Pal-Mac overcomes heavy hearts to rule Class C, Penn Yan still king of D

Enough was enough, said the Palmyra-Macedon boys. And that’s when Keagan Hoesterey spoke up.

Then Logan Babcock and then Quinn Nolan.

Those were the three goals in the fourth quarter that powered Pal-Mac to an 8-5 win over Honeoye Falls-Lima in Tuesday night’s Section V Class C boys lacrosse championship game at Canandaigua Academy. It's the first Section V title since 2017 for the Red Raiders, who were playing with heavy hearts following the recent death of Paul Dlugosh, a friend and fan of the program who started lacrosse in the district.

"He lived and breathed Pal-Mac lacrosse," senior midfielder Nolan said. "He's an inspiration for all of us."

No doubt, Mr. Dlugosh would be proud of the Pal-Mac effort Tuesday night against a tenacious Honeoye Falls-Lima team (10-9) that went toe-to-toe with the Red Raiders (15-1). The teams were never separated by more than a goal through the first three quarters and when Drew Angelo scored at 6:59 of the third, the HF-L lead was 5-4.

So not only was Pal-Mac trailing as the end of the third quarter drew close, but it had scored just four goals.

"I didn't think we'd hit our average (13.6 goals per game)," coach Joe Hill said. "Their poles played well and we made a lot of unforced errors."

Some of those errors were passes that were off target and other were on target, but the timing was off. Hill wanted his feeders to exercise patience and on some cycles, wait for the second or third cutter to come through. But a few times, Pal-Mac hit the first cutter with a pass and that allowed the HF-L defense to react and slide to interrupt the play.

"We wanted to feel out their slides and see who was going," said Hill.

So as the fourth quarter started tied 5-5 after a Mat D'Arduini goal for Pal-Mac, the Red Raiders took a collective breath. And then they got to work.

"Quinn started to win faceoffs the way he should and we started to do the right things with the ball," said Hill.

So with three unanswered goals along with the play of game MVP Will Nichols in goal, the Red Raiders pulled away and blanked the Cougars for all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.

"We calmed ourselves down and played Pal-Mac lacrosse," said Nolan. "We rallied with each other. Every position on this field, we all wanted it."

And as the Red Raiders celebrated their championship, thoughts were constant of Mr. Dlugosh, died suddenly on May 22. He helped coach many of the players on today's varsity team when they were learning the game as kids.

“He’s the grandfather of Pal-Mac lacrosse,” coach Joe Hill said. “The whole team went to his service and he never missed a game. It meant a lot to these kids.”

Babcock and Nolan each scored three goals for Pal-Mac and Hoesterey had a goal and an assist. The Red Raiders advance to play a Section VI team on Saturday in the state quarterfinals at Williamsville-East.

Matthew Brassie led HF-L with two goals and Quinn Kailbourne, Owen Smith and Angelo each had one while Trevor Reese made six saves.

Class D

It’s not that Penn Yan doesn’t expect to win championships. But it doesn’t expect to not to, either.

Even when the Mustangs have a lineup filled with eighth and ninth graders. No excuses, coach Brian Hobart teaches and on Tuesday night, none were needed.

The Mustangs used a late rally to get past No. 1 seed Livonia/Avon by an 8-6 score to incredibly win their 26th Section V boys lacrosse title in the last 27 seasons.

“We lost seven three- of four-year starters (to graduation,” Hobart said. “Our roster was gutted.”

Livonia/Avon (13-6) took a 6-4 lead into the fourth quarter after Derrick Wigley and Shane Malead goals. But after that, the Lakers ran dry.

Bryant VanHousen pulled the Mustangs (12-7) to within one and Carter Earl tied the game at 6-6. Caden Dixon and Teagen Fingar provided the lead and the cushion and from there, Penn Yan withstood the intensity down the stretch.

But the theme for the Penn Yan rally is that the goals came from two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman.

“We knew what we had,” Hobart said of the youth while crediting the work of assistant coaches Harry Queener and Chris Redington. “But we did not lower our expectations. We worked our butts off every single day ... It was a matter of getting them to believe in themselves.”

Goalie Griffin Emerson is one of two seniors on the Penn Yan team and he finished with nine saves. And yes, the Mustangs hit some rough patches early this season but all of that was forgotten on Tuesday.

“We got knocked down but we stood up,” he said. "The hard work we put in goes back to the winter, hitting the weight room ... I was a ball boy for this team in middle school and everyone here knows the expectations. It's a culture."

Fingar, a freshman, led the Mustangs with three goals and an assist to earn game MVP honors, sophomore VanHouse had two goals and two assists and junior Carter Earl also had a pair goals. For the Lakers, Jackson McEnerney and Justin Skelly each scored two goals and Matt Beachel made eight saves.

Penn Yan advances to play a Section VI team in the state quarterfinals on Saturday at Williamsville-East.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Palmyra-Macedon, Penn Yan capture Section V boys lacrosse titles