Shamrock Boys LAX take Section X Title

The Salmon River Shamrock Boys Varsity Lacrosse team took the Section X Title, beating the Potsdam Sandstoners to close out an undefeated season at 18-0. The Section X Championship game was played on the field at SUNY Canton this past Thursday night with the Shamrocks beating the Sandstoners by 21-2.

After the game Head Coach Jim Barnes was honored with his first ‘Section X Coach of the Year’ award. This is Barnes’ first time receiving the award since he took the helm after previous Head Coach David White retired.

All-American Seth Oakes lead Salmon River in their landslide win over Potsdam with 5 goals and 2 assists. First Team All-Northern recipient Ky Tarbell followed with 2 goals and 6 assists. Quinn Powless contributed 1 goal and 4 assists, followed by Section X MVP Dalston Day with three goals and one assist. Jay Square also contributed three goals to the Championship winning effort, along with First Team All-Northern recipient Austin Cavender who contributed 1 goal and 2 assists. Salmon River Sportsmanship recipient Storm Adams added 2 goals to the effort, and Kyle Lewis added 1 goal and 1 assist. Kamm David, Peter Porter and Thomas all scored singles. Closing out the points for Salmon River was player Kason Tarbell with 1 assist.

Other local players honored in the Section X Boys Field Lacrosse season was Massena Central School’s Zach Hopps and Randy Seymour who were also named to the First Team All-Northern. Salmon River had a total of five players named, with two previously mentioned and the other recipients being Dalston Day, Seth Oakes and Korin Sunday. The final award presented during the ceremony was to Owen Benedict who was named ‘Man of the Year’ for his work in organizing the North Franklin Youth Lacrosse Program.

This win put Salmon River into third place for the Class B New York State Rankings, with their first round playoff game against the first seed Cazenovia Lakers. The Lakers with a record of 19-1 coming into the game needed an overtime period to overcome the Shamrocks, handing them their first and only loss of the season.

The Lakers sprinted into the lead within the first 12-minutes of the game with a score of 6-1. The Shamrocks did not give up with a five-point deficit, bringing the score back around to 8-6 by the halftime of the game. With less than a second left on the clock ending the third quarter Salmon managed to score their last goal in the regulation time giving themselves a two-goal cushion. The Lakers came back in the fourth quarter to tie Shamrocks with 3:33 left on the clock.

Spectators marveled at the superb goaltending effort by Kobi Johnson, whose two saves within the final minute of play pushed the game into overtime. The Lakers managed to score the final goal within the first overtime sudden-death round, ending the Shamrocks hope to advance within the State Tournament with a score of Cazenovia 14 and Salmon River 13.

Seth Oakes finished the game with 7 goals and 1 assist with Quinn Powless scoring one goal and two assists. Austin Cavender, Ky Tarbell, Dalston Day and Oakley Thomas rounded out Salmon’s scoring for this final game, each scoring singles.