No Silver Lining for Nisky as Cats roll 15-2
 
 
The West Genesee boy's varsity lacrosse team (23-0) won their fourth state championship in a row at a sweltering Schoelkopf  Field on Saturday on the Campus of Cornell University with a 15-2 dismanteling of previously undefeated Niskayuna Silver Warriors (22-1) from Sec.II. For all those in attendance paying the seven dollar entrance fee it actually posited them a two for one deal, a game that could've also passed for a clinic.
 
Prior to the championship contest West Genesee knew little about their Sec.II opponent the Silver Warriors from Niskyauna. West Islip, Nisky's opponent from Long Island seemed not to care enough to find out as Newsday articles were littered with quotes about..."revenge against Genny...to win the championship that should have been there's". Just goes to prove there's always something to be said for remaining in the present. So the upstart Warriors pasted the Islanders 11-6 to advance to their first ever state finals.
 
Genny's trip to the finals began with a near stumble against Vestal which was quickly erased as the they dispatched Orchard Park 17-2 in the state semis with surgical precison,credited to the West Genesee "System". "The best-coached team in high school, by far," Pietramala said of the Wildcats. "Not everyone on that team is an All-American, is 6-4 or can run like the wind. But they all do what he (Messere) asks. They have a plan, and they stick with it. I don't know of any high school team that executes its plan the way West Genesee does." Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala called it " The Plan"...which I guess you better have if you don't posses..." 6'4" All-Americans that can run like the wind"?
 
So here they were Sec.III power West Genny with the "System" facing undefeated Niskayuna, slayers of the vaunted Islip Islanders with "Three All-Americans"...Basil Datros,, Noah Foster and Mark Bryan one of the Pietermala's very own, who would have thought the Cats would have stood a chance? That would be the Cats. You see in the past three years West Genesee has faced  the two number one ranked teams in the nation and Islip whom  last year  were undefeated at the time of the State Championship. A total of nine All-Americans, several who showed up in last week's NCAA Championship game. But who needs All-Americans when you have a "System"?
 
There it is again..."System"...makes you wonder why no one been able to figure it out in the past three decades? 640 plus wins, 14 state championships in 18 attempts four in a row, a record and 51 High-Schools All- Americans. Makes you think that some coach somewhere has analyzed the Cats? Heck even Nisky head coach Mike Vorgang admitted, "They're we're definitely better live than on  film."
Well the "System" is just that a template, but it's comprised year in and year out of 40 plus highly dedicated young men, who's sacrifice, dedication and pride make the "System" nearly undefeatable.
 
So it was time to stop crediting the system and actually see if the Cats had what it took to play the game. The answer to that first question came just 18 seconds in as senior middie Mark Cometti beat his Nisky defender and put a left handed shot in the top left corner past senior All-American goalie Noah Fossner for a 1-0 lead. At 11:24 the Cats did it again with senior attackman Jeff Ryan taking a feed from senior attackman Dave Osier and making it 2-0. With senior middie and defensive MVP Brian Griffin controlling  the face-off x to the tune of 18 of 19 draws Datros, Bryan and other and others were barley able to get off any effective shots with senior defenders, Steve Prosonic and long stick defender Mark Cizenski dogging them every step of the way.

Niskyauna did show a pulse at 8:13 with Basil Daratsos finding a crease in the Cat defense to cut the lead to 2-1 but then they went on life support for the next three quarters. At 5:15 Cometti rushed the net drew two defenders then dished to Ryan who found an opening past Fossner and made the score 3-1. Genny then made it 4-1 with 3:33 to go as senior attackman, offensive MVP Tim Spillett took a pass from Ryan and netted his first of six goals. The Albany University bound senior wore the initials DS over a shaved cross underneath his helmet to honor his late uncle Dan Spillett a Central New York lacrosse Icon and a friend to all of those who came near the sport he so dearly loved. Junior  Cat middie Kevin Courtney would end  the first quarter 5-1 as he ripped the rope behind Fossner with a 20 yard laser with just 1:01 to go.
 
Spillet opened the scoring in the second quarter taking a pass from Osier and throwing two fakes at Fossner while charging the cage. The first fake had Fossner going to his knees for the phantom shot leaving 36' of unguarded net and a 6-1 lead with 7:19 to go. Nisky's next best chance to try and get back in the game came at 7:06 with the Cats facing a 30 second man down penalty, but Genny's defense rose to the occasion not allowing the Warriors to get off a shot. Ryan and Spillett then combined to score the next three Cat goals in a three minute span to put the game out of reach. Ryan netted the seventh at 6:13 on a pass from Spillett. At 5:30 it was Spillett from Ryan  followed by Ryan from Spillett  with 2:56 to go in the half making it 9-1.

Forty four seconds into the third quarter the Cats were at it again with Osier taking a feed from Ryan making it 10-1. Courtney then started the continuous game clock with his left hander with 10:31 left in the third and a 11-1 lead. The Spillett from Ryan combination then clicked again to make the game 12-1 followed by the final marker of the third with Genny finishing off a patented fast-break and 13-1 lead with 3:13 to go. Genny the finally mercifully finished off the Warriors with a Spillett from Osier combo again at 10:41, Spillett's sixth of the game followed by Brian Griffin's shaking the defensive shackles and netting his sole goal of the day.
 
Nisky finished the scoring with a meaningless marker in the waning seconds of the game, but it was to late to stop the Wildcats and their "System" from capturing their record setting fourth State Championship in a row.
 

[ Click Here for the championship game photo gallery ]
  1 2 3 4 final
West Genesse 5 4 4 2 15
Niskayuna 1 0 0 1 2
Spillett 6-2, Ryan 4-3, Courtney 2-0, Osier 1-4, Cometti 1-1, B. Griffin 1-0, T. Griffin 0-1, Vecchio 0-1
SAVES: McKeon 9, Cleland 1
Click on an image below to view a game highlight Quicktime movie

Jeff Ryan nails #2

Tim Spillett tallies McKeon with the save
Osier leaps and scores Ryan goes top shelf Spillett finishes
Kevin Courtney goes five hole Spillett finishes the five-touch fast break Brian Griffin rips the net