Yorktown Unloads in 4th Q on Mahopac, Somers in Pair of Wins

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

Close lacrosse games are won and lost in the fourth quarter and so far so good for YORKTOWN. Coach Tim Schurr’s Cornhuskers (2-1) outscored MAHOPAC and SOMERS by a combined 7-1 count in the game’s final stanza enroute to a pair of critical Class B victories last week. That’s the good news for Yorktown. The bad news was an 11-5 setback sandwiched in between to Class A favorite Mamaroneck.

Mahopac G Tommy Jacobellis had the best view of it from his catbird seat between the pipes last Tuesday. Jacobellis (12 saves) was making his fifth start of the season for the Indians (4-3) and had already been tested by a good BYRAM HILLS team, but he had yet to see anything like YORKTOWN attackman Harry Griff. The senior and 2021 U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American broke out parts of his repertoire that hadn’t been seen before, including one-handed slings and behind-the-back no-looks to go with the more simple can’t-miss cranks that saw the Fairfield-bound Griff notch four goals and dish three assist the Huskers’ 8-5 season-opening win over the host Indians (4-3).

“He’s something else, crazy good,” Jacobellis admitted.

It takes a village, was the sentiment offered by All-Section Mahopac D Sean Massett.

“He’s a special player,” the Monmouth-bound senior said. “One of the section’s finest. When guarding guys like that it’s not one guy on point, it’s a team effort. Was a great game by both teams.”

It wasn’t a vintage Cornhusker effort out of the gate and a youthful Mahopac unit put up a ton of resistance, but 40-time Section 1 champion Yorktown, which has been denied a title since the 2017 season, looked like a team with the capabilities of being one of the last two Class B teams standing in late May.

“First game, we want to get better,” first-year Yorktown Coach Tim Schurr said. “We got some things to work on for sure. Mahopac played hard today, and our kids played hard. We just gotta control ourselves a little better. You know, eight penalties, and it wasn’t like the officials did a bad job. They called a good game, so we can’t blame it on anyone but ourselves.”

Schurr was impressed with the stout and sturdy Griff’s capabilities.

“The lefty behind the back shot was something else,” Schurr said of Griff’s goal. “I’ve seen some great stuff in my day but that was almost Canadian. To be that strong with the stick, with one hand on the stick, it’s very impressive stuff. We have to shoot better as a team, though, because their goalie made a lot of saves, he was good today. But we didn’t shoot as well as we should. Duncan’s last goal was a terrific play. A little luck but he was in the right spot. He’s athletic and made a good play.

“It’s a nice group of kids and a great staff,” Schurr said of the seamless transition from John Jay CR to Yorktown, his old stomping ground. “I coached great kids at John Jay and now to come over here and be around another great bunch of guys is fun. Practices are fun, we’ve worked hard but we gotta get a little better.”

Duncan scored twice, including the momentum-shifting tally to start the fourth quarter, giving Yorktown a 6-4 lead while zapping Mahopac’s short-lived comeback attempt.

“We knew we needed a spark, so we started to ride hard and I think that goal gave us our momentum back,” said Duncan, a junior.

Huskers Anthony Guglielmo and Justin Meyreles had a goal apiece. Yorktown G Vito DeBellis (14 saves) was impressive in his first start, and M Jay Fastiggi owned the draw box (winning 12 of 15 faceoffs).

Junior A Jake Degnan nailed two goals and set up another for the Indians, who got within one, 5-4, in the waning seconds of the third quarter on a goal by sophomore Danny Koch. Mike Rettberg and Gavin Viglucci (2A) also scored for Mahopac, which played without All-Section senior M Michael Harney.

“Missing a key part of the offense is always tough, but I was very happy with the young guns and how they competed,” Mahopac Coach Jon Bota said. “They fought hard to battle back, but Harry had a day.”

The battle with Somers was every bit as intense for three quarters. At 8:03 of the first quarter, William Sullivan spotted Somers a 1-0 lead from TJ Olifers. At 5:58, Griff answered for Yorktown unassisted. At 5:06 of the first, Duncan provided Yorktown a 2-1 lead. A lefty snipe from Tusker Henry Ellison made it 2-2 at 9:09 of the second quarter, assisted by Nicholas Newman. Every time the Tuskers threatened to take a lead, Yorktown responded, this time at 6:07 of the second from Griff, unassisted, for a 3-2 Yorktown lead. Griff just took over on the move, splitting a seam in the Tusker D. At 5:33, James Solazzo followed with a tally for a 4-2 Yorktown lead, but Somers freshman Miguel “Getting Miggy With It” Iglesias broke some ankles at 2:19 to cut the Somers deficit to 4-3.

Luke Kennedy drilled the equalizer for Somers with 11 seconds before half and tied it at 4-all after a sweet clear and skip pass from Olifers off a Derek Marcus GB hog.

