It's only fitting that on the day of the Preakness, the River Hill boys lacrosse team rode its horse to the 3A/2A state championship game on May 16.
That so-called horse – Jake Friedman – scored three of his four goals in a stretch where the Hawks turned a 7-6 deficit into an 11-7 lead midway through the third quarter en route to a 16-12 victory over Middletown in a state semifinal game at Annapolis High School.
"We felt we had a really good matchup with Jake on there, and we took advantage of it," said River Hill coach Keith Gonsouland. "Feed your horse. We rode our horse today. He's a little small – he looks like a pony – but he's a horse. He proved that today."
"We knew we could do this. We tell everybody at our school that we could do it all the time," said River Hill senior attackman Jimmy McEneaney, who had a hat-trick. "They didn't really believe us, but now we're here. We put our money where our mouth is."
Neither team could pull away in the first half as McEneaney scored the game's first two goals, only to see Middletown answer with two of its own.
Junior Danny Isaac scored one and freshman Brendan McKenna netted two to give the Hawks a 5-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but again the Knights tied it up.
Beard tallied his first of two goals before the break, and the Hawks took a 6-5 lead into the second half.
The beginning of the second half, though, River Hill (12-4) could sense Middletown (11-5) wearing down under the sun, and the dynamic offense looked to take advantage of it in the final 24 minutes.
"A big thing was our conditioning. We're just a more athletic team and more conditioned," said goalie Darius Khademi, who finished with six saves. "We run all the time for these moments."
Still, Middletown came out strong in the third quarter, scoring the first two goals to take its only lead of the game, 7-6.
"I think we got a little case of nerves, especially from our seniors. They were pushing a little bit, trying to make stuff happen," Gonsouland said.
Soon after though, River Hill – led by the "two-headed monster" of senior Matt Jun and sophomore Derek Isaac – started dominating face-offs just in time to start its run. The duo combined to win eight of 11 draws in the third quarter, and 20 of 32 in the contest.
"Coach keeps telling us that it's all about runs, that there's going to be runs left and right," McEneaney said. "It's just whoever gets more, and we took that second half run. We wanted it more."
Senior Brady Brunett, not a notorious goal-scorer for the Hawks, tied the game with 7:33 to go in the third, then Friedman scored two less than a minute apart to extend the lead to 9-7.
Beard added another with 4:40 on the clock, then Friedman got his third during the stretch 38 seconds later to put River Hill on top, 11-7.
Middletown battled back and scored two in a row, but McEneaney quickly ended the run with his third goal with less than a minute to go in the high-scoring period.
Three different players scored the Hawks final four goals, and the Knights never seriously posed a threat the rest of the way.
"We came out and played as a team today. It was hot, people were tired, but we pulled it out," Khademi said. "I'm really proud of my team."
"Their offense is just really good. They're just a really good, solid team offense," said Middletown coach Ty Crompton, who admitted his team tired out in the later stages of the game. "They have some really good shooters, but they play like a really great team-style offense, which is nice to see."
The victory, the ninth in a row for River Hill, is a culmination of a group of seniors that have battled through several losing seasons. Gonsouland said the dedication to the sport and the ability to battle through the tough losses has put his team in the position they are in now – one win away from putting a state championship banner in the decorated River Hill gym.
"It's awesome. I'm speechless. What it means for our seniors – you don't understand. These guys were on a mission from day one. I know it sounds so cliché, but from day one, our senior leaders – Kelly (Remson), (Brian) Decker, Zach Beard," Gonsouland said. "I knew we had something special when I didn't have to say anything. When I can sit back and I see the seniors take the reigns. I knew we could get here this year, and I know we have what it takes to win this thing."
Still, Gonsouland knows his team will need to clean up some things for the state championship game on Tuesday or Wednesday at Stevenson University in order to beat a Kent Island team that battled Howard tight in a scrimmage two weeks ago.
"We've got to clean up the turnovers. Way too many turnovers. We're not going to beat Kent Island turning the ball over like that, they're too good and too athletic," he said. "We just need to go out and play lacrosse. It's our last game together, and we're going to have fun."
River Hill 16, Middletown 12
Goals: RH – Jake Friedman 4, Jimmy McEneaney 3, Danny Isaac 3, Brendan McKenna 2, Zach Beard 2, Brady Burnett 1, Brian Decker 1
Assists: RH – Friedman 2, Beard 1, Burnett 1, McEneaney 1
Saves: RH – Darius Khademi 6
Halftime: 6-5, River Hill