Boys lacrosse: Warren hangs on to down Libertyville for sectional crown
There's a minute left in the game and Warren boys lacrosse coach Greg Janczak still has a time out in his pocket.
Only he chose not to burn it for one reason - full trust in his players.
"I have full confidence and trust in Kevin (McCarthy) and Nick (Crawford) when they're in the box and have the ball,' said Janczak, whose team held on to a 7-5 victory over Libertyville in the sectional title game at Grayslake North on Friday evening.
The win erased bitter memories of the Blue Devils' overtime loss in the sectional final almost a year ago to the day.
It was McCarthy who held the ball and ran out the clock, preserving the team's first lacrosse sectional title in school history.
"I just kept telling myself 'I can't lose this ball,' " said McCarthy, who also had a huge insurance goal in the fourth quarter.
"I kept thinking about the team and I didn't want to let them down. It feels amazing after what happened last year."
The Devils move on to play Glenbrook North in the Lake Zurich supersectional Tuesday at 6 p.m.
"We got punched a few times in the face but kept getting back up," added Janczak, whose team is ranked seventh in Illinois and improved to 19-3 overall.
"This is a resilient bunch of guys that never give up."
Crawford dished one to junior attacker Charlie Herrick for the first score with 10:10 left in the opening quarter.
Warren then went up 2-0 shortly after when junior middie Logan Jannick got one past Libertyville senior keeper Matt Wagner (5 saves).
"That was the start we wanted, to jump on them early," said Janczak, whose team averages 4 goals in the first period.
Libertyville looked to get the boost it needed when sophomore attacker Matthew Brenner scored with one second left in the first to cut it to 2-1.
But Warren increased its lead to 4-1 at the 1:16 mark left in the half.
Freshman middie Clayton Bewick scored first and after senior middie Bryce Douma won the faceoff, Crawford blasted one past Wagner.
Libertyville wasn't going anywhere and cut it to 4-2 after a steal and Brenner's second goal.
Warren bounced right back with a goal by junior attacker Carson Ghys to make it 5-2 at the break.
The Wildcats, who finished the season 17-3 and ranked fourth in Illinois, came out like gangbusters in the third with 2 unanswered goals to cut the lead to 5-4.
First, senior defender Charles Foltz took the ball all the way from the 50-yard line for a score. That was followed by senior attacker Kyle Krakowski's goal at the 8:22 mark of the third.
Warren got right back up though, when Ghys scored his second right in front of the net in the crease while falling to the ground and the Devils were ahead 6-4 with 8:45 left in regulation.
Libertyville came right back when sophomore middie Jack Olson's goal cut it to 7-5. But a big save by Leden and defense by junior defender Luc Landry helped preserve the lead in the final four minutes.
"We did a great job holding the ball. We had it for the last three minutes of the game," noted Janczak.
After a two-year absence from coaching, Libertyville and Brady Sullivan have no reason to hang their heads.
"These were two evenly matched teams and it was a heck of a game," said Sullivan. "They dedicated themselves to each other and gave a lot of themselves. They grew as players and as men."