CENTRAL NEW YORK – In the week after battling into overtime against each other, the Marcellus and Skaneateles boys lacrosse teams took what they learned from that game and applied it in winning efforts.
The Mustangs did so first by handling Liverpool 17-9 on April 6 and, three nights later, facing LaFayette/Onondaga and smashing past the Lancers 17-3.
An 8-1 second-quarter dash broke the game open for Marcellus against LaFayette/Onondaga, with Adam Rayfield again at the forefront as he passed out six assists to go with his three goals.
Donovan Fraher, Nick Rayfield and Chris Doshna also had three-goal hat tricks, with Connor Ciota converting twice. Jimmy Cox, Dieter Steigerwald and Henry Lawrence had one goal apiece.
Then, in Saturday’s game against Section II’s Ballston Spa, the Mustangs did not take the lead for good until the third quarter, when it broke out of a 5-5 tie.
But Marcellus closed on a 7-2 push to win it 14-8, Nick Rayfield getting three goals and Doshna scoring twice to go with four assists. Cox had two goals and two assists, with Lawrence and Adam Rayfield also converting twice. Fraher and Steigerwald each got one goal and one assist.
Skaneateles, meanwhile, took another narrow defeat to Watertown April 6, and found itself again in a close contest last Tuesday against Christian Brothers Academy before it took over in the latter stages to beat the Brothers 11-6.
They were tied, 3-3, at the end of a tightly-played first half, but as the Lakers’ defense continued to shut CBA down for long stretches, it was the attack that made the difference.
Moved to midfield, Sean Kerwick responded with three goals and four assists, complementing the four goals put up by Luke Mizro. Jack Torrey and Landon Brunelle both had two goals, with Tye Kennedy joining Landen Brunelle in the assist column.
Then the Lakers had its own game with LaFayette/Onondaga on Friday and unloaded in a 15-4 victory where it jumped out to a 9-0 advantage by halftime and kept the Lancers off the board until the third quarter.
Brunelle had a breakthrough performance, scoring four times and adding an assist. Kerwick got three goals and one assist, with Kennedy, Charlie Carbonaro and Carter Loi earning two goals apiece. Quinn Cheney had a goal and joined Loi with two assists. Ty Green also had a goal, with assists earned by Andrew Falkenberg, Andrew Gaglione and Braeden Weeks.
Westhill had its own big win last Tuesday against a Tully side which had started with wins in its first three games.
The Warriors bashed the Black Knights 19-4 as Charlie DeMore (four goals, three assists) and Owen Etoll (three goals, four assists) led the way. Jack Hayes also scored three times as Josh Gratien and Teddy DeMore had two goals apiece. Tom Pendergast and Conor Rose both had one goal and one assist.
Then Westhill shut out Cortland 15-0 on Friday night, with five goals and three assists from Andrew Mondo that freed up space for Etoll and DeMore, who each got three goals and two assists. Gratien added two goals and one assist.
Jordan-Elbridge played last Tuesday and lost 9-4 to Cazenovia, shut out in the second and third quarters by that other group of Lakers, who went on a 7-0 run.
Nixon Karcz scored twice and got an assist for the Eagles, with Brayden Kitterle and Jayden Castaldo getting the other goals. Cazenovia got a three-goal hat trick from D.B. Falge and two goals apiece from Alex Kuper and Owen Porter.
However, J-E did prevail on Saturday, piling up goals in a 19-6 win over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. The Eagles had six goals in the first quarter and seven in the third quarter to get away, improving its overall record to 3-3.
Gaining a career-best 11 points, Karcz earned seven assists to go with four goals. Kitterle scored five times, while Castaldo had three goals. Joe LaFluer and Casey Ryan both had two goals, LaFluer gaining a pair of assists as Wyatt Werth had a goal and two assists.
