WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Another game, another dominant performance doled out by the Hartford High boys lacrosse team as it routed Stowe, 14-1, at the Alumni Athletic Complex on Tuesday evening.
Sophomore Isaac Tane led the way offensively for the Hurricanes, scoring five goals.
Junior Owen McMahon, who had three goals and an assist, made some history, notching his 100th career point in the contest. McMahon became the eighth athlete in program history to reach that milestone.
“It feels great,” McMahon said of the achievement. “I’ve been working for the past three years to achieve this goal, but it’s really not the end; we have the whole season ahead of us.”
Senior Owen Mock also had three goals and an assist, while junior Rex Baning scored twice and added an assist. Junior Joseph Gardner scored a goal, and senior Tyler Spaulding had three assists.
“The kids played hard,” said Hartford Head Coach Grant Whiteway. “We had a game plan going in, and the kids were bought in and played well on the offensive end — played unselfishly, moved the ball well, and defensively … did a good job playing one-on-one and team defense.”
The win marked the Canes’ seventh in a row. In its victories this season, Hartford (8-1) has been dominant, outscoring opponents by a combined tally of 124-12. The Canes’ lone loss so far this season came against Woodstock, 8-4, on April 21.
“We try to preach keeping things one game at a time and staying present,” said Whiteway. “We have … long-term goals, but we try and keep kids in the moment and prepare for each individual game and make sure we’re practicing and preparing the right way.”
The Canes got to work a few minutes into the game on McMahon’s first goal. About 30 seconds later, Tane found the back of the net to put Hartford up 2-0. Mock went on to add two more goals before the end of the frame.
Stowe opened the scoring in the second quarter at the 11:35 mark to cut the deficit to 4-1, but from then on, the contest was all Hartford.
The Canes put up five goals in the quarter, headlined by some highlight plays. Baning made an incredible leaping interception and fed the ball to McMahon for a goal. While McMahon helped extend the lead on a whistling shot off the left post and in, set up by an ankle-breaking juke.
Hartford added four goals in the third quarter and one in the fourth to seal the win.
While the win is nice, Tuesday’s contest held extra meaning as it was the sixth annual Bill Elberty Night.
Elberty, a stalwart in the community who coached lacrosse at Hartford from 2008-2020 and had a stint at Woodstock High, died unexpectedly on May 18 in 2020.
The festivities featured a raffle, a dunk tank, pop-up stands selling items such as syrup, and a halftime show pitting Hartford youth lacrosse players against a gaggle of costumed school staff. The events raised money for The Bill Elberty Scholarship, which is awarded to a Hartford High senior.
Canes’ assistant lacrosse coach Crescent Oakes, who organized the night, described the late coach and educator as a “nitty-gritty kind of guy who believed in hard work and community and had a strong sense of empathy.”
“He was the type of person who could connect with every kid in our high school,” Oakes added, in an address to those in attendance before the game.
The lessons he taught live on to this day.
“Bill was a special guy, and he was so important to the program, and we talk about him every year,” Whiteway said. “We still preach all of the things that he taught us. It’s a special night — it’s always good to get a win on this night too.”
The Canes get back to work on Friday at 4:30 p.m. when they travel to Harwood for a rematch of last season’s VPA Division II state championship, which Harwood won.
