CENTRAL NEW YORK – After watching each other for most of the spring, the Westhill and Marcellus boys lacrosse teams would match up early this week as they turned to the regular-season homestretch.
Leading up to it, the Warriors continued to add to its win total, and was most impressive in last Friday’s game against Homer, where it controlled all phases of the game and beat the Trojans 12-5 to improve its record to 8-2.
Strong defense throughout the game gave Westhill room to be patient on the other end, but Will Delano matched Homer all by himself, scoring five times.
Kyle Rosenberger and Bryan Allen gained two goals apiece, with Griffin Grooms, Luke Gilmartin and James Schneider each getting one goal and one assist. Michael Britt added an assist and goalie Owen Mahar finished with eight saves.
Earlier in the week, the Warriors handled Jordan-Elbridge 19-7. Eleven different Westhill players earned a goal against the Eagles, with Grooms, osenberger and Kyle Clayton each notching three-goal hat tricks as Delano and Gilmartin both scored twice, Gilmartin getting two assists.
Owen Etoll, Sean Rogers, Kyle MacCaull, Charlie DeMore and Benji McPeak also found the net, with Wyatt Mullen netting four of J-E’s seven goals and Wade Brunelle adding two goals as Nick Long had one goal and one assist.
Marcellus, meanwhile, had put a scare into LaFayette March 13 before taking a 13-11 defeat, then lost to Baldwinsville before breaking that skid last Tuesday in a tense 13-12 win over Tully/Fabius-Pompey.
Each of goalie Quenten Polkowski’s 14 saves proved important as the Black Knights outshot the Mustangs, but could not pull in front at the end.
Doryn LeClair led Marcellus, scoring five times. Adam Rayfield and Sean Tierney both got three goals and two assists, with Kyle Darminio getting a pair of goals. Ryan Moses and Matt Welch had one assist apiece.
Perhaps worn out from the crowded schedule, Marcellus, playing for the fourth time in eight days last Thursday, was overwhelmed in the first half of a 16-8 defeat to Cazenovia.
Not until it was down 11-2 at halftime did the Mustangs really get going. Rayfield got two assists as he, along with Moses and Marcus Darminio, had two goals apiece. Dieter Steigerwald and Kyle Darminio had the other goals as, for Cazenovia, Brody Coleman and James LeFever had five goals apiece.
As that went on, J-E lost, 20-7, to LaFayette, who saw Nelson Jones set the pace thanks to his four goals and five assists.
Skaneateles watched all this unfold, having not played since a May 15 defeat to Cazenovia, but the Lakers returned on Friday and fought its way to a 12-9 victory over Tully.
Largely the Lakers could thank Grayson Brunelle, whose six goals accounted for half the Lakers’ output as he also got a pair of assists. Combined, goalies Luke Renaud and Brendan McGowan produced 17 saves.
Ryan Willard helped out, scoring three times and getting two assists as Colin Morrissey and Max Wamp both got one goal and one assist. Jack Weeks had the other goal and Gavin Cheney earned an assist.
