Deacon Blue wasn’t panicking. His team was losing games – decisively – but the Hopkinton boys’ lacrosse coach knew the first couple of weeks weren’t burying his team.
The Hawks were just learning lessons during that unusual April – lessons necessary to ensure May and June would look just the way they always have.
The lessons were front and center Monday afternoon, as an efficient Hawks team used a fast start to put away Coe-Brown in a 10-2 victory, their third in four games.
“Today’s game gave us a chance to execute a lot of the things we’ve been working on in practice and other games,” said Blue, whose squad was led by four goals by Joe Cullinan and improved to 5-4. “The guys really responded.”
Those other games referred largely to the first five games of the season, a brutal slate that put the Hawks against Division III contenders Laconia, Pelham and Monadnock.
It did not go well. The Hawks lost, 8-3, to the Sachems, then 15-8 to the Pyhtons (who beat them in the semifinals last year) and 9-3 to Monadnock, putting the annual playoff regulars at 2-3.
They were frustrated. But as Blue pointed out, they were far from discouraged.
“I think it was partly a symptom of retooling our team early on in the season,” he said. “We just hadn’t found our rhythm. … I think the team showed great character through that adversity, getting those early losses.”
Making it easier was the notion that the Hawks were getting some instruction on the job as to how they would have to play to go back to competing with the league’s best teams.
“I think it does connect to our early season,” Blue said of the team’s rebound. “We had a chance to play the tougher teams in our division for that early string, and though it was a challenging stretch, it showed us our strengths and weaknesses.”
Those weaknesses revolved around ball control, getting stops on defense and creating offense through team movement rather than individual play, and by fast-forwarding a couple of weeks, it’s been easy to see those concepts at work.
They certainly were Monday. Hopkinton raced out to a 4-0 lead and 8-1 advantage at halftime, using a polished transition game to catch the Bears (2-4) off-guard and generate an abundance of chances to take control of the game.
“I think the guys have developed a good field sense, and that helped with our transition game,” Blue said. “We were able to push the ball really quickly and get a few goals out of that.”
Cullinan had the four goals and two assists, while Owen Kanter had two goals and one assist and Bowman Ridinger had two goals and five ground balls. Gerry Donahue had five ground balls and generated four takeaways, Jake Hemmerlein had four ground balls and generated three takeaways and Derek Amoth had 16 saves.
“He’s got a real knack for shooting and for dodging. And he’s really come along as a leader,” Blue said of Cullinan, while also pointing out the play of fellow forwards Kanter and Sam Schuster. “Our whole attack has been the focus of our offense.”
Ben Watson scored both goals, one off of a Ryan Whitcher assist, and Jacob Switzer had 20 saves for Coe-Brown, which had to adjust for the loss of top faceoff man Gage Desrosiers, who was shelved along with his 74 percent rate in the circle after breaking his arm Friday against ConVal.
“The sad thing is he’s a senior and his career is about done,” Coach Ryan Hanavan said. “(But) he didn’t put his head down. He came back to practice with a cast on his arm and started coaching. … If there’s a bright side, it’s that.”
Here’s another: how the Bears played in the face of losing such a key player.
“We had a bunch of adversity to overcome, and I’m really proud of the way guys are coming together,” Hanavan said.
The game was a contrast in team establishment; Hopkinton has been a fixture in the Division III scene, while Coe-Brown is in its second year as a program.
The Bears have become a far more competitive team in their sophomore season, however, and today’s score didn’t take away from Hanavan’s conviction that his team made progress in defeat that will pay off later – much like Blue’s Hawks did in April.
“This team knows exactly what they need to do to get on the level of these teams they’re playing,” Hanavan said. “They’re tightening the gap. It’s nice to see that.”
Count the coach on the other sideline among the believers.
“Coe-Brown is becoming a force in Division III,” Blue said. “We will certainly be watching out for them in the future.”
(Drew Bonifant can be reached at 369-3340, abonifant@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @dbonifant).
From coaches’ reports
Kearsarge 14,
Merrimack Valley 13, OT
Key players: Kearsarge – Justin Norris (7 goals, 3 assists), Tate Nurme (3 goals, 2 assists), Lucas Muzzey (2 goals, 4 assists), Colton Wilhelm (2 goals, 2 assists)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars battled back after trailing 7-1 at the end of the first quarter. MV led 9-5 at halftime, then Kearsarge led 11-10 at the end of third before the Pride forced it to overtime. Norris scored the game-winner 53 seconds into overtime.
