BC High hit the two-time defending champions with a flurry of jabs in the third quarter of Sunday’s Division 1 boys’ lacrosse final, but St. John’s Prep did not go down.
In the end, Prep overcame a four-goal deficit to start the fourth quarter and pulled ahead for a dramatic, 16-14, victory at Burlington High, securing a third straight state championship.
“We’ve done a good job of coming back this year, so we had it in us,” said Prep coach John Pynchon. “At the end of third quarter, we brought the whole group together and said we’re going to do this, one goal at a time.”
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BC High (20-3) jumped out to an early lead behind Pat Maroney’s five-goal flurry, but Prep captain Jimmy Ayers (5 goals, 1 assist) led a 6-2 run in the second quarter to give his squad an 8-6 halftime lead.
The third quarter belonged to BC High in a game of dramatic runs. Will Emsing (2 goals, 2 assists) and Nolan Hurley (2 goals, 1 assist) both had tough goals and sophomore Shane McDonnell added a goal while battling All-American Chris Esposito to a draw at the faceoff X.
After Hurley and Emsing scored in the final 4 seconds of the frame, it was gut check time for Prep (22-1).
“We did a full team huddle and we looked at each other,” said Prep junior midfielder Jake Vana (4 goals, 1 assist), a Princeton commit. “Every drill, we’ve been practicing for these moments, and that’s what a true team does when their backs are against the wall, they make it count.”
Vana — who also won state titles in soccer and hockey this year — opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a nifty finish between his legs off a feed from Matt Morrow (3 goals, 1 assist). Nate Jones provided a tough finish, Ayers and Morrow added two goals apiece, and Prep crept to a 15-14 lead with 2:42 remaining.
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In the frantic final two minutes, Ayers won a key ground ball and Vana put a bow on his performance with an empty-net goal to seal it.
“This was a dramatic, great lacrosse game, and BC High played outstanding,” Pynchon said. “I’m just incredibly proud of our group. [Since 2020], we’ve battled [BC High] through so many games. It’s tough. And this one was the toughest of all.”
Division 2 State
Reading 9, Duxbury 4 — Charlie Hardy has never cut anyone during his 22-year run as Reading’s boys’ lacrosse coach.
This year, the Rockets fielded a team with 19 seniors, and their depth paid dividends in a convincing triumph at Burlington High.
“For anyone that can put up with me, I’ll be glad to have them stay,” Hardy said. “This is what they get. They get a little trophy to go home with.”
With two of their leading scorers sidelined, and one battling through injury, the top-seeded Rockets (22-1) dominated defensively to stymie the No. 3 Dragons (20-4). The state title is Reading’s second and first since 2018.
Senior Robbie Granara, wearing No. 22 to support his injured best friend Ethan Haggerty, scored two goals for the Rockets. Aidan Koster and Cullen Granara added two apiece, Finn Granara was outstanding in net, and Nate Johnson, Mike Miele, Ryan Strout were catalysts defensively.
“Our defense played unbelievable,” Robbie Granara said.
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The Rockets built a 2-0 edge through one quarter and extended it to 4-0 at halftime and 6-0 early in the third. Sam Wien (two goals) and the Dragons tried to chip away, but Reading was too physical, savvy, and in-sync.
“They got up on us early, then it was just catch-up for the rest of the game,” Duxbury coach Chris Sweet said. “We couldn’t get that momentum to swing our way. It just wasn’t our day.”
Every time Duxbury made some noise, Reading responded.
“The goal is done, man,” said Finn Granara, a senior. “I’m speechless. We’ve been playing for this since even before my freshman year. The grind started since middle school. It feels awesome.”
Division 3 State
Norwell 10, Falmouth 4 — While Norwell lost eight players from its 2022 state championship team, including all six starters on the attacking line, they still had one massive weapon heading into this season.
On Sunday, Norwell’s senior midfielder and two-time South Shore League MVP John Mullen showed why he’s regarded as one of the best all-around players in the state by dominating at the faceoff-X, and adding two goals and three assists, in a 10-4 victory over Falmouth, securing a second straight Division 3 title.
“[Mullen] is huge,” said Norwell coach Josh Stolp. “He wins all those faceoffs, he’s a tough kid, he plays defense, he plays offense, he’s on the field for probably three-quarters of the game, so he’s been huge for us.”
In a Cinderella role, seventh-seeded Falmouth (16-7) looked to slow down the game and offset Mullen’s dominance (15 for 18) on faceoffs. With CJ Ledwick (16 saves) playing lights out in net, and big junior attack Cole Gaudet (3 goals) sparking the offense, Falmouth had the game knotted, 3-3, in the final minutes of the second quarter.
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Then Mullen provided a highlight behind-the-back finish off a feed from Tim Ward (who, earlier this year, scored the winner for Norwell’s state championship hockey team) and fed Austin Shea (another hockey star) for two goals in a thirty second span to make it 5-3 Norwell at the half.
“It was a learning process the whole year,” Stolp said of his new attacking line. “The offense found their way. They found a rhythm that worked for them.”
When Gaudet scored his third goal late in the third quarter, Norwell’s response came from freshman attack Jake McGuirk (4 goals) with 14 seconds left in the frame. In the final five minutes, the floodgates opened with Ward, McGuirk, and Mullen adding tallies.
“We were just keeping ourselves mentally prepared,” Stolp said. “You could see in this game, a little bit early on, we were trying to win the title and I think they just relaxed and played lacrosse as the game went on.”
For Falmouth, a runner-up finish represents a huge turnaround after the program went 1-9 in the 2021 season and posted a 7-13 record in 2022.
“We knew what we were going into,” said Falmouth coach Rory Morse. “I said at the beginning of the year, I think every team is playing for second place [behind] Norwell. Once we got this opportunity, I wanted to perform, and I’m really proud of my guys. It didn’t go our way today, but that’s an extremely talented lacrosse team.”
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Division 4 State
Cohassest 8, Sandwich 4 — Colin Humphrey made his lone season as the starting goaltender for the Cohasset boys’ lacrosse team count.
Entrenched as the backup behind future Merrimack goalie Anthony Kulturides, Humphrey assumed cage duties this spring as a senior for the Skippers. In his final act as a high school athlete, Humphrey stood tall with 16 saves at MacDowell Field in Babson Park in the state final.
“I didn’t like sitting on the bench, but I learned a lot,” Humphrey said. “It prepared me for this entire season. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play this year.”
For the top-seeded Skippers (20-3), it was their sixth title — all since 2005 — and first since 2018.
With help from long poles Declan Lee and Thomas Hansen, Humphrey rendered a superhuman performance from Connor Stack at the faceoff-X moot for the second-seeded Blue Knights (15-8).
Stack went an astounding 15 for 15, winning the majority of his draws without needing any help from his wings. But the Blue Knights never got in a groove offensively, falling behind for good just 4:44 into the game as a Rob Norton goal made it 2-1 in favor of Cohasset.
The title for the Skippers was their first under third-year coach Steve Rotondi, the school’s athletic director.
Cohasset returned to the top of the mountain after coming up a game short of the final in 2022, losing in overtime to eventual champion Wahconah — which in turn defeated Sandwich, now back-to-back Division 4 runner-up.
“To get there, see it, play through it, continuously work in the offseason to try and change that, it’s what these guys have done,” Rotondi said.
Liam Appleton scored three goals to lead Cohasset.
Globe correspondents Trevor Hass reported on Division 2 and Jake Levin on Division 4