Millon’s OT winner lifts McDonogh to MIAA A Conference final
Another McDonogh-Boys’ Latin Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference lacrosse semifinal thriller. And another Millon brother becoming the hero for the No. 1 and defending champion Eagles.
Senior McCabe Millon scored his third goal of the game with 1:54 to play in overtime, lifting McDonogh to an 8-7 win over No. 4 Boys’ Latin at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
McDonogh, which got a last-second goal from McCabe’s younger brother, Brendan, to beat the Lakers in last year’s semifinal, will meet No. 2 Calvert Hall for the title at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
After the Lakers dug out of an early 5-0 hole and then a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter, McCabe Millon took the initiative after the Lakers got a defensive stop to open the four minutes of extra time.
On a patient possession, he fired a shot from up top that got past Boys’ Latin goalie Dylan Cadigan to send the Eagles (16-1) back to the championship game.
“Oh, my God, this is euphoric,” McCabe Millon said. “There were moments in that game when things weren’t going our way, but hats off to all our guys — we knew we were going to be able to pull it out. Every year [during the playoffs], we talk about fighting for more time together. We fought to get to practice again and it just means so much to have another day with these guys.”
In their 11-10 regular-season win April 4, the Eagles took a seemingly overwhelming 9-2 lead deep into the second half before holding off the Lakers. Tuesday started the same way with McDonogh taking a 4-0 lead late in the first quarter — including two goals from Bogue Hahn (one assist) — before the Lakers had their first settled possession on attack.
But the Lakers closed the gap to 5-3 at the half and got an early fourth-quarter goal from Jackson Walsh (two goals, one assist) to cut the lead to 7-6 with 8:56 to play. The Lakers’ junior faceoff specialist, who held his own in a battle with McDonogh senior standout Zach Hayashi, won the ensuing draw and headed straight to goal to tie the game with 8:46 to play in regulation.
Both McDonogh goalie Aiden Seibel (eight saves) and Cadigan (10 saves) made big saves to keep the game tied through the fourth quarter.
After Parker gave the Lakers the ball to start overtime, George Insley (two goals) came from the right of the cage to try to sneak the potential game-winner past Seibel to no avail.
McCabe Millon made no mistake on the Eagles’ first possession in overtime.
“We tried a quick hitter, which ended up not working and then just freelanced from there,” he said. “It felt a little reminiscent of last year’s semifinal . ... I’m just super super happy and can’t wait to get back to practice tomorrow.”
In recent years, the matchup has emerged as the league’s finest rivalry with this being the third straight semifinal showdown.
Other boys lacrosse scores:
Calvert Hall 11, Loyola Blakefield 8: Unlike other special teams from its past, Calvert Hall lacrosse doesn’t have as much flash on attack or game-changing talent at midfield or overwhelming brawn on defense.
This year’s Cardinals have been a steady work in progress, and that’s absolutely fine by them.
After another resilient performance in an 11-8 come-from-behind win against No. 3 Loyola Blakefield, the Cardinals have worked their way to Friday’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game.
Senior Shuey Kelly (three goals, one assist) led the attack, and strong faceoff play from Jackson Strickland and seven saves from goalie Alex Swartz helped Calvert Hall turn a four-goal deficit into a semifinal win at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
A winner of six straight games, the Cardinals (11-5) will meet No. 1 and defending champion McDonogh for the league championship. McDonogh claimed a 9-7 home win over the Cardinals during the regular season April 21.
“Our identity is just play. Our identity is to keep getting better — that’s all we focus on,” Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly said. “And whatever the outcome is, the outcome is as
long as we give great effort. And I felt like our kids gave a great effort even when we were [down early.] We just kept our composure.”
Mason Hill’s second goal of the game with 8:08 to play in the second quarter pushed the Dons’ advantage to 6-2 before the Cardinals got three straight goals from Shuey Kelly — the last one with 5.2 seconds left — to send the Loyola Blakefield into the locker room with a one-goal halftime lead.
With goals from Kelly and Strickland off a clean faceoff win, the Cardinals took their first lead early in the third quarter. They took complete command later in the quarter, capped by Ryan Botek’s goal with six seconds left to make it 10-7. Sturdy defense helped fend off any potential rallies by the Dons in a quiet fourth quarter.
