Through the years and decades, the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team had seen West Genesee accumulate more than 30 Section III championships, and if anyone did stop them, it required going to the wire, or beyond.
When the Bees broke it own 25-year title drought and beat the Wildcats in the 2017 sectional Class A finals, it was close and tense, the victory a catharsis for B’ville players and fans who spent a generation thirsting for glory.
Fortunately for Bees partisans, the wait for another sectional championship only lasted two years – and for once, it was West Genesee on the other end of a lopsided decision in the biggest local game of the spring.
B’ville was spectacular in all phases of the game in the May 24 sectional Class A title game at Cicero-North Syracuse’s Bragman Stadium, not letting up until it had put away the Wildcats 18-6.
That it ended up this way was a bit of a surprise, given that WG, while losing twice to the Bees in the regular season, had led through three quarters of their second encounter on May 9 in Camillus, B’ville requiring a big finish to win 14-10 that night.
Here, the alarm went off early. When the Wildcats’ Anthony Dattellas and Max Rosa netted back-to-back goals in the middle portion of the first quarter, the Bees trailed 2-1.
It didn’t last long.
Less than a minute after Rosa’s tally, Brendan Wilcox converted to tie it 2-2, and when Austin Bolton followed it up a goal (one of two he had in the opening period), the Bees led for good.
But it was an eight-minute stretch of the second period that turned the game into a romp, B’ville striking for six straight goals to cap off a 9-0 run that displayed all of the team’s skill and depth.
Adam Davis found the net less than a minute into the period. Wilcox, Connor Steria, Mike Tangredi and Spencer Wirtheim all scored, too, before Davis returned to complete his hat trick with 3:25 still remaining in the half.
And B’ville didn’t feel content, even with a 10-3 halftime lead. Bolton dominated the third quarter, scoring three times as he ultimately matched Davis with four goals apiece, Davis also getting a pair of assists.
Wilcox topped them both with a team-high five goals as Wirtheim, the catalyst for the Bees’ attack, dished out six assists and Braden McCard managed four assists as he, along with Quinn Peters, earned single goals.
All along, B’ville’s defense was a consistent force, only letting three different WG players score – three goals by Rosa, two by Dattellas and one by Nick Louise. Dan Stehle was particularly good, turning away 17 of the 23 shots he faced.
With the game well in hand, B’ville was able to truly celebrate this title as the clock ticked down, sure of the outcome, unlike 2017, and ready to see if it could translate into a first-ever state championship.
And this only began a memorable weekend for Bees lacrosse. Former B’ville star Charlie Bertrand led Merrimack College to the NCAA Division II championship on Sunday, defeating Limestone 16-8 in Philadelphia.
Bertrand, a junior, had four goals and three assists, giving him 78 goals for a season where he was awarded the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the year, Division II’s top honor, and was chosen as an All-American for the third year in a row.
In next Saturday’s Class A regional final, the current B’ville squad facesSection IV champion Corning, a team that’s won 16 games in a row, on the Hawks’ own home field.