Solazzo snapped the tie at 10:05 of the third, putting Yorktown up 5-4, but Olifers scored man-up to tie it at 5-5 at the 6:14 mark of the third quarter. Newman on the assist.

A penalty on Somers G Hunter Sullivan proved costly when, at 9:48 of the third, Yorktown’s Sava Makarenko put the Huskers up for good at 6-5, man-up, with the game-winner. Two insurance goals were provided by Ryan Vogel and another by Drew Weissman.

Somers Coach Vin DeGregorio was more than pleased with the development of his Tuskers (3-1).

“This team is a pleasure to coach,” he said. “We’ve got senior leadership, talented underclassmen,  plus 100% buy-in. They play for the guy next to them. We don’t have any “me” guys, just “we” guys.”

As a coach, that’s all you can ask for…

LAKELAND/PANAS is flying under the radar after losing a ton to graduation, but the Rebels (2-1) are among the best-coached teams in the section and have produced wins in two of their first three games, including an 11-6 win over Greeley, who could do nothing to contain L/P sniper Nick Graap (5G, 1A). Justin Stabile and Joe Alleua each put a pair between the pipes…

CLASS C/D

In PUTNAM VALLEY’s 8-6 win over BREWSTER, the visiting Tigers had to come from behind on the strength of four goals from Andrew Dzubak and four assists from Davin Porteus, who won 11 of 17 face-offs. Ryan Denike (1G, 1A), Hayden Gumbrecht (2G) and Cole Durocher (1A) put up enough points for G Roger Raimo (9 saves) to earn the W between the pipes. Tigers Anthony Esposito and Logan Porteus had nine ground balls apiece.

PV (2-2) came back from a three-goal deficit and trailed in the last five minutes of the game before scoring the game-tying goal with 2:29 left when Gumbrecht tickled twine from Denike. The game-winner was scored a minute by Dzubak off a great dodge from Durocher with 1:35 left.

Brewster senior Ethan Hamm (2G, 1A) and juniors Joey Anfuso (2G), Josh Walsh (1G, 3A) and

Andrew Tyndall (1G) had the Bears (1-5) headed in the right direction, as did G Mike Triolo (13 saves, many on the doorstep).

“We lost a heartbreaker to Putnam Valley in the last two minutes,” Brewster Coach Ryan Cleary admitted. “I have to give credit to my guys, though. Even though we didn’t get any wins this week, they definitely bounced back after Monday’s loss and showed they have some character.  They continue to show up and put work in to get better every day.  We are far from where we would like to be, but we are getting closer.”

It was an encouraging performance for the Tigers, who were trimmed in overtime, 13-12, by Horace Greeley earlier in the week, in what was termed a chippy, unfortunate encounter that ultimately led to the untimely release of Quaker Coach Brian Zusi and internal investigations on both sides…

The speed bump Class D  BRIARCLIFF hit in its 15-6 loss to USA Lax Magazine’s nationally-ranked (No.1) St, Anthony’s Saturday was nothing more than the 18th-ranked Bears (4-1) getting tested for a run at their first NYS title. Look, this is a Class D Briarcliff team losing to a NYS Class A Friars powerhouse, which, truth be told, is amazing that they are on the same field, given the fact that Briarcliff had no business doing so just four/five years ago. This is transformative stuff, the kind of change you hope sustains…

Dean Hiltsley had three goals for the Sailors (1-3) and Rocco Capicotti scored twice in HEN HUD’s 8-7 double OT loss to Tappan Zee Saturday…

Hats off to CROTON-HARMON senior Michael McCarthy, who bagged the 100th goal of his career in the 2-3 Tigers’ 9-7 win over OSSINING.

“Michael has been with us on varsity since he was in eighth grade,” Croton Coach Stephen Palencsar said. “He’s provided us with the consistency and dedication we needed to keep trying to grow our program and keep guys engaged. Michael has been a stalwart member of this team for a long time so his coaches, teammates, friends, and family are very happy he achieved the 100 goal milestone this year.”

HALDANE improved to 2-1 after a 9-4 win over Sleepy Hollow behind another solid performance from 6’1” 180-pound super soph Evan Giachinta (2G, 2A). Teammates Ryan Van Tassel and Rhys Robbins each went for two goals and an assist.

CLASS A

We understand that the competition hasn’t been the greatest, but CARMEL sophomore A Matt Risley, who has the Rams off to a 5-1 start, would fit in nicely on any attack in Section 1. Risley, a stout 5’11” 175-pound attackman, added three assists to his totals in a 10-5 Carmel win over Irvington, which had no answers for Chayse Carroll and Thomas Connolly, who notched hat tricks, and Luke Golisano (2G).