A full decade has passed since the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse team went through a season that did not end with at least a Section III championship banner.
During that decade, half a generation of players brought up in J-D’s superb feeder system had come to expect that its varsity season wouldn’t end until June, with at least a realistic shot at earning a state title, too.
All of that ended on Friday at Liverpool High School Stadium in the sectional Class C semifinals against Westhill.
Unable to put the Warriors away on numerous occasions, the no. 2 seed Red Rams went quiet down the stretch and Westhill, the no. 2 seed, rallied to prevail 11-10 on a goal by Owen Matukas in the opening minute of overtime.
Early on, it looked like the same old Red Rams story as it blanked Westhill in the first quarter and built a 4-0 advantage. But the Warriors made up the deficit in a matter of minutes during the second period.
Four straight goals, the last of them by Jack Grooms, tied it, 4-4, and even though Pat Murad answered and J-D took a 5-4 lead to halftime, the game’s pattern was set – any time the Rams looked ready to get away, Westhill would fight back.
For example, J-D scored twice in the first 22 seconds of the third quarter, but got blanked the rest of the period, increasing the pressure on both sides.
Midway through the fourth quarter, goals by Johnny Keib and Griffin Cook (both scoring for the third time in the game) stretched the Red Rams’ lead to 9-6. Yet Mike Herrera answered Cook’s goal 11 seconds later, and the comeback was on.
With four minutes left, Charlie Bolesh cut the margin to 9-8. Westhill got the ball back, worked it around and, with 24 seconds to play, got it back to Bolesh, who put the ball past Liam Coyle to tie it.
J-D had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but the Warriors stopped it, and with all of the momentum snared the OT faceoff
Wasting little time, the Warriors gave it to Matukas, who charged from the left side and, at the 49-second mark. delivered the goal for Westhill’s only lead of the game – the only one that mattered.
Ironically, this result came on the same Liverpool turf where, 12 months ago, Christian Brothers Academy claimed a double-OT thriller over Westhill in the sectional Class D final on the way to a first-ever state championship.
CBA remains in the Class D sectional bracket, where as the no. 3 seed it earned a return trip to the title game with a sensational all-around effort to beat no. 2 seed Marcellus 12-4 in the sectional semifinals.
This was the same Brothers side the Mustangs beat 7-6 in overtime earlier this season. Since then, CBA, with a young roster and few senior starters, had improved plenty, especially on defense, though it wasn’t evident right away.
Marcellus grabbed an early 2-1 lead, and when Gabe Van Order charged in and scored in the waning seconds of the first quarter to double the Mustangs’ advantage, it appeared to have a grip on the game.
Instead, the Brothers seized control by blanking Marcellus in the second quarter, forcing a series of mistakes and, crucially, getting a go-ahead goal from Wyatt Auyer just 3.1 seconds before halftime, exactly what Van Order had done before.
When Matt Connell converted 1:43 into the third quarter to tie it 4-4, it proved to be the Mustangs’ last goal of the season as Colin Kelly answered a minute later, giving CBA the lead for good.
What followed, over the remaining 21-plus minutes, was Marcellus proving unable to move the ball out of its own end and CBA patiently wearing them down, also getting terrific work from defenders Tommie Caputo, Brackton Bowler and Greg Wells in front of goalie Will Fallon, who only had to make four saves.
It was still a close game when Sam Bonacci scored with 9:01 to play, making it 7-4, and Auyer hit on his third goal 67 seconds later, igniting a final flourish for the Brothers as Kelly and Ryan Mackenzie would also score three times.
CBA advanced to the sectional final next Wednesday at LHS Stadium against top seed General Brown, who held off Cazenovia 13-10 in the other semifinal.
The Brothers played that game at East Syracuse Minoa, home of the reigning sectional Class B champions, who as the top seed in that bracket went to F-M and rolled past no. 4 seed Whitesboro 16-4 in its sectional semifinal.
Goals by Gavin Houghtaling and Lance Madonna 30 seconds apart in the opening minutes set the tone. Derek Madonna and Alex Recor would all find the net before the first quarter was done.
And the Spartans kept going with eight unanswered goals in the second period, two each by Luke Rosaschi and Devon Spencer, with Derrek Madonna picking up a three-goal hat trick before halftime as the margin spread to 14-0.
The starters mostly rested in the second half as Adam Caramanna and Tim Crouse joined the goal-scoring column.
Now ESM prepared for a rematch of the 2017 sectional final next Wednesday at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium against no. 2 seed Auburn, who handled Watertown 8-3 in the other semifinal. the Spartans and Maroons split two regular-season meetings, each prevailing at home.
