Special to the Leader

It was a beautiful evening, with bright sunshine and a cool breeze.

And that was where the good news ended last week for the Scarborough boys’ lacrosse team. The Red Storm entered the Western Maine Class A finals for the fourth consecutive year, their third time against the Portland Bulldogs, with hopes of pulling off an upset win, only to have those hopes crushed 14-1 under a Bulldog onslaught.

The Storm played well in the first minutes, forcing Portland into risky passes the Scarborough defense was able to convert into transition opportunities, but the offense was simply unable to penetrate the Bulldog defense.

The Red Storm seemed unwilling to play in its settle offense, where they pass and cut until there are scoring opportunities. Instead, they ended up holding the ball and running with it, which played into the Portland defense’s hands. The Bulldogs continuously stick checked and harassed Scarborough, forcing them to turn the ball over and ending nearly every opportunity without Scarborough even getting a shot on goal.

This of course has been Portland’s game plan all season. Steal the ball, and once in transition, make the most of their opportunities. This they did, with K.R. Jurgelevich scoring four times in the first half, which ended with Portland up 8-0 and the game essentially in hand on their way to a runaway victory.

“They [Portland] are extremely determined,” Scarborough head coach Joe Hezlep said following the game. “They’ve put in a lot of work over the past few years, and this senior class has been a part of it. They’ve got about 20 seniors on their team, and they can all play. You could tell they wanted every single play, and it was usually them coming up with the ball.”

The Scarborough defense played well in the loss, but were simply exhausted from having played too many minutes in their end. A high point in the game however, had to be Ryan Kane’s performance in goal. Kane was peppered with shots all day and made several stops from point blank range. 

Hezlep praised his goalie, saying, “I just told Ryan that without him in goal it could have been 25-1.”  

Hezlep also had kind words for four-year starter Danny Clark, who scored Scarborough’s lone goal in the third quarter off of a pretty pass from Brendan Ham. 

“[Clark] played amazing. He must have played 46 of 48 minutes and he was all over the field. He really capped off a great career with a gutsy performance today,” Hezlep said.

This was a bitter pill for Scarborough, but it was evident as the season wore on that there was something missing when it came time to play the top few teams in the state. The Storm had a great season, ending with an 11-4 record. However, without a trip to the states, they will undoubtedly look for more in the future. Hezlep sees another situation next year where he will need underclassmen to make a difference. 

“We look for our younger guys to step up next year. Like last year, we’ve got a lot of seniors graduating and a lot of the guys who stepped up for us this year will have to do it again next year.”

Portland played Brunswick High School in last weeks state Class A championship and won its first ever state title, defeating the Dragons 9-3.