Boys lacrosse rivals Skaneateles and Marcellus lined up next to each other in last week’s state Class D rankings, the Lakers at no. 3 and the Mustangs at no.4 following their split of two head-to-head meetings in April.
Off for most of the week, the Lakers returned to the field Saturday against New Hartford, two days after star seniors Pat Hackler (Yale) and John Danforth (Lehigh) signed their college letters of intent.
Ignoring the cold, wet conditions, Skaneateles blew past the Spartans 18-1, netting 13 unanswered goals during the first half as Brendan Powers led the way, earning five goals and two assists.
Grayson Brunelle had three goals and one assist. Hackler, Nick Wamp and Noah O’Connor each scored twice, with Ben Spinelli getting a goal and two assists. Hayes Danforth, Massimo Capozza and Ryan Willard also scored.
Marcellus was back in action last Tuesday night, hosting Cazenovia, and it turned into a tense, low-scoring affair where, again, the Mustangs’ defense and the work of goalie Rob Seeley proved crucial in a 6-4 victory.
Blanked in the first quarter, Marcellus stormed back to lead 4-3 by halftime, and it built that margin further in the third quarter as Liam Tierney and Matt Connell both scored twice, with Tighe Powell adding three assists. Luke Ingianni and Emmett Barry had the other goals.
Cazenovia managed to blank the Mustangs in the fourth quarter, yet it could not make up its two-goal deficit as each of its attempts got turned back by Seeley, who eventually stopped 13 of the 17 shots he faced.
When it was Westhill’s turn to face Cazenovia on Thursday afternoon, much the same thing happened as the pace was slow and the goals a rare commodity, but the Warriors were able to top the Lakers 6-3.
The key sequence came in the second quarter, with Westhill, up 3-1, shut out in those 12 minutes, but able to keep Cazenovia off the board, too, and able to stay out in front the rest of the way.
Three of the Warriors’ six goals came from Will Delano, with Charlie Bolesh getting three assists. Jack Grooms scored twice, adding an assist, while Mack Etoll had a goal and Ryan Gilmartin contributed an assist.
Prior to that, Westhill, at no. 8 in the state Class C rankings, had battled past Homer 10-5 last Tuesday, a game that was hard-fought all the way, but the Warriors managed to outscore the Trojans 3-1 each of the last two quarters.
Delano and Grooms led Westhill’s attack, Delano getting three goals and two assists and Grooms scoring four times. Bolesh had two goals and one assist, with Gilmartin getting two assists as Reilly Sizing earned the other goal. Aidan Felter recorded nine saves in the net.
And then Marcellus hosted Christian Brothers Academy on Saturday, leading 2-1 early, but unable to stop the Brothers in the game’s middle stages as it took a 13-9 defeat.
A 5-1 CBA push in the third quarter proved decisive, with only Barry and Marcus Darminio scoring twice for the Mustangs. Single goals went to Powell, Tierney, Mike Quick and Mason Barney.
Seeley did provide a highlight with a full-field run and goal, and earned 16 saves, but CBA got three-goal hat tricks from Sam Bonacci, Wyatt Auyer and Preston Taylor, with Colin Kelly getting two goals and four assists.
Jordan-Elbridge hosted LaFayette last Monday night in its only game last week, the Eagles getting shut down for long stretches of the first half, which led to a 16-7 defeat to the Lancers as it fell to 5-3 overall.
Steadily, LaFayette gained a 9-2 edge by halftime, led by Reid Jackowski, who finished with five goals, and Kaleb Benedict, who had four goals and one assist.
Between them, J-E goalies Steve Tripp and Kolin Humberstone made 15 saves. Riordan Parker scored three times for the Eagles as Luke Pinckney and Wade Brunelle got two goals apiece.
J-E rebounded on Friday to beat Holland Patent 14-4, led by Griffin LaFleur’s four goals and one assist. Deacon Hill and Tyler Fietta both scored twice, with Brunelle getting a goal and three assists. Pinckney had one goal and two assists as Ricky Hill, Riordan Parker, Joel Blasko and Jeremiah Sparks also found the net, Caleb DeCola adding two assists.
