FALMOUTH — Wyatt Kerr admits he hasn’t gotten over the 2019 Class A boys’ lacrosse state final.
Tuesday, after a nearly two-year wait, he and his Falmouth teammates had a chance to finally do something about it when the Yachtsmen hosted Thornton Academy, which beat them in overtime in that game to repeat as champions.
Kerr scored four goals and Falmouth got a measure of revenge, holding off a late rally to beat the Golden Trojans, 9-8.
“It definitely feels great because I’ve had (the runner-up) medal in my bedroom for two years,” said Kerr, a senior, who as a sophomore had a goal and an assist in the state game. “This team is completely different, but we’ve come together and it feels great to win as a part of this group.”
The Yachtsmen (3-0) fell behind 3-0 as Ronan Flynn scored twice and Caleb Pelletier added another for Thornton Academy. Falmouth drew even before the end of the first on goals by Kerr, Jonah Eng and Satchel Kaplan.
The Golden Trojans went back on top on an unassisted goal by John Elliopulos, but Kaplan set up Kazden Berry for the tying goal and the game was deadlocked at halftime, 4-4.
Falmouth took the lead for the first time on a Kerr goal, but Elliopulos tied it again.
With 8:23 left in the third quarter, the Yachtsmen went on top to stay as Berry scored from Kaplan and Kaplan (five assists) set up Kerr for two more goals for an 8-5 lead.
“We started adjusting to their pressure and changed up our offensive set and found our stride,” said Kerr.
Thornton Academy got back within two heading for the fourth quarter as Alexander St. John scored with 25 seconds left, then Elliopulos scored his third goal 15 seconds into the fourth to cut the deficit to 8-7.
But Falmouth refused to buckle and got a pivotal insurance goal from Jay Thomas with 2:58 to play.
That loomed large, as with 10 seconds to go, Ethan LeBlanc pulled the Golden Trojans within a goal.
Thornton Academy won the ensuing faceoff and looked to send the game into overtime, but the ball got loose, Yachtsmen defenseman Jake Rand pounced on it and Falmouth was able to celebrate its victory.
“I just thought about whipping the ball down the field and when I heard the horn, I felt so happy and proud,” said Rand, who is playing in his first varsity season.
“We’ve talked all week about there being no big games, just the next game,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Barton. “We had a handful of guys left over from 2019 and as competitors, we were chomping at the bit to play a good team like this. I love how this group competes.”
Thornton Academy fell to 1-2, but Coach Ryan Hersey said he was very pleased with his team’s progress.
“I feel like we played a lot better than we did when we lost to Scarborough the other day,” Hersey said. “I told the kids to keep their heads up and we get to see (Falmouth) again in a couple weeks and we’ll see our growth.”
The teams meet again May 11 in Saco.
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