Coach’s quote: “I am extremely proud of the way we battled out of an early hole. The kids just kept believing in each other and focusing on the next play. These are the kind of games that good teams find a way to win and we did that today.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Kearsarge 7-2; MV 3-4
Pinkerton 7, Concord 5
Key players: Concord – Griffin Gilbert (3 hits, RBI), Ethan Dupre (3 hits, RBI), Christian McClellan (2 hits), Jared Grondin (pitched well).
Highlights/key moments: Concord was down 6-3 but with the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the sixth. The rally fell short, however, and the Astros held off the Crimson Tide in the seventh.
Coach’s quote: “We gave away a few runs defensively and on the bases, but battled hard the whole game. We need to keep battling and come up with a few more clutch hits and we will be alright.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 4-7; Pinkerton 7-5
John Stark 6,
Hollis-Brookline 1
Key players: John Stark – Egan Nickerson (7 IP, no earned runs, 4 hits, 8 K, 2 BB; 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 runs, 2 SB), Jeremy Aubin (2-for-3, 2 RBI, SB) Wesley Lamphere (2-for-3, RBI, SB), Leif Mailloux (1-for-3, 3 SB, run)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals opened the game by scoring two runs in the first inning on three hits and three stolen bases. Stark also plated two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. The Generals’ base runners went 8-for-8 stealing.
Coach’s quote: “Some key hits again today, with another great outing from Egan. We stayed aggressive offensively. We have no games the rest of the week, so we will be challenged to stay fresh and on our game at practice.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 8-2; H-B 2-8
Coe-Brown 8, Pembroke 6
Key players: Pembroke – James Fisher (2 hits, double, 2 RBI), AJ Gagnon (2-run double, run), Justin Legere (hit, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Pembroke had leads of 4-1 after three innings and 6-3 after five, but the Bears plated five runs in the seventh and final inning to steal away the victory.
Records: Pembroke 1-9; Coe-Brown 8-3
Portsmouth 12, Merrimack Valley 0
Key players: MV – Brian Nylen (hit), Cole Laliberte (hit)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride offense struggled in its fifth straight loss.
Records: MV 2-8; Portsmouth 9-1
Bow 13, Hillsboro-Deering 0
Key players: Bow – Ben Guertin (2-for-2, 3 RBI); Hillsboro-Deering – Tom Ferguson (hit)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons buried the Hillcats with an eight-run first inning and five-run second.
Records: Bow 6-2; Hillsboro-Deering 0-9
Belmont 17, Inter-Lakes 1
Key players: Belmont – Corey Derosier (7 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 8 K, 0 ER; 3-for-4, 2 2B, BB, SB, 4 RBI, 3 runs), Josh Guptill (3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, run), Caleb Drouin (2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, run), Doug Price (3-for-5, 2 runs, SB)
Highlights/key moments: Ten players had hits and seven had multi-hit games for the Red Raiders, who put the game away with a 12-run seventh. Griffin Embree picked up his first varsity hit in the fifth.
Records: Belmont 9-1; Inter-Lakes 4-6
Winnisquam 3,
Prospect Mountain 1
Key players: Winnisquam – Tim Harmon (7 IP, 9 K, 2 hits, unearned run, BB; 2-for-3, two-run double) Jack Decormier (2-for-3, run), Hunter Tierney (first base), Bryce Corey (called a great game)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears scored three runs in the first inning and the pitching and defense took over from there.
Coach’s quote: “That’s the second straight complete game for Timmy and second straight two-hitter. He pitched ahead the entire game and his splitter was awesome. When he’s on like that, he can shut down anybody.” – Winnisquam’s Fred Caruso
Records: Winnisquam 4-5; Prospect Mountain 6-3
Conant 7, Hopkinton 2
Key players: Hopkinton – Dave Nelson (5 IP, 6 K, 7 hits; RBI double), Josh Angell (IP, K, 0 BB; RBI single)
Highlights/key moments: The Orioles scored two runs in the third and three in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead before the Hawks got on the board with a Nelson RBI double in the sixth and an Angell RBI single in the seventh.
