Babylon boys lacrosse faceoff specialist Brady Shaw provides spark in win over Center Moriches

As Babylon’s boys lacrosse team headed to the bus coach Scott Jankow yelled out for his junior FOGO Brady Shaw.

The faceoff specialist had forgotten his stick, which rested on the turf at Center Moriches High School. That short stick wasn’t the only thing Shaw had left on the field on Wednesday afternoon. He also left behind a lasting impression of dominance.

Shaw won 12 of 16 faceoffs, including one inside the final 24 seconds of the game, to seal a 7-5 Suffolk II win for Babylon over Center Moriches. Even on faceoffs he lost he often gave his teammates a chance to scoop the ground ball off the clamp.

“I always play with confidence,” Shaw said. “Every time I go out to that faceoff X, I’m the best guy in the country. That’s my mentality, at least. I always have to think I’m better than the guy in front of me, and that’s how I win.”

Babylon opened with a two-goal lead exiting the first quarter before Center Moriches responded with a pair of goals. Both teams brought physicality and familiarity with each other as two of Suffolk’s three Class D teams.

“It’s a big one for us,” Jankow said. “Every year we feel like we have to go undefeated in [Class D] to give ourselves a chance to be in the playoffs. The [Class D games] are our season, really.”

Sophomore Keven Bonilla flashed quick passing throughout the game but made his mark as a scorer with two goals in the fourth quarter. Both were fed from the stick of junior Kai Jankow, who was affectionately and immediately called a “knucklehead” by father and coach Scott Jankow after the win. The junior’s second assist was terrific, feeding a pass off a restart to Bonilla who fired a powerful shot into the back of the cage from over 15 yards.

“Keven’s been working hard, I know he was pressing a little bit because he was quiet,” Scott Jankow said. “I’m happy he sealed the deal for us.”

Babylon freshman Kyle Ceballos helped kickstart the win with two first-half goals as one of seven Panthers to log a point and one of five to score. Sophomore Caden Leslie led Center Moriches (5-4) with three goals.

Babylon (4-4) flexed an impressive defensive effort. Junior Christian Molnar did well against Center Moriches star senior Collin Casey’s physicality, and long-stick midfielder Dan Debetta was as disruptive as ever in the middle of the field.

It all begins with Shaw at the X, however, and the junior knows Babylon’s county title defense rests on performances like Wednesday’s.

“When we’re at our best, we’re scary,” Shaw said. “So be on the lookout.”