ONONDAGA COUNTY – On the first afternoon of May, boys lacrosse teams from Jamesville-DeWitt and Christian Brothers Academy took the measure of each other at Alibrandi Stadium.
With the memory of their 2019 Section III Class C final still relatively fresh, the Brothers wanted payback – but in a back-and-forth classic, the Red Rams won again, this time in a 12-10 decision.
CBA got the jump, leading most of the first half and going to the break up 5-4, only to see J-D unleash its attack during the third quarter, when it scored five times.
Now in front 9-8, the Rams were able to match what the Brothers did in the final period and, up 11-10, tacked on a goal in the final seconds for a bit of insurance.
Tanner Burns dished out six assists for J-D, often passing it to Johnny Keib, who got four goals and one assist. Sam Brazell and Ethan Kesserling joined Burns by scoring twice as Jacob Marshall and John Withers had one goal apiece.
Dan Ludington paced CBA’s attack and finished the day with six goals, but just three Brothers players found the net, Ludington joined by Joe Papa and Declan Landers with two goals apiece.
To put it mildly, CBA was not pleased with this result, and took out that anger on Skaneateles three nights later, roaring to an 11-0 lead by halftime and prevailing 17-3 over the Lakers.
In a span of less than eight minutes of the first quarter, the Brothers lit up Skaneateles for eight straight goals scored by seven different players, with only Papa converting twice.
This balance continued throughout the half, CBA ultimately building an 11-0 advantage before the Lakers finally got on the board in the third quarter.
Landers and Andrew Kohlbrenner both scored three times, with Kohlbrenner adding three assists. Ludington had two goals and three assists, with Papa getting two goals and two assists as John Greenwood, Chris Adornato and Seamus Nicholson also had two-goal outings. Dan Anderson chimed in with a goal and three assists.
Even bigger was CBA’s dramatic 13-12 victory over reigning state Class D champion LaFayette in a Thursday-afternoon classic that went down to the final seconds.
Trailing most of the first half, the Brothers never let the Lancers get away, and turned it around midgame with five straight goals to erase a 7-4 deficit.
LaFayette staged its own comeback to go in front 10-9 early in the fourth quarter, but CBA absorbed it and moved back in front, with Anderson at the forefront thanks to his five goals and three assists.
Then, with 55.9 seconds left in regulation, Landers put in the go-ahead goal, his third of the game, and the Brothers, winning the ensuing faceoff, was able to run out the rest of the clock.
Ludington got two goals, with Kohlbrenner getting a goal and two assists. Papa and Brackton Bowler also converted.
Meanwhile, J-D didnt let down after that CBA game, either, venturing to Holland Stadium last Tuesday and handling Auburn 16-6.
Steadily, the Rams built an 11-6 lead through three quarters and doubled that margin in the final period, again doing a fine job spreading around its production.
Kesserling, with four goals and three assists, was mirrored by Burns (three goals, four assists) and Keib (three goals, three assists), while Lucas Bort also scored three times, plus an assist. Ben Schellinger added two goals and Marshall converted, too, with Gannon Kessler getting an assist.
A 22-1 romp over Fulton followed where J-D built a 17-0 lead by halftime. Brazell netted seven goals, with Kesserling adding five goals and two assists.
East Syracuse Minoa entered the fray last week, beating Cortland and then, in its own turn against Auburn on Thursday, shutting down the Maroons in a 7-2 victory.
Gavin Houghtaling got all seven of the Spartans’ goals. Trey Jones and Jackson Palumb had two assists apiece, while single assists went to Evan deBerjeois and Matt Kenney. Goalie Christian Moon stopped nine of the 11 shots he faced.
