With another Section III title securely in the books, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse team had far more in mind, and no one in the regional portion of the state Class C tournament would get in the way.
The regional portion began last Wednesday night at Corning Memorial Stadium, with the Red Rams bothered for a while by Section IV champion Johnson City, but ultimately unleashing its attack in a manner the Wildcats could not cope with as J-D prevailed 19-6.
Glad that it had nearly a week to recuperate in the wake of its come-from-behind win over Homer in the sectional final, J-D came out with plenty of energy, jumping to a 4-0 advantage on two goals from Griffin Cook and others from Cook’s linemates, Joe Kiesa and Ryan Archer.
Johnson City absorbed all this and found the net twice to make it 4-2 by the end of the first quarter, The early part of the second period featured another trade of runs – Cook and Casey Platenik finding the net for the Rams, then the Wildcats answering twice.
But that 6-4 score was as close as it would get.
Jack Mulvihill’s goal, assisted by Archer, was followed, 19 seconds later, by Cook converting the hat trick. Kiesa returned for his second goal, and a modest margin turned into a 9-4 J-D advantage at the break.
Even that didn’t satisfy the Rams, though. With the score 10-4 late in the third quarter, J-D unleashed a decisive 75-second barrage that included four goals. More would follow as Archer anchored the attack, piling up a season-best seven assists to go with his three goals.
Cook and Kiesa both found the net five times, while Matt Paul earned four assists. Platenik notched two goals as Jai Benson joined Mulvihill in the one-goal column. Andrew Barclay had two assists and Eric Antosh contributed a single assist.
Now it was on to SUNY-Canton for Saturday’s regional final against Section X champion Canton. This would also prove an assignment that J-D handled with ease, prevailing 16-4 as it tried not to make its top players work for too long.
A 7-0 tear through the first quarter set the game’s tone. It was 12-1 by halftime, and a running clock for a 12-goal margin was in place by the third quarter, so that all of the starters could exit.
Still, the top J-D line flourished as Kiesa scored six times, adding an assist, and Cook netted five goals as Archer earned a goal and five assists. Platenik and Adam Fontana both had one goal and one assist as Kyle Hurley and John Keib had the other goals, with Mulvihill, Antosh and Pat Murad getting single assists.
Much closer to home, the Red Rams take on Section V champion Palmyra-Macedon in Wednesday’s state Class C semifinal at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium at 4 p.m. A win there gets J-D to the state final Saturday at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford against two-time defending champion Cold Spring Harbor (Section VIII) or Pleasantville (Section I).
