an assist. Sam Rice and Matt Chrysler each had one goal and one assist,
ESM, in Class B, had byes straight into the semifinals of their respective Section III tournaments, but J-D (top seed in Class C), CBA (top seed in Class D) and F-M (no. 2 seed in Class A) all had to through quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon.
Still, none of them sweated much. F-M, in Class A, romped past no. 7 seed Rome Free Academy 24-5 as it scored seven unanswered goals in the first quarter and was up 16-5 by halftime, led by Donovan Welsh, who piled up four goals and five assists.
Fish scored four times, with Burnam, Ryu, Cicci and Carson Yancey getting two goals apiece. Papa and Kyle Gilroy both had a goal and two assists as Rettinger, Chris Lubrino and Bryan Farry all finished with one goal and one assist. Luke Miranda also earned a goal.
J-D romped past no. 8 seed Clinton 22-1, leading 12-0 after one period and going from there as 14 different players scored at least one goal, though Archer, with three goals and five assists, again led the way.
Cook, Fontana, Ryan Vespi and Ryan Drotar each scored twice and contributed an assist. Risavi and Ryan Evans also got two goals as Kiesa got a goal and three assists. Platenik had a goal and two assists as John Keib hadn one goal and one assist. Pat Murad, Kyle Hurley, Connor Durkin and Brendan Drotar also found the net.
Over at Alibrandi Stadium, CBA took apart no. 8 seed Bishop Ludden 20-9 in a sticks-and-helmets version of the “Holy War”. Ludden had a potent attack, but its defense got overwhelmed by the Brothers from the outset, with McCreary and Bonacci both finishing with three goals and three assists and Calkins getting four goals and one assist.
The entire Brothers attack was well-balanced, with O’Brien, Joey Matheson and Mike Adornato each finishing with two goals and one assist. Ryan McKenzie earned a goal and two assists as Eli Weiss had one goal and one assist, with other tallies going to Sam Bonacci and Zach Eber.
Now they go into the sectional semifinals on four fronts – F-M facing Baldwinsville in a Class A rematch of the 2016 final at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, ESM up against Oswego in Class B at Chittenango, J-D facing Marcellus in Class C at Liverpool and CBA, playing at Spartan Stadium, against LaFayette.
