EXETER - The team's fans share their terrible towels with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And share their post-score "Sieve!" chant with crowds across Hockey East.

But the Bow High boys' lacrosse team doesn't need to share the title of Division II's best with anybody.

It's a title they'll own for the second straight year after last night's 15-8 triumph over No. 3 Dover in the state final, as the Falcons finished another near-flawless season with a brilliant effort that left no doubt the heaviest hardware was aboard the appropriate bus as the teams pulled away from Bill Ball Stadium.

"We definitely played a great game," senior Sean Dippold said. "We didn't play a perfect game, but we definitely made it clear that we're the better team. We played a great game."

Behind six goals from Alex Davies, three more from Dippold, and five assists - to go with a hat trick of his own scores - from Christian Calkins, the top-seeded Falcons (15-1) were in total command the entire night, constantly speedier, more skillful and even stronger than the notoriously physical Green Wave (14-4).

They were crisp and they were crunching, pretty with their passes and pounding with their checks. They were quick and they were calculating, first to most ground balls and fine-tuned in their offensive execution. They were consistent and they were clutch, tremendous throughout and even better when tested.

In short, they were completely worthy of being crowned back-to-back champions.

"Steve said to me at the end, 'This is a special group,' " Falcon Coach Chris Gaudreau relayed, referring to his brother and co-coach Steve Gaudreau. "I don't remember exactly what he said, but he said this might be the best group we've had."

Dover came out fast, turning the game's first possession into a Max Rewucki goal just half a minute into the opening period, but Bow responded quickly - with Greg Bueddeman's strike just 39 seconds later - and the Green Wave would never taste the lead again.

With goals from Kyle Tracy, Alex Davies and Sean Dippold, the Falcons stretched their edge to 4-1 after the first, then Davies sandwiched two more strikes between goals from foe Dylan Erickson and friend Calkins to expand the lead to 7-2 about eight minutes into the second.

Dover made a mini-run at that point, getting goals from Rewucki and Tyler Long to slice the deficit back to three - but Bow responded with a backbreaker before intermission. Just as the half was about to expire, Calkins unloaded a wormburner from almost 30 yards out and not only beat the goalie, but beat the buzzer by a fraction of a second, and sent his team to the break ahead, 8-4.

"They just came out and played a heck of a game. The kids made plays," said Chris Gaudreau, whose coaching staff guarded against overconfidence by reminding its team that Dover had used an energetic run to come back for a semifinal win, and urged the Falcons to focus on winning the smaller segments instead of simply on winning the championship.

"Dover plays on runs and momentum, if they come out and get the first goal, that could lead to three or four in a row. We just talked about ignoring the scoreboard and winning quarters."

They did that. They owned the third by a count of 3-1 -thanks largely to David Bucchino, the senior goalie who made 10 of his 16 saves in that quarter - and then took the fourth, 4-3, as the offense never stopped clicking. Davies scored three times in the second half, and Dippold netted a pair, while both Bueddeman and Calkins found the cage, as well, to open the lead to eight as the clock ticked past the midway mark of the fourth quarter.

By then, the festivities were simply waiting to erupt. And when they did, sticks, gloves and helmets sailed skyward all around a giant pile of golden humanity that eventually gathered for photos in front of a scoreboard. Posing there, they began to sing in unison - "Just a friend," by Biz Markie - providing a sweet moment of insider celebration that required no explanation. As the best of the best, the champs didn't need to share the song's meaning. Or anything else, for that matter.

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