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'Bear Hunt' successful for B-SM

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 06/03/10, 8:05AM CDT

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Red Knights romp past No. 1-ranked Blake in stunning Section 5 final

Their rowdy fans, friends and classmates mostly, were decked out in blaze orange.

There were hundreds of ’em.

"Going Bear Hunting," the hand-made signs said.

If that was the theme of the Section 5 championship between the state’s No. 1 (Blake) and No. 2 (Benilde-St. Margaret’s) ranked teams, then the Red Knights certainly had no problem playing along.

In a stunningly lopsided game, Benilde-St. Margaret’s avenged a regular season loss to previously unbeaten Blake with a 13-3 thumping of the Bears on Thursday, June 3, at Irondale High School.

“We were just on fire,” Benilde-St. Margaret’s senior attackman Bailey Dodds, the state’s regular season scoring leader, said. “Our defense was locking down, our offense was making plays. We were just having fun out there.

“Everyone was having a blast.”

The good times started early and, other than a mini-comeback by Blake (15-1) in the third quarter, never stopped for the Red Knights (14-1). They led 7-0 at halftime, scored the first goal of the third quarter and finished off one of the most anticipated games in state boys’ lacrosse history with a 5-0 fourth-quarter run.

When it was over, the Red Knights rushed their sophomore goaltender, Thomas Gilligan, who was the center of some jubilant, mosh pit-style pushing and shoving.

“Cool, calm collected,” Red Knights coach Colin Mulcahy said about Gilligan, who made several clutch saves late in the third quarter and early in the fourth as Blake tried desperately to rally. “Before the game he said he was nervous, real nervous. Then he also said he played better when he was nervous.”

Blake, which won the thrilling regular season meeting between the teams 11-10 on a goal with less than 3 seconds remaining, had only a handful of quality scoring chances in the first half. The Red Knights, meanwhile, were running their explosive offense to dizzying perfection.

Attackmen Christian Horn and Ryan Butts each had hat tricks for the Red Knights, as did midfielder Christian Rekow.

Butts, who also had two assists, did most of his damage in the first half as his speed and passing skills gave the Blake defense fits.

Dodds, who scored 81 points during the regular season, asserted himself in the fourth quarter when he had two goals and an assist.

“Personally, I think Dodds is 1 and Butts is 1B,” Blake coach Rob Horn said about the duo that is headed to play at the NCAA Division I level at Sacred Heart (Conn.) next season. “(Butts) is a phenomenal player. He finishes the ball very well. Very well.”

Blake scored three straight goals to pull to within 8-3 in the third quarter but the Bears could get no closer.

“They came out and wanted it more from the first whistle,” Coach Horn said. “Whenever you spot a great team that many goals, it’s going to be very hard to get back into it.”

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Three Stars

1. Ryan Butts, B-SM
The Red Knights' senior attackman was dominant at times in the first half, proving again he is equally capable scoring goals or setting them up. He finished with three goals and two assists.

2. Adam Clark, B-SM
The junior defenseman spearheaded an amazing Red Knights feat: they held Blake scoreless in three of four quarters.

3. Thomas Gilligan, B-SM
Just a sophomore, Gilligan was the epitome of poise in the second half when Blake finally got its high-powered offense in synch. Gilligan made a handful of spectacular saves and was solid all game in controlling and clearing the ball.

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