Baseball
River Hill 7, Reservoir 0: A year ago in the Class 3A East Region II title against Reservoir, River Hill senior Eje Okojie had a golden opportunity to walk it off for the Hawks with the bases loaded and no outs.
However, Okojie struck out and the Gators went on to win the game in extra innings. That was on the forefront of Okojie’s mind entering Tuesday’s regional final rematch.
The senior had been struggling in recent weeks and made sure to put extra time in the batting cage leading up to the game. His hard work paid dividends, making sure what happened last year wouldn’t repeat itself.
Okojie launched a pair of no-doubt home runs with five RBIs, including a second-inning grand slam that powered No. 14 River Hill to a 7-0 win over Reservoir. The Hawks advance to the 3A state quarterfinals where the eight regional champions will be reseeded based on regular-season record.
— Jacob Steinberg
Liberty 10, Century 7: No pressure.
You’re a junior playing in your first varsity regional tournament. You get called on to pitch the final two innings of the championship game and protect a slim lead against a power-hitting team that already put seven runs and seven hits on one of the county’s best
pitchers.
No pressure.
Liberty’s Rocco Dietz admitted he did feel the pressure when he faced that scenario, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him or by his performance. He shut down Century’s dangerous lineup in the final two innings of Tuesday’s Class 2A West Region I final, securing Liberty’s 10-7 win and its second straight regional title.
“Man, it’s a great feeling,” Liberty coach Travis Inch said. “It starts with the guys that were here, the alumni. It starts with them. They started the winning culture.”
The No. 15 Lions (17-4) saw Century cut a five-run lead to one but got an insurance run to make it 9-7 when Dietz was called on to pitch the top of the sixth. Despite a leadoff walk, Dietz shut the door on the Knights, including snagging a line drive coming back at him to start a double play.
— Anthony Maluso
Pikesville 6, South Carroll 4: The third time was indeed the charm for Pikesville.
After falling short against South Carroll in last year’s Class 1A North Region I final, the Panthers and Cavaliers met on May 3, when the Panthers blew a five-run lead.
But Pikesville finally got over the hump Tuesday, winning the regional title with a 6-4 victory.
“This one’s special,” Panthers coach Dominic Peters said. “It’s good to see all of our guys putting in the work to get to this point in the season.”
The Panthers and Cavaliers played another close one with the game tied at 3 in the sixth inning. But a double by Eli Friedman broke the tie and gave Pikesville the lead.
“He was the right man for the right spot,” Peters said. “He’s been Mr. Clutch all season long. He comes through at most crucial times in the ballgame. We call it the Friedman special.”
Tuesday’s special: 3-for-4 at the plate with a clutch double, four RBIs and a stolen base.
— Timothy Dashiell
Havre de Grace 6, Perryville 4: Brad Spence
is the only coach on staff who works in the school and around the players. He’s Havre de Grace’s principal and has become a de facto historian. Oftentimes, Spence will join Warriors players at lunch to share memories of his high school baseball team with pictures from a quarter century ago.
That baseball team, which also featured coach Chad Blevins as well as assistants Matt Blethen and Jason Bauer, was the last from Havre de Grace to win the regional championship in 1998.
“It’s been a long time, so it’s pretty neat for us to witness this right here,” Blevins said, flooded with emotions after Havre de Grace’s 6-4 win over Perryville in the Class 1A South Region I final.
Spence remembers his Havre de Grace principal handing him the championship plaque back then. He was nearly at a loss for words when he got to be the one to hand the plaque to his team.
The similarities go on.
The 1998 team as a collective group started playing baseball together in elementary school. Their regional championship was a culmination of a childhood’s worth of work together. This year’s iteration of Havre de Grace baseball came up the same way; they have one sophomore and the rest are juniors, all having shared the diamond since their T-ball days.
— Sam Cohn
Fallston 6, North East 2
Marriotts Ridge 3, Centennial 1 (11 inn.) Randallstown 5, Hereford 4
Old Mill 7, Glen Burnie 3
Severna Park 4, South River 3
St. John’s Catholic Prep 6, Indian Creek 2
Boys lacrosse
Park 9, Indian Creek 6
St. Vincent Pallotti 10, Key School 6
Boys golf
Severn 18.5, Sts. Peter & Paul 2.5
Baltimore Sun Media staff contributed to this article.