ONONDAGA COUNTY – Bright and early last Saturday morning, two local lacrosse powerhouses who always eye each other got to do so on a close-up basis when Fayetteville-Manlius dueled Jamesville-DeWitt.
A whole lot of skill was on display, too, but the Hornets displayed more of it, especially in a decisive third quarter as it got away from the Red Rams and went on to a 17-12 victory.
The fast pace was there from the outset, each side converting plenty but F-M doing a bit more as it inched out to a 9-7 advantage.
Then, with Logan Wilkinson gaining a series of face-offs and those extra possessions leading to to goals, F-M gradually added to that margin throughout the second half, led by Caden Yancey, who torched J-D for six goals.
Pratt Reynolds added a three-goal hat trick as single tallies went to Wilkinson, Ty Teelin, Josh Kohlbrenner, Connor Aspinall, John Angelicola and Louis Cogliandro, with Isaac Frechette adding an assist.
On J-D’s side, Johnny Keib still managed four goals and two assists, while Sam Brazell got three goals and one assist. Tanner Burns scored twice and matched Keib’s two-assist output as Lucas Bort, Jacob Marshall and Ethan Kesserling also found the net.
Leading into the game, J-D had won five in a row, blitzing through a pair of early-week foes starting with last Monday’s 23-5 rout of the Cortland Purple Tigers which featured, among other things, Jamison MacLachlan emerging from the net to score his first goal of the season.
It was 15-3 by halftime, and the Rams kept rolling as Burns and Gannon Kessler both earned eight points, Kessler with four goals and four assists, Burns by getting three goals and five assists.
Kesserling scored five times, with Brazell getting four goals. John Withers had two goals and an assist as Keib notched four assists, joining MacLachlan, Bort, Jackson Thomas and Matt Keeler with single goals.
F-M’s own unbeaten mark wasn’t expected to be seriously threatened when it visited 0-5 Liverpool last Tuesday night, but the game turned into a nervous affair before the Hornets got away late to prevail 10-6.
The Warriors actually led 2-1 through one period and, even though F-M went in front by halftime, the game stayed close and tense, with the Hornets running into a hot goalie in Owen Salanger.
Constantly barraged, Salanger managed 21 saves, only yielding a bit when F-M netted three unanswered goals in the final period.
Reynolds scored three times, with Yancey getting two goals and three assists. Aspinall, Angelicola and T.J. Conley had one goal apiece as Anthony DaRin and Matt Fiorentino added assists.
Then, on Thursday night, F-M traveled to West Genesee, where a Wildcats squad was eager to make up for the 18-7 romp by the Hornets in the April 27 season opener.
In many ways, WG did prove that first game was an outlier, as it gained far more possession and, by halfitme, was up 5-4, giving itself a chance at genuine payback.
But F-M went back in front in the third quarter and held on late to prevail 11-9, mostly led by the duo of Yancey and Reynolds, who both netted four goals to overcome Bryce Landry’s 15 saves.
Angelicola, DaRin and Teelin had one goal apiece, with Conley, Aspinall and Isaac Frechette each getting two assists. Wilkinson also had an assist and continued to excel in the face-off circle as Alex Rosa paced WG with three goals. Combined, Matt LaCombe and Alex Duggleby made 11 saves.
