Ryan Hannaford, Maclin Keyser lead Bayport-Blue Point boys lacrosse's volatile offense into state semifinals

MIDDLETOWN — For a two-and-a-half-hour trip on a bus that arrived late, the Bayport-Blue Point boys lacrosse team was in good spirits Saturday morning. Between the natural camaraderie and the excitement of playing in the state tournament there were plenty of smiles shared between seniors Ryan Hannaford and Dan Aiello.

But as the bus neared Middletown High School, Aiello said the team grew “antsy.” The Phantoms were ready to play, and they wasted no time getting started as Bayport-Blue Point scored four goals within the first minute of the game, leading the Phantoms past Section IX’s Red Hook, 17-2, in the Class C semi-regional round of the state tournament.

“It’s great, we’ve looked forward to this our whole lives,” Hannaford said. “One more step, and we’re there.”

Five different Phantoms had two goals or more by halftime as Bayport-Blue Point held Red Hook scoreless in the first half, outshooting Red Hook, 27-7. Hannaford and fellow senior Maclin Keyser led with three goals each, with Hannaford adding two assists before resting in the second half.

“Looking at the scouting report, we definitely knew we were the better team,” said Aiello, who had two goals, an assist, three ground balls and three faceoff wins in the first half. “We didn’t want to drop our guard.”

Bayport-Blue Point will travel to the University at Albany to take on Section I’s Rye Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for the state semifinals. The Phantoms seek their first state title in program history, something Hannaford knows would mean a lot to the community.

“We have a lot of support back at home,” Hannaford said. “Everyone is on our side, and whatever happens, happens.”

“Not whatever happens, happens,” Aiello interjected. “We’re going to win, we’re looking to win, so to bring [a state title] home would be awesome.”

When you have players like seniors Mike Luce and Ben Morris those dreams certainly seem possible. Luce had three goals and an assist with two caused turnovers as a true two-way LSM while Morris added four points with two goals and two assists.

Four Long Island schools — Bayport-Blue Point, Cold Spring Harbor, Farmingdale and South Side — combined for 60 goals while allowing just 11 goals across wins within each class of the semi-regional round.

Now it’s onto the state semifinals for all four schools, meaning the Phantoms have yet another bus ride coming up on Wednesday against a strong Rye side that defeated Section II’s Queensbury, 16-3, Saturday evening.