Wayne Valley rides big first half on way to Passaic County boys lacrosse title

WAYNE - Once again, Wayne Valley left no doubt.

Powered by five goals from sophomore Brayden Dunne and a dominating first half, the Indians won their second straight Passaic County boys lacrosse title with an 11-5 victory over West Milford Saturday afternoon.

The victory gives the Indians their sixth boys lacrosse county title, the most of any Passaic County school. It is the first time the Indians have repeated as county champs, a fact that was noted in the post-game celebration.

“Oh man, it’s nice to play good lacrosse,” said Wayne Valley coach Robert Glander.

Wayne Valley downed West Milford 7-1 in last year’s county final.

The story in Saturday’s match was the first half where the Indians dominated possession and the scoreboard, leading 8-0 at the break.

Dunne and senior Ryan Schmitz, three goals, were the catalysts for the Indians offense in the first half, finding big holes in the Highlanders defense. It was 4-0 after the first quarter and the Highlanders barely had a shot on goal.

“We had a great game plan,” said Dunne. “Coach Lander had a great game plan, we knew we had a to get our defense had to get in and out of zones and they put in a new offense for us. We haven’t run it that much. We have been practicing it since the beginning of the season. We perfected it. We were firing on all cylinders.”

“I was happy to see how well we played, we have been working very hard,” said Glander. “To play at that level and see it happen was some weight off of our shoulders. It was nice to see how confident we were playing.”

In the second half, West Milford started strong with the first two goals of the third quarter to draw to -8-2, but Dunne fired back after a great feed from Michael Burke to make it 9-2 with 7:23 left in the third. Indians freshman Rocco Destefano added a low, rising drive to give the Indians a 10-3 lead.

“We really were stressing to keep pushing and keep playing and kept working,” said Glander. “You see what happens when we do take our foot off the gas. It got a little squirrelly.”

Glander said Dunne has a future as bright as his red mane of hair.

“For a sophomore, this is his second year on varsity, the ceiling is as high as he wants it to be,” said Glander. “He plays football in the fall, but he loves the game.”

“I got into lacrosse in kindergarten, my dad picked up a stick, probably like 10 bucks, I played and I fell in love with the sport ever since,” said Dunne. “I have kept playing and play all year round and it comes down to this.”

West Milford got two goals from Vincent D’Andrea. The Highlanders are now 7-9 this season. The Indians are 8-8.

“This feels great right now,” said Dunne. “All the hard work we have been putting in in the season and the off-season. It all comes down to this and we finally won and it feels great.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne Valley rides big first half on way to Passaic County boys lacrosse title