Fast start helps St. John's Prep hammer BC High to capture Catholic Conference playoff title

Jun. 15—DANVERS — The first shot that the St. John's Prep lacrosse team attempted Monday afternoon wound up in the back of the BC High net.

So did the second. And the third. In a persistent rain.

After the first quarter, the Eagles had scored five unanswered goals. Less than 15 minutes in, they had equaled the same number of goals (7) they had managed in their only loss of the season, coming 10 days earlier.

In what has been a dominant season to date, St. John's Prep put forth its most dominant performance in the Catholic Conference championship game by dismantling one of the state's best teams, BC High, with a 14-4 victory.

"Jumping ahead early like we did, it was a bit tough to keep our composure after such a great start and not get ahead of ourselves," said senior Drew Fietze, a defensive midfielder who was named the Prep's Player of the Game. "We were able to do so, though, and focus on what needed to be done."

There was never any doubt in this one as St. John's Prep (now 13-1) scored early and often while playing lockdown defense and controlled the faceoff circle, thus constantly gaining possession and setting up shop in the offensive end.

Seven different players found the back of the BC net, including four goals from junior attack Tommy Sarni (plus an assist) and three apiece from senior attack Luke Surette and junior middie Charlie Wilmot.

Was head coach John Pynchon surprised at the margin of victory his Eagles won by?

"No ... well, yes in that we played really well," he said. "But I felt confident our guys were primed to perform today. We came out and executed ... I gave them four things to work on and execute, and they did that right off the bat."

What were those four items to check off? Composure, execution, better ground ball play on the faceoff wings, and having more fun.

"I think we did all four of those things," said Pynchon.

It was 8-0 before the visitors from Dorchester scored with 1:20 to go until halftime, connecting on a two-man advantage. The league co-champions had three goals apiece in the third quarter before St. John's Prep iced it with three unanswered snipes over the final 12 minutes of play.

"We came in wanting to fire back at them after that loss down at their place," said senior defenseman and Marblehead native Emmett Schillinger. "We came out practiced our core values on the field and executed. That means on and off the field, being the best you and everything that goes into that. Then the 'you' becomes the team."

As well as the winners played offensively, pushing transition, playing unsettled and cashing in on possessions with patience, their defense was just as strong. Kaden Quirk stopped a half-dozen shots in the three quarters he played (Mitchell Hodgson denied the only shot he faced in the 4th quarter) behind a defense that included terrific performances from captain Michael Ayers, junior Connor Kelly, Sean O'Brian, birthday boy Grady McGowan and Fietze, among others.

Fietze rang a shot off the BC High post that was scooped by sophomore attack Jimmy Ayers (goal, 3 assists) for the goal. While Fietze technically wasn't credited with an assist, his teammates were all fist bumping him as he came to the sidelines as if he did.

"Jimmy gets the stat, but Drew made it happen with that transition play," said Pynchon.

"The team is great recognizing plays like that," added Fietze. "Every guy on this team treats each other equally and realizes we all matter in the overall success of the team."

BC High (now 10-3), a South Shore powerhouse with a stellar goaltender in Jamie Horton, a strong faceoff man in Joe Larosa, and snipers such as Syracuse-bound middie Carter Rice. But they had a difficult time slowing down the Prep once the home team got rolling.

"Last game against them we had a lot of good possessions that didn't end up with good finishes, and (Horton) made a ton of great saves," said Pynchon. "Today we scored on our first three shots, which is super important against a great goalie. When Charlie Danis made a run down the sideline and scored our third goal, it was like, 'OK, let's go We got this'."

Tyee Ambrosh had a goal and two assists for St. John's while captain Michael Kelly (goal, assist), Danis and captain Pat Atkins (2 assists) also got on the scoresheet. The Eagles also won nine of the first half's 11 faceoffs as Graham Tyson finished 7-for-11 and Owen Umansky was 5-for-8.

BC High's goals came from Rice, Mike Ryan, Tim Rodgers and Louis Timmons.

"I'm really proud of the way we mentally prepared over the last week. This was a great week to end a bizarre regular season," said Pynchon, whose team now awaits Wednesday's postseason pairings. "We executed in all three facets, and to do it in a pressure situation, I'd say this was our best performance."