Foto

East Aurora, OP, Eden, Hamburg capture Section VI boys lacrosse titles

It has been a while since East Aurora earned the right to celebrate as Section VI champion in boys lacrosse. One could argue it has felt longer than 12 years.

Orchard Park? The Quakers’ title drought felt lengthy only because the program accustomed to winning seemingly every year failed to do so last season.

EA and OP both earned the right to indulge Wednesday night at Williamsville East during postgame celebrations. So did Eden and Hamburg.

Section VI crowned its boys lacrosse champions. The Class C game between East Aurora and Amherst epitomized the strengths of the Blue Devils. They’re deep and willing to fight to the end to experience victory.

East Aurora secured its first sectional crown since 2007 by rallying to defeat Amherst, 7-5. Sophomore Drew Kenney’s goal with just over 4 minutes left broke a 5-5 tie. Junior Jack Rogers scored a crazy insurance goal off a wild scramble in front of the Tigers' cage with under 40 seconds left to punch EA’s ticket to the state tournament.

“Coach kept telling us we just want to keep fighting,” said Kenney, who also had two assists. “We worked all offseason for this. It was a great win.”

Orchard Park feels the same about its triumph. A year after it failed to protect an early five-goal lead, the Quakers dominated from start to finish in ending Lancaster’s reign as Class A champion with a 15-4 win. Senior Andrew Relosky scored three of his game-high six goals in the first quarter as OP pounced and never relented.

“It was our best game of the year so far,” Quakers coach Larry Catalano said. “Starting goalie on out, the ‘D’ was ready to play. ... We valued offensive possessions. It could’ve been worse. I think we hit three or four pipes in the game. They just brought it today. They wanted win. Nothing was going to stop them.”

Eden used a seven-goal third quarter to pull away from Salamanca, 15-6, in Class D. An estimated 1,200 attended the three games, a good number witnessing Eden claim a sectional title in boys lacrosse for the first time.

At Williamsville South, Hamburg defeated Williamsville East, 7-4, in the Class B final. It’s the Bulldogs’ 12th sectional title in 13 years.

The Section VI champions return to action Saturday at St. John Fisher College in suburban Rochester where they will face their Section V counterparts in the New York State Public High Schools Athletic Association quarterfinals. The quadruple-header begins with OP facing Fairport in Class A at 10 a.m.

Amherst (13-5) got the early jump on East Aurora (16-3) as Elias Dunkle (two goals) and Andrew Johnson (two goals) scored before the game was three minutes old. The Tigers led, 3-2, at halftime and stretched it to 4-2 early in the third.

A man-advantage opportunity helped provide the opening EA needed to rally. Brock Roldan scored to spark a 3-0 run. Cal Klube tied it with 4:52 left in the third. Rogers gave the Devils their first lead 2:28 later. Amherst tied it with 29 seconds left in the period on Jack Faller’s goal to set up the thrilling finish.

The connection secured the win as Rogers found an open Kenney for the game-winner.

“Drew had a phenomenal shot,” EA coach Scott More said. “Those two have been finding each other all year. ... It was nice to see those two connect.”

In Class A, Orchard Park captured its 26th Section VI title in 29 years. While Relosky notched the double hat trick, junior Bryson Miller had three goals and an assist, while Jake Shul also recorded three goals.

The title is senior captain Cayden Collins’ third in four years, but last year’s failure was a motivator.

“When you look at our banner in our gym, it’s filled almost every year,” he said. “You notice the gaps between. ... (Winning), it’s almost like joining the tradition here. It feels really good to fulfill that.”

Colby Sroda scored six goals and had an assist, while Quinn Harrington scored three times for Eden (12-7), which scored 12 of the game’s final 15 goals.

“It feels amazing,” Sroda said. “We have the alumni here in the stands. ... It was nice coming in and getting the first in boys history.”

Hamburg was pushed by a good Williamsville East team for the second straight year in the Class B final. The Bulldogs answered with one of their most efficient games of the season, according to 14th-year coach Jerry Severino, limiting the Flames to one second-half goal. Hamburg, which led 4-3 at halftime, also controlled faceoffs with Bo Johnson winning 10-of-14 draws. Brock Schneider finished with three goals and an assist for the winners, Jason Chiodo added two goals, and Jared Evenden made eight saves to improve to 15-0 on the season.

Clayton Osborne scored twice for Williamsville East.

"A lot of credit should go to the Williamsville East coaching staff," Severino said. "We just had enough gas in the tank to keep them at bay."