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Broadneck’s boys lacrosse team might not have headline firepower, but the Bruins can score in bunches, and it can come from anywhere.
The 4A state semifinals served as proof positive.
James Smack, who started games earlier in the season before reverting to a reserve role, rode the hot hand to a five-goal performance, pacing the defending 4A champs to a 21-3 win over Perry Hall in Friday’s semifinal, putting the Bruins back in the state championship.
Perry Hall came out in an unorthodox zone defense, which took some time for Broadneck to figure out. But once the Bruins did, it was all systems go. By the time halftime rolled around, they had the momentum, and then it was time for Smack to put the Gators away.
“I couldn’t really catch the ball to save my butt, but I just got in the right spots and just kept shooting it,” Smack said. “At this point, I’m just making the most of my opportunities, getting in there and seeing if I can pot a few.”
Broadneck had 10 players score in the game and seven assisted on other teams’ goals. In total, the Bruins had 12 players on the score sheet in one form or another.
In addition to Smack, Tyler Hicks scored four and added an assist, while Liam Komlosy netted three, two of the acrobatic variety. Tanner Boone had three goals and three assists, while there were also goals for Tyler Stewart (two assists), Brayden Schmidt, Wyatt Shaw, Graham Hartman, Brayden Goldstein (one assist) and Carson Pierce. Braden McCassie and Blake Levicki hit the assist column with two and one, respectively.
“That’s May lacrosse. With 17 seniors, you’re going to have guys coming off your sidelines,” said Broadneck coach Jeff McGuire. “James is as good as any attacker we have; we’re just super deep. We throw a bunch of different looks and he’s capable of doing that.”
Sharing the load has been a point of emphasis, and it’s come in especially handy in a stretch where the Bruins have outscored their opponents 82-10 in four region and state playoff games. Outside of a tight matchup against Severna Park in the county championship, the Bruins haven’t had a stiff test in weeks.
That’ll change in the state championship game, against an Urbana team that is undefeated and out for revenge after Broadneck scored an overtime win in last season’s semifinals.
“After the (Severna Park) game, we met together as a group and we were able to calm down, and that’s showed in the last few games. We realized we needed to get some things together, and that helped,” Boone said. “We just keep doing what we’re doing. The competition has been a little less, but our offense has been clicking, and we should play the same against any team we’re playing.”
The state championship game is set for 8:00pm Thursday at Stevenson University.
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