St. John Paul II boys lacrosse sees best season in program history end in regionals

When longtime St. John Paul II coach Andrew Bolger gave a pregame speech to his players Wednesday night, he told them he hoped he’d be running them through another lacrosse practice Thursday.

But after a long night in the Boca Raton rain and lightning that ended close to midnight, there will be no more practices, no more games.

The Faison brothers of Pine Crest made sure of that, ending the Eagles’ best season. The Panthers of Broward County posted a wire-to-wire 22-15 victory in the regional semifinals in a twice-lightning-delayed contest at St. John Paul’s wet field.

Jordan Faison, committed to Notre Dame for lacrosse and football, scored eight goals and his freshman brother, Dylan, notched seven goals to power the third-seeded Panthers to the state regional finals.

On Saturday, Pine Crest will face top-seeded superpower St. Andrew’s while second-seeded St. John Paul (13-5) will hang up its powder-blue jerseys until next season.

“It’s great, we won districts for the first time ever, but I wish we could have gone further," said SJPII star Ryan Ahern, who notched five goals and two assists.

Bolger, the head coach for 24 seasons, was emotional afterward.

“I think we all played well and hard," said Bolger, whose club made the regional quarterfinals last year. “Fantastic season. A great bunch of kids. I wouldn’t want to have any other kids. I love them all. Was best part of my day coming out here to coach the kids."

Region lacrosse: Benjamin braves monsoon for upset revenge vs. Pine Crest

More Coverage: Wellington's Scarlett Stephens: From fractured femur last fall to state tennis singles

Pine Crest jumped to a 5-1 lead with Dylan Faison scoring three times before his brother Jordan got rolling, notching six of his goals after halftime.

“They’re fast, athletic guys,’’ Ahern said. “They’re running down the field and we can’t do anything about it. Their other guys on the team don’t do much. Even when we do slide (double team) they don’t really pass the ball. I think we did all we could do. Those guys are just great athletes and we couldn’t handle them.’’

Ahern noted his team won the ball-possession battle but that didn’t mean enough on the scoreboard.

“They probably had possession eight minutes, but when they get the ball, they scored every time,’’ Ahern said. “The one time we drop the ball, they go down and score.’’

The 7 p.m. start originally was delayed until 8 p.m. because of a school awards banquet, then didn’t begin until 9:05 p.m. because of a lightning alert.

With 8:49 left and Pine Crest leading 21-13,  lightning surfaced over the area and the teams left the field, waited another hour before returning. The referees had the option of calling the game at that point, which seemed feasible with Pine Crest’s comfortable lead, but even the Panthers' coach wanted to win it on the field.

And so Pine Crest, which lost to St. Andrew’s in the district championships the past two years, did so. The moment play restarted, Jordan scored within seconds.

“We put forth our best," Jordan Faison said. “We really wanted to get this game and get to St. Andrew’s and get our (revenge).  But we prepared a lot for this team and we delivered."

"They are exceptional athletes," Bolger said of the Broward brothers. ‘Maybe we could’ve been a little more physical but they’re very good."

Indeed, the visiting Panthers killed the Eagles with their speed as the brothers resembled two green lightning bolts.

On one spectacular goal, Jordan flew down the field past the blue defenders and flicked the shot in the net from 4 feet out as he was falling to the turf.

“They scored in transition and not in a six-man controlled offense and that’s how we’re scored," Bolger said. “In transition, they’re beating us. We’re better in a 6-on-6 setting. It’s hard to simulate their speed.’’

Ahern had help in the scoring department. Charlie Bublitz, Matt Evans and Mike Evans each scored two goals. Kyle Davis had two goals and four assists. Travis Cheristin had one goal and two assists.

It was 12-8 at halftime when Pine Crest opened things up, scoring five straight goals in 3:42 to lead 18-10 lead. Jordan scored two straight goals in 28 seconds during that stretch.

“My brother and I have been playing off each other our entire lives. We feed off each other," Jordan said. “If I’m having a bad game, he’ll turn me up and get me better. If he’s’ having a bad game vice versa. He was taking the defense and it opened stuff for me."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: St. John Paul II boys lacrosse ends best season in program history