The 2016 season has been full of milestones for Hammond boys lacrosse.
The Golden Bears first ended a 35-game losing streak that dated back to 2013 with a 14-3 victory over Edgewood on April 4, and now they have put an end to an even longer streak – one that has spanned four seasons.
By defeating visiting Long Reach, 18-2, in its regular-season finale under the rain Friday night, Hammond conquered its first county opponent since beating the Lightning in 2012. The Golden Bears also knocked off Oakland Mills that season but failed to win a league game in any of the next three full seasons.
"It's good to get that monkey off of our back," said Hammond coach Chris Reagle. "This year is kind of the one where we hadn't won a game in a couple of years and we broke that, and now we have three and we haven't won three games since 2007 or 2008. So this is the most in almost a decade. It feels good and we have a good group of guys.
"It was good to see them get a win, especially on senior night. For some of these guys it's the last time on this field and to walk away with a victory, and a county victory at that, it really means something special."
Though the program recognized eight seniors in a pregame ceremony, it was a junior who stole the show. Brendan Smith netted six goals and totaled eight points for the Golden Bears, who scored the final 14 goals of the contest after leading 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Senior Joel Thomas pitched in four goals and an assist and sophomore Nick Pekins added a hat trick and a helper.
"Brendan has been hurt all year. I think he's only played three full games, and every single game he's had three goals or more. He's just a special player," Reagle said. "Nick Pekins is only a sophomore and Joel is one of those kids who has put a lot into the program. He's a phenomenal player."
Hammond put the game out of reach with a dominating second quarter. It won all six face-offs and fired 17 shots in the period, and buried six goals in a span of six minutes to build a 10-2 advantage at the half. It's the first time the program has scored double-digit goals against a league opponent since a 17-10 loss to Long Reach on May 3, 2013.
The Golden Bears didn't slow things down in the third quarter and they outscored the Lightning 5-0. Thomas' third goal with 2 minutes, 52 seconds left in the quarter forced a running clock and Reagle noted it's been quite some time since his team was the right side of that.
"It's been a long time," he said with a smile. "The Edgewood game we won by 11, but no running clock. It's been a while."
Hammond scored the final three goals of the game to create the final 18-2 margin.
Though the Lightning never really seemed to put much offense together, they still had chances to find the back of the net. Bryce Yelton and Bruce Phipps scored in the first quarter, but Golden Bears junior goalie Dylan Sicca buckled down and stuffed nine shots in the game.
Though he was disappointed to fall short, Long Reach coach John Horner was happy for the Hammond program.
"I saw a lot of heart and hustle. They out-hustled us to the ground balls, they were more aggressive and they definitely seemed to want it more," he said. "You could see the seniors playing hard and their teammates playing hard for them. It was really nice to see. ... They've been working hard for that breakthrough."
Horner also noted the number of similarities between his program and Hammond's. The Lightning is in a rebuild, similar to what the Golden Bears have been going through the last few seasons, but it will take more time and experience to get their first win since beating Hammond on April 17, 2015.
"I've been trying to get those underclassmen a little more time so next year they have a flavor for that and are trying to push it a little more," he said. "Our JV program is coming along nicely – they've been working hard to get in a place where they can help out on varsity soon. Hopefully it won't take us too long to get back to where we once were.
"We need more experience and chemistry. We have a lot of guys playing for the first time and a lot of seniors playing for the first time. It was great to get a lot of guys coming out and playing lacrosse for us, but it's taken longer than I anticipated for them to come together and jell. ... We have a lot of character. What we maybe don't have in skill we make up for in character and the friendship these guys have together. We never give up."
Both teams will play first-round games Wednesday in the 3A/2A South region, Section II playoffs.
Hammond (1-6 county, 3-9 overall) – 18, Long Reach (0-7, 0-11) – 2
Goals: Ha – Brendan Smith 6, Joel Thomas 4, Nick Pekins 3, Noah Wadsworth, Anthony Ceresa, Zack Wehrmeister, Brendan Jordan, Eric Waid; LR – Bryce Yelton, Bruce Phipps
Assists: Ha – Smith 2, Thomas, D'Andre Veney, Pekins; LR – Will Parham
Saves: Ha – Dylan Sicca 9; LR – Michael Godfrey 10
Halftime: 10-2, Hammond
Other scores:
Howard held off host Atholton, 7-6, on Friday night to clinch a share of its third consecutive county championship. The Lions earned a share of the title with River Hill, which captured its first-ever league title with a 9-2 win over visiting Centennial.
County records against top- and middle-tier teams decided the league title. Howard and River Hill both went 6-1 against those opponents.
Howard (6-1, 10-4) – 7, Atholton (6-5, 8-6) – 6
Goals: Ho – Mark Bruner 3, Tristan Kelehan, Malik Anderson, Kendall Cooper, Dayton Fisher; A – Joey Brewer 2, Jake Peretti 2, Matt Barila, Keenan Long
Assists: Ho – Patrick Sutch, Bruner, Anderson; A – Talbott Gottwals 2, Peretti
Saves: Ho – Collin McClelland 6; A – Darren Kasoff 13, Hunter Brown 3
Halftime: 6-2, Howard
Mt. Hebron (5-2, 9-5) – 6, Marriotts Ridge (2-5, 5-9) – 4
Goals: MH – Kyle Sutton 3, Jake Edmondson 2, Dylan Scheeler; MR – Jake Polinsky 2, Peter Geier, Lewy Anania
Assists: MH – Sutton 2; MR – Geier
Saves: MH – Casey DuBois 11; MR – Colin Kelley N/A
Halftime: 3-1, Marriotts Ridge
Oakland Mills (3-4, 8-6) – 11, Wilde Lake (2-5, 7-7) – 9
Goals: OM – Nick Miller 4, Khaaliq Canada 2, Jack Schurman 2, Kevin Paez 2, Cole May; WL – Ryan Tiffey 4, Andrew Tiffey 3, Patick Riley, Rodger Stewart
Assists: OM – Evan Riss 2, Canada, Miller; WL – R. Tiffey 3, Riley 2, A. Tiffey, Ben Briguglio
Saves: OM – Andy Osiander 14; WL – Daniel Joseph 16
Halftime: 5-4, Wilde Lake
River Hill (10-1, 11-3) – 9, Centennial (6-5, 6-8) – 2
twitter.com/TimSchwartz13
TimSchwartz@baltsun.com