Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 17

Wyatt LeBlanc '18 competing in the
Boys' Lacrosse State Championship
game
Varsity Boys' Lacrosse:The perfect season
Fitzpatrick Stadium erupted into a
sea of maroon and gold cheers as
the clock ticked down to zero and
the Th ornton Academy boys’ la-
crosse team concluded their perfect
season with Th ornton Academy's
fi rst ever Class A State Champion-
ship.
Coach Ryan Hersey credits the TA
fan base with providing the support
the team needed to pull out the
victory over perpetual lacrosse con-
tender Falmouth. Th e crowd at the
state championship was the largest
in MPA history for boys’ lacrosse
and Th ornton Academy had ap-
proximately three times more fans
than Falmouth.
“Once we started scoring at the
end of the game, the kids heard the
support from the fans. Th at was a
huge part of it,” Hersey says about
the fans' infl uence on the game.
Th e team benefi ted from a balanced
off ensive attack throughout the
entire season. Th e Trojans were led
on off ense by All-Americans CJ
Labreck '19 and Noah Edborg '18,
but a suite of other players stepped
up when Labreck and Edborg were
covered by tight defense from op-
posing teams.
Hersey also points to his defense
as being an important part of the
team’s dominance and ability to
beat opponents that have historical-
ly been dominant in boys’ lacrosse.
“We were able to shut down teams
defensively. Cape Elizabeth only
scoring six goals is kind of ridicu-
lous,” Hersey said.
Off the fi eld, the team focused on
working hard and being great team-
mates. During the pre-season, the
players and coaches read the book
Th e Hard Hat: 21 Ways to be a Bet-
Story by Katy Nicketakis· Photos Courtesy of Ron Bilodeau
ter Teammate. Aft er each game, the
coaches awarded a Trojan “Hard
Hat” to the player that demonstrat-
ed these ideals during the game.
Th e Hard Hat recipient for the State
Championship game was Sam Ed-
borg '20 who won 18 out of the 22
fi nal faceoff s.
Labreck is grateful to both fans and
coaches for the support throughout
the 2018 season.
“Without our coaching and our
cooperation from the sidelines
and being a family all together, we
wouldn’t have won the champion-
ship. We won’t forget that event and
every moment we made as a team
and we plan to do it again next
year,” he said.
With many players returning in
2019, Hersey is optimistic for an-
other great season this spring. How
long can this team stay perfect?
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