Bayport-Blue Point boys lacrosse holds off Wantagh for its first Long Island Class C championship since 2011

Bayport-Blue Point’s Mike Luce doesn’t really remember being on the sideline in 2011, watching his dad coach when the Phantoms last won the Class C Long Island title.

Now, with chants of “Luce” filling East Islip’s Boomer Esiason Stadium, the senior defender lifted the Class C plaque with both hands loudly and proudly after Bayport-Blue Point defeated Wantagh, 9-7, Wednesday evening.

“Doing this now, with all [my dad and I] have gone through over the years, it feels great to just hug him after the win,” Luce said.

Luce looked like he was everywhere on defense, guarding up the point of Wantagh’s attack before switching to cover the X behind the cage a possession later. He caused two turnovers and scooped six ground balls in the game.

The first half served as the textbook definition for chaos. Bayport-Blue Point senior Ryan Hannaford scored twice with an assist in the first quarter to lead the Phantoms to a 5-0 lead as the quarter ended.

Two of the Phantoms’ goals were scored by game MVP Traigh Tomassone, who ended up with three goals.

Coach Doug Meehan struggled to find the words to describe Tomassone’s commitment and effort, especially with the junior dealing with an undisclosed injury all year.

“Traigh Tomassone probably doesn’t get enough credit as the other studs on our team,” Meehan said. “He deserves it. He’s a tough kid who epitomizes what we want here.”

It looked as if the game would be a rout. But Wantagh had other ideas.

Will Greaves won six faceoffs in a row to help spur a four-goal second quarter for Wantagh while shutting the Phantoms out, making it a one-goal game at halftime. Wantagh outshot Bayport-Blue Point 10-1 in the quarter after the Phantoms outshot the Nassau side 9-3 in the first quarter.

“We told them [after the first quarter] this was going to happen,” Meehan said. “We compared it to our county championship when [Shoreham-Wading River] made a run. [Wantagh] is too well coached and talented to not make a run.”

Bayport-Blue Point went on to score three goals in the third quarter to take the lead before Wantagh forced a one-goal game in the fourth quarter. That didn’t last long, however, as senior Ben Morris glided past defenders for an unassisted goal down the right side.

Shortly afterward, the tempo changed.

BBP managed to hold the ball for 6:32, passing it around while drawing flags and constant double teams. The Phantoms left just 11.8 seconds on the clock for Wantagh, which wasn’t enough to make up the two-goal difference.

“It’s definitely tiring, you’ve got to move the ball,” Morris said. “But it doesn’t matter if we’re tired. We just had to hold the fort.”

Six different players scored for Bayport-Blue Point in the win. Morris and senior Ryan Hannaford both had three points while goalie Brady Smith made seven saves.

Wantagh now ends its season with a 15-4 record. Sophomore Devin Paccione continued his brilliant season with a game-high four points, all assists, while senior Will Greaves remained strong at the X to win 13 of 20 faceoffs with 12 ground balls. Sophomore Joe Nicholson added three goals with clinical finishing.

Both Meehan and Morris said after their first win in March against Westhampton that their eyes were on May. Now, the duo will have to set their eyes on June as Bayport-Blue Point (18-1) will play Section IX’s Red Hook at 5:30 p.m. in Middletown Saturday.