Warriors lock down on Sabres

EASTON — It may have been the best defensive effort Easton High’s boys lacrosse team delivered all season.

And it came against one of its biggest rivals — Saints Peter and Paul.

“The whole entire defense, we just worked together,” Warrior senior defenseman Branton Todd said. “Consistent pressure. Communication. That’s what really did it for us.”

That combination certainly worked on a cold and soggy Saturday afternoon, as the Warriors defeated the Sabres, 6-2, in the annual Talbot Lacrosse Association Bull Roast, ending Sts. Peter & Paul’s nine-game win streak.

“Probably the best all year,” Easton head coach Dennis Keenan said of his defense which held the Sabres (12-4) to their lowest goal output of the season. “They kept their composure. We were worried about the slick field and keeping their feet. Peter and Paul does a great job on offense, moving and cutting. We heard JJ (Rardin) was out. He’s a big part of their offense. And they were missing a few other guys. But the defense played great.”

Sts. Peter & Paul, which had averaged 12.6 goals a game during its nine-game win streak, was held scoreless in the first half, and finally got on the board with 1:31 left in the third quarter, when Evan Dundon put one past Warrior goalie Jack Kilbourne (10 saves).

“I think not having JJ, I think a couple of the kids were like ‘Uh, oh,’” Sabres head coach Todd Wolters said. “But we didn’t catch and throw. We didn’t do the little things. We were standing still, wanting to go one on one.”

JJ Rardin’s older brother, Tyler, gave Easton a 1-0 lead 3:35 into the game when he took a Blake Royer pass and unloaded a sinker past Sabres goalie Hank Wolters, who made five of his 10 saves in the opening period.

Tyler Rardin then won the opening faceoff of the second quarter, moved the ball downfield before sticking a dart in the upper left corner for a 2-0 Warrior lead.

Easton carried that 2-0 lead into halftime, with Kilbourne finishing with four first-half saves.

The Warriors cushioned their lead in the third quarter, starting with Hudson Royer dishing to younger brother Blake, who ripped a left-handed shot in with 7:37 to go in the period. Drew Schmidt scored from right wing at the 3:54 mark of the third. Just 17 seconds later, Schmidt set up Blake Royer’s second goal for a 5-0 lead.

“I’ve give them all the credit in the world,” Wolters said of Easton. “I love those kids. They’re fantastic. Six-on-six they can’t beat us. It’s not catching it in our stick; dropping it. Giving them unsettled situations. And in unsettled situations they move the ball well. And that’s where they got us.”

Dundon’s goal made it 5-1. Sts. Peter & Paul had a chance to trim that deficit further when Kilbourne drew a delay-of-game penalty late in the third quarter. But the Warriors killed off the extra-man opportunity, then raced downfield, where Hudson Royer unloaded a crank from the right side for a 6-1 lead with 11 seconds left in the third.

Easton controlled possession the majority of the fourth quarter, patiently working the ball around the perimeter for taking open shots.

“Offensively we were moving the ball,” Keenan said. “Very unselfish. We were looking for the best shot instead of just trying to score. I think we had a little problem with that the other night (during a 14-11 win over Queen Anne’s County). We got up a couple of goals and guys started trying to get theirs. But I think today everybody was looking for the best shot.”

Sts. Peter and Paul made it 6-2 with 9:50 left in the game when Noah Zimmerman set up Liam Durnbaugh’s goal.

But Kilbourne and his defense let nothing else get past on the way to their third straight win.

“We just played lockdown defense,” Easton junior defenseman Eddie Whelan said. “I knew number one (Durnbaugh) was all left so I just sat on that. We were just a lot more focused.”