‘Played as a team.’ Lexington Catholic boys repeat as Commonwealth Lacrosse League champs.

Jonah Brooking’s goal with 6:51 remaining in the first quarter of Saturday’s Commonwealth Lacrosse League title match gave Henry Clay a 2-1 lead over defending champion and top seed Lexington Catholic.

The Blue Devils were unable to score another goal until just 4:22 remained in the fourth quarter.

Lexington Catholic’s defensive dominance in between cleared the way for a 13-3 victory and the Knights’ second consecutive CLL championship.

“It’s awesome going back-to-back,” MVP Wyatt Miniard said. “Two years in a row. We were down at first, you know, a little nervous. We got the nerves out and played as a team like we always do and got the dub.”

Three goals by JC Sanders and two apiece from from Chas Boden, Nolan Kelly, Benji Reynolds and Ryan Stachon provided the offensive punch Lexington Catholic needed to overcome an impressive effort from Henry Clay goalie Aiden Smith.

For the host Knights, Saturday presented an opportunity to rewrite the end of the 2019 season, when the Blue Devils took down Lexington Catholic 14-6.

“The attitude was to get the revenge back,” LexCath Coach Dan Dunn said. “We said — this year and last year — just put your foot on the gas, and until the clock hit zero don’t take your foot off.”

But the real difference maker? The Knights’ defense.

“They (the defense) have been super consistent the whole year,” Dunn said. “Outside of two games, no one’s put more than 10 goals on us. So we knew if we could just get to 10, we probably had a good shot to win it.”

The games in which the Knights conceded more than 10 goals resulted in two of their three losses on the year. Both came in non-district matchups against Louisville powers: a 12-4 loss to St. Xavier in March and a 19-5 loss to Trinity at the start of May.

LexCath’s loss to Trinity was the Knights’ final game before the start of the CLL playoffs. And the Knights’ path through the CLL playoffs can be summed up in one word: dominance.

A 19-0 rout versus 30th-ranked Paul Laurence Dunbar in the second round. A 14-1 victory over No. 12 Bowling Green in the quarterfinals. A 14-0 shutout against No. 10 Woodford County in the semis. Henry Clay fought its way to the finals with overwhelming wins over No. 35 St. Henry and No. 21 Ryle in the opening rounds, followed by single-point victories over No. 6 Walton-Verona and No. 13 Sayre.

In Miniard’s eyes, not only is Lexington Catholic’s defense incomparable, it connects the entire team.

“Man, our defensive group?” Miniard said. “Probably the best in the state. Got a bunch of juniors, a couple seniors out there starting. They’ve been playing forever, and a big unit, you know, made big plays, big hits all the time. It’s great to practice against, always bring energy, and they’re great.”

At the heart of it all stands senior goalie Ben Pund, last year’s MVP. Per Miniard, Pund is “the stone of (the) defense. One big wall.”

The coach’s take? Pund did as he typically does.

“He did what he does all year, and his whole career,” Dunn said. “For my money, he’s the best goalie in the state, so all he had to do is show up and play like he normally does and I thought we’d be in good shape.”

Good shape, indeed. The boys’ team joins the Knights girls — who defeated Sayre 11-10 in a double-overtime classic last weekend — as CLL champions, firmly cementing Lexington Catholic as the best lacrosse Central Kentucky has to offer.