Wahconah Earns Dominant Win at Lenox
LENOX, Mass. – A matchup of two Western Mass finalists from a year ago was not the battle some Berkshire County boys lacrosse fans might have hoped for.
It was, however, an impressive showing for Wahconah, which got six goals apiece from Rylan Padelford and Sawyer Padelford in a 24-5 win over Lenox on Thursday night.
Devin Lagerwall scored five times, and Jonathan Howard keyed the offense with a hat trick and nine assists as last year’s Western Mass Class B runners-up improved to 11-5 this spring.
Reigning Class C Champion Lenox (10-5) entered Thursday’s game without a few of its starters. But Wahconah established right from the start that it was not looking past the Millionaires.
Zachary Flaherty scored a man-down goal in the second minute of the game, and Wahconah took control with five-goal run in just 1 minute, 25 seconds midway through the first quarter to open up an 8-0 lead when Rylan Padelford scored his second goal of the night.
Wahconah finished the quarter with three more goals before Finn Lenehan got on the board for Lenox with nine seconds left in the quarter to make it an 11-1 margin after 12 minutes of play.
“A lot of respect to the team over there,” Wahconah coach Matt Fisher said. “They played hard, even though they were down some players.
“We came in here expecting a dog fight. They play hard. They play fast. It’s always fun playing a Berkshire County team, also. I’m proud of my guys for fighting. No matter what the score was, they stayed respectful and played our game.”
Wahconah’s Howard scored unassisted and set up Sawyer Padelford in the first two minutes of the second quarter, and the visitors went on to a seven-goal run to lead, 18-2, before Bronly Boyd scored for Lenox in the last minute of the half.
It was a 20-2 lead at half-time, allowing the last two quarters to be played under running time.
Lenox’s best quarter came in the fourth, when Kitson Stover found the back of the net twice, and the Millionaires earned a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
“It was a tough one,” Lenox coach Brett Larmon said. ‘But now on to McCann, and we’ll see what we can do next time. In the scheme of things, this [loss] means nothing. They’re not in our division. It’s crazy we even play some of these teams.
“But I was proud of the kids. They never gave up. We’re a young program. Year three. And [Wahconah has] been on top of the hill for 10 years.”
Lenox plays at McCann Tech on Saturday before finishing the regular season at home against Chicopee Comprehensive next Wednesday.
Wahconah finishes its regular season at home with Senior Night in Dalton against Hoosac Valley on Friday.
“I’m excited for tomorrow,” Fisher said. “We’re going to ball out for these seniors. They’re good leaders on the field, off the field.
“We’re expecting a dogfight from Hoosac Valley also. We’ll definitely be prepared.”