After letting go of their high school club lacrosse championship for a year, the Bulldogs and coach Darron Gagnon laid claim to the title again, beating Bonanza, 13-8, in front of an overflowing crowd at Faith Lutheran High School on May 16 to capture their fourth state championship in the sport in the six years it has been played at the level.
The majority of the players on the Bulldogs club team attend Centennial High School.
Following the low scoring middle school and junior varsity title tilts played before the varsity game, the high school championship looked like it too would be a low scoring game as the top two goalies in the league, the Bulldogs' Buddy Hansen, a first-team Las Vegas Lacrosse League all-star, and Bonanza's Matt Stahrum, a second-team all-star, clashed.
But the Bulldogs varsity team would score as many goals (13) as both teams in the middle school and junior varsity games combined in what turned out to be a shoot out for all the marbles.
Bonanza's Miles Fray opened the scoring three minutes into the first quarter, but the Bulldogs' Josh Ferreiro, a first-team all-star, answered. Fray tallied his second goal a bit later and teammate Brandon Edgell, an honorable mention pick at his midfielder position, gave Bonanza a 3-1 lead with a goal of his own.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs quickly tied it up with a pair of goals, the equalizer coming off the stick of midfielder Nate Marino, a second-team all-star, tying the game, 3-3.
Bonanza, with coach Gary Campo pacing the sideline with his trademark lacrosse stick, regained the lead with less than a minute to go in the half as Fray notched a hat trick off an assist from midfielder Nick Pelusio, a second-team all-star pick.
Before Bonanza could get to the break with a one-goal lead, the Bulldogs responded in the blink of an eye as midfielder Ferreiro tallied his second goal of the game, making it 4-4 at halftime.
In the second half, Ferreiro gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game as he notched the hat trick. But Bonanza's Edgell scored his second goal on a difficult shot from a hard angle to tie to the contest, 5-5.
The Bengals grabbed the lead a little later when Joe Sakai found the back of the net, but the Bulldogs answered a bit later when attacker Nick Peterson, a first-team all-star, scored. Pelusio scored his second goal of the game to give Bonanza an 7-6 lead but the Bulldogs' Peterson scored again to make it 7-7.
Bulldogs attackman Ryan Anderson, a second-team all-star, gave his team an 8-7 lead, but Bonanza's Pelusio completed his own hat trick to again tie the back-and-forth meeting, 8-8, late in the third quarter.
Bonanza and Bulldogs fans battled with cheers and stomped their feet on the metal bleachers.
The Bulldogs grabbed the lead for good when sophomore Kyle Morse scored to make it 9-8 two minutes into the fourth quarter. Despite a three-man advantage and an apparent game-tying goal which was disallowed due to a man in the crease, Bonanza would not score again and the Bulldogs eventually sealed the deal with a late goal by Morse and a pair from Peterson.
"The key was just possessing the ball and not making mistakes," Gagnon said. "We took controlled shots and were backing up our shots. We did whatever we had to do to win and we played great."
In winning their fourth title in the last five years as well as the inaugural junior varsity title game held two hours earlier, Gagnon knows he has the premier program in town.
"I think it shows that we have a lot of kids that are very much dedicated to lacrosse and it's their life. It's a sport they can play into their 50s," he said. "I still play and I'm 37 years old. It's kind of like a fraternity. These guys love the sport and I hope they keep playing until they're my age too."
Gagnon was also thrilled to the way his players responded every time they were down.
"I'm very proud of this team," he said. "We've traveled a lot. We've played in Texas in a tournament, we played in a tournament in California, we were runners-up in the championship game there. We played with a lot of heart tonight. They came out and played and I'm very, very proud of them. I'm proud to be their coach."
The Bulldogs made it to the championship by ousting defending champion Coronado in a thrilling semifinal, 13-12, while Bonanza eliminated Faith Lutheran, 13-8, in its semifinal.
Helping capture the championship were defenders Charles Broderdorf and Chris Bouderaux, both second-team all-star picks; attackman James Threet, an honorable mention pick; with David Bartlett, Steven Chammong, Jeffrey Clemens, Mike Dodson, Dustin Dresel, Sean Grangaard, Randy Hansen, Sean Kulczyk, Christopher McCloskey, Mike McManus, Troy Miller, Jason Rainey, Cody Root, Rodrick Santacruz, Nick Shines, Anthony Tomaro, Weston Wheeler and McClain Zornes.
Gagnon was helped on the bench by assistants Jim Kennedy and Ron Morse.
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