Some championships are sweeter than others.
When the Jamesville-DeWitt boys lacrosse team defeated Christian Brothers Academy 12-9 Friday night in the Section III Class C final at Liverpool High School Stadium, it claimed the program’s 17th sectional title.
Yet for many reasons, this one really felt good for the Red Rams and its players. Part of that was the satisfaction of knocking off its next-door neighbors, who just happened to sit at no. 2 in the state rankings, one spot above J-D at no. 3.
But more of it had to do with how last season ended, the Rams stunned by Westhill in the sectional semifinals after it had won nine consecutive sectional titles from 2009 to 2017.
Head coach Jamie Archer said his players were supremely motivated to climb back to the top, even going so far as to write papers in their school classes about the pain of that Westhill defeat and bouncing back from it.
“This is one we really wanted,” said Archer.
Getting it required a combination of the skill and flair J-D is well known for with tough, relentless defense that gradually gained control of the game following a wild first quarter.
Fresh off its dramatic overtime win over Westhill in the sectional semifinals, CBA answered everything the Rams threw at them in those first 12 minutes, even taking a 4-3 lead on goals by Josh Hulslander and Sam Bonacci 18 seconds apart.
But the Brothers had no answer in the early going for J-D junior Riley Durkin, who netted three goals in that opening period. Durkin said he and his teammates have plenty of freedom on offense to create opportunities, and it paid off here.
Yet it wasn’t until the second period that the game shifted permanently in the Rams’ favor, its defense nearly shutting out CBA in that frame until Colin Kelly scored in the waning seconds, cutting J-D’s margin to 8-6 at halftime.
Burned plenty in the early going, the Rams’ back line adjusted well as senior Sahil Seth, along with juniors Kenny Hildreth and Josh Duby, rarely gave CBA’s potent group of attackers much room to operate and caused plenty of turnovers.
All of this proved more valuable since J-D was unable to put the game away during the second half, and when they were needed, sophomore goalie Jamison MacLachlan made several key stops to thwart any possible CBA comeback.
Archer said that MacLachlan’s maturity and calm demeanor makes things easier for all of his teammates.
At the start of the season, said Archer, “we didn’t expect him to be this good. But his poise in making big saves, for a kid that young, is amazing.”
MacLachlan shut out the Brothers for more than 17 minutes, and though he allowed a pair of late goals, Durkin and Will Davis made up for it, netting fourth-quarter tallies that helped secure J-D’s return to the top.
As the Red Rams moved on to the state tournament, CBA, a sectional champion the previous two years in Class D (and a state champion in 2017), should be strong again next spring as most of its top scorers return, along with goalie Z.J. Shahin.
