Not in a long time had the East Syracuse Minoa boys lacrosse team felt that its chances in upending Jamesville-DeWitt went beyond the realm of fantasy.
And when the two neighbors squared off, those dreams remained, but so did the reality that the Red Rams were still the better side, something that bore out over four quarters as it defeated the Spartans 21-12.
ESM got the start it wanted, leading 4-2 after one period, but spent the rest of the half under serious attack as J-D netted nine goals in the second period to take the lead for good.
All told, the Rams outscored the Spartans 17-5 in the middle two periods, led by Connor Durkin, who got six goals and two assists as Ryan Vespi scored four times and Griffin Cook had three goals and three assists.
Johnny Keib and Will Davis both found the net twice, while Matt Kemis, Brendan Coyle, Ryan Drotar and Tyler Brang also earned goals.
For the Spartans, brothers Lance and Derrek Madonna led the way, each of them netting four goals. Gavin Houghtaling had two goals and one assist, with Jackson Plumb and Dan Boland also converting. Luke Rosaschi had two assists.
In a way, this was set up by what happened two nights earlier. ESM dropped a 16-10 decision to Auburn as the Maroons gained a bit of payback for losing last year’s Section IIII Class B final.
Winless entering the game, Auburn never trailed, taking the lead late in the first quarter and answering every time ESM tried to threaten.
That was especially true in the game’s middle stages, when the Maroons scored five straight times to establish an 11-4 margin, led by Jake Morin, who had six of those first 11 goals.
Unable to fully recover, the Spartans still saw Derrek Madonna put up a three-goal hat trick, with Lance Madonna and Michael Kavanagh getting two goals apiece. Rosaschi and Houghtaling each had one goal and one assist as Jack Callahan also scored.
ESM had roared past Fulton 20-8 last Tuesday night in a game where its attack was potent and consistent, scoring seven times in the first quarter and continuing to add to its lead the rest of the way.
Boland and Lance Madonna both netted four goals, Madonna adding three assists. Rosaschi had three goals and three assists as Plumb also scored three times.
Derrek Madonna, getting a goal and three assists, led a group that included Houghtaling, Kavanagh, Adam Caramanna, Dillon May and Devon Spencer, each with one goal.
That same night, J-D had hosted Auburn, and needed a mid-game surge to push past the Maroons 8-6.
They were tied, 3-3, when the Red Rams blanked Auburn in the second quarter. Still, that only meant a 4-3 advantage going into halftime, and the Rams proceeded to play a strong third period where its margin grew to 8-4.
Durkin, with three goals, was the lone J-D player to score more than once. Cook and Tanner Burns each had one goal and one assist as Keib and Vespi also found the net and Pat Murad got an assist.
But then Auburn handled ESM on Thursday just as J-D was taking apart Fulton 20-2. The damage included 10 goals in the second quarter alone as Cook notched six assists and Durkin four assists to anchor the effort.
Only Drotar scored three goals, with Durkin, Burns, Keib, Kemis and Davis each scoring twice. Burns added two assists as Vespi, Ryan Evans, Josh Greenway and Nick Kemis had single goals. Murad contributed two assists.
Off to an 0-2 start, Christian Brothers Academy began to turn things around last Tuesday night at Alibrandi Stadium when it hosted Skaneateles and, thanks to a near-perfect second half, routed the Lakers 13-5.
For a while, it looked like the struggles evident in earlier games would linger, but from a 4-4 halftime tie the Brothers took over in the third quarter, blanking Skaneateles and netting five consecutive goals.
It continued from there, Wyatt Auer and Preston Taylor stepping up with three goals apiece as Ryan Mackenzie got two goals and two assists. Sam Bonacci also scored twice as Patrick O’Brien earned a goal and three assists.
Mike Adornato and Eli Weiss nabbed single goals and Will Fallon, establishing himself as the goalie successor to Matt Vavonese, stopped 10 of the 15 shots he faced.
And after all kinds of early struggles, Manlius-Pebble Hill finally got in the win column Saturday, topping Utica Proctor 8-3 as Stewart Falso had seven of the Trojans’ goals and assisted on the other, by Josh Hutko.
