St. John’s Prep returns to the top of the boys lacrosse world

DANVERS — Due to the MIAA extending its playoff season into July, the weather has presented some unique circumstances, and in more forms than one.

Despite having its championship bout postponed Wednesday night, and midgame no less, St. John’s Prep finished the job on Thursday. Sophomore star Jimmy Ayers would finish with four goals during the contest, as the Eagles captured their first Div. 1 boys lacrosse title since 2010 with an 11-7 victory over Catholic Conference foe BC High.

“I’m just incredibly proud of these guys and how hard they worked,” said St. John’s Prep coach John Pynchon. “The time and effort they put in to get here (was incredible), and it was great to do it at home. I don’t know if we’ll ever have a chance to win a championship at home again.”

As ominous clouds began to approach Glatz Field on Wednesday evening, the two programs exchanged blows early on. Led by a pair of goals from senior midfielder Charlie Danis, coupled with Ayers’ first score of the game, St. John’s Prep took a 4-2 advantage with 3:54 remaining in the opening quarter.

After BC High evened the score at 4-all with 11:02 remaining in the first half off a tally by Carter Rice, Ayers decided to take over.

In a span of two minutes, the sophomore notched three straight goals, providing St. John’s Prep a 7-4 advantage with 8:14 left in the second quarter.

Tommy Sami notched a goal with 4:23 remaining in the first half to extend the lead to 9-4. However, as officials walked the ball back to the center of the field, a massive bolt of lightning crossed the night sky, and the game entered a weather delay. Originally, it was announced that play would resume after 30 minutes.

But as time passed, the skies opened up, and torrential rain began to fall in Danvers. Following an hour of anticipation, the Div. 1 final was moved to Thursday.

After a brief talk with his players, Pynchon left the complex feeling tense. The conditions had created an unforeseen obstacle for St. John’s Prep.

“I hope I never have to do that again,” Pynchon said. “With however long that break was, it was just super odd. There’s no locker room, we’re up on the track, kids are walking around, talking to their buddies in the hallways, it was bad. Then, coming back and doing it again today … (just) a wild ending to a wild season, and a wild school year.”

When the game resumed, Michael Kelly closed the half with his first goal of the outing, then added another with 3:10 to go in the third quarter to give St. John’s Prep a comfortable 10-4 edge.

BC High would trim away at the lead, as Louis Timmins, Will Emsing and Owen Porter scored three consecutive goals in the second half, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

As the game reached its final moments, St. John’s Prep fans began counting down the seconds in unison, then erupted as the Eagles stormed the turf.

“(BC High) really pushed us in the end,” Ayers said. “It showed our character, we pushed through. It was really tough, having to wait overnight. The adrenaline’s going, everyone’s excited, and the crowd was really into it, so it was tough to restart. But we just had the mentality to start out the second (half) at 0-0, keep it going, go hard, and put balls to the net.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/364sAIT