Coach’s quote: “It was a decent game. It wasn’t an error-filled game. Both teams pitched pretty well. Conant combined hits when they needed to. We just couldn’t string anything together.” – Hopkinton’s Dave Chase
Records: Hopkinton 4-5; Conant 8-1
Campbell 20,
Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Bishop Brady – Tom Blandini (RBI double), Ian MacDonald (RBI single), Spencer Fleming (RBI single)
Highlights/key moments: The Green Giants suffered a loss at the hands of first place Campbell.
Coach’s quote: “Obviously to say it wasn’t our day is an understatement. (Campbell is) the best team in the state for a reason but we didn’t do anything well today.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Brady 4-5; Campbell 8-0
Concord 9, Memorial 0
Key players: Concord – Justin Toler (win at No. 1), Aidan Connor (win at No. 2), Adam Bryant (win at No. 3), Sebastian Hart-Meyer (win at No. 4), Matt Chorlian (win at No. 5), Kevin Neary (win at No. 6), Hart-Meyer/Chorlian (win at No. 1), Bryant/Neary (win at No. 2), Eli Frydman/Chris Ciolfi (win at No. 3)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide won seven matches 8-0 and Chorlian and the doubles team of Bryant and Neary only dropped one game each, to give Concord a decisive victory over the Crusaders. Ciolfi recorded his first varsity win.
Coach’s quote: “Our last four matches are all against playoff teams so we will need to be ready for the challenge.” – Concord’s Dave Page
Records: Concord 9-1; Memorial 0-10
Coe-Brown 9, Trinity 0
Key players: Brian Gordon (8-1 win), Gareth Owen (8-0 win), Jared Carlson (8-3 win), Tom Mellor (8-0 win), Nate Griffiths (8-0 win), Tyler Holman (8-0 win), Nick Sanderson/Don McCallum (8-6 win), Donovan Corliss/Max Fontaine (8-5 win), Todd Helman/Mason Labello (8-0 win)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears had no trouble accomplishing their eighth victory of the year.
Records: Coe-Brown 8-2; Trinity 0-9
Oyster River 8, Bishop Brady 1
Key players: Sam Olson (8-2 win at No. 4 singles), Harry Nha (played well at No. 6 singles)
Highlights/key moments: Bishop Brady played several matches tough, but couldn’t match up with the undefeated Bobcats.
Records: Bishop Brady 2-6; Oyster River 9-0
Bow 9, Sanborn 0
Bow 9, Sanborn 0
Key players: Bow – Brayden Binder (8-3, 8-2 wins), Mike Mullen (8-2, 8-4 wins), Evan Alfano (8-0, 8-1 wins), Aditya Shah (8-0, 8-3 wins), Owen Molind (8-0, 8-0 wins), Jack Olson (8-1, 8-5 wins), Molind/Olson (8-2 win), Binder/Alfano (8-5 win), Francesco Scali/Zach Mullen (8-0, 8-5 wins), Shane Wunderli/Hayden Udelson (8-5, 8-2 wins)
Highlights/key moments: The Falcons easily got past the Indians in a doubleheader on the road.
Records: Bow 8-1; Sanborn 3-7
Kearsarge 5, Wilton-Lyndeborough 1
Kearsarge 7, Wilton-Lyndeborough 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Jack Van Etten (2 wins at No. 2), Charlie O’Connor (2 wins at No. 3), Matt Hubley (win at No 4), Sam Williamson (win at No. 5), Jeff Wallace (win at No. 4), Sam Shields (win at No. 5 in varsity debut), Sam Bourcier/Williamson (8-2 win at No. 2 doubles)
Highlights/key moments: The Cougars took advantage of a default against the undermanned Warriors in the first match (played to decision) and two defaults in the second.
Coach’s quote: “Van Etten stood out, especially in his doubles play. O’Connor played much steadier today.” – Kearsarge’s Lynn Miller
Records: Kearsarge 8-2; W-L 2-7
Volleyball
Londonderry 3, John Stark 1
Key players: John Stark – Aedan McCarron (15 kills)
Highlights/key moments: Stark came out flat to lose the first sets, 25-22 and 25-15. The Generals won the third, 25-14, but couldn’t hold off the Lancers in the fourth and final set, 25-16.
Coach’s quote: “This wasn’t one of our best efforts. We made some uncharacteristic mistakes and Londonderry took advantage with a combination of hitting and well-placed dumps. The boys work hard and are committed so I’m sure we’ll get back on track as we enter the final stretch of the season.” – John Stark’s Dave Simeone
Records: John Stark 5-5; Londonderry 5-5