CLARKSTON >> A fast start and an even better finish by the Hartland boys lacrosse team spelled the end of the 2025 campaign for Clarkton High School.

After starting with a five-goal deficit in the first half, the Wolves rallied to cut the Hartland lead to two in the second half, only to see the Eagles score the final eight goals of the game and take home the Division 1 regional championship, 15-5, on the home turf of the Wolves Tuesday night.

“At the end of the day, we just didn’t play good lacrosse,” Clarkston coach Brian Kaminskas said. “We got to 7-5 and the emotions were good, then I think we made some bad passes and the jitters that were around in the first half creeped right back up. A good team like (Hartland), they are going to take advantage of that.”

The loss for Clarkston ends a three-year streak of claiming a regional championship, while Hartland earns its eighth consecutive regional crown. The Eagles elected not to touch the trophy after the win, as they have their sights set on a second Division 1 state title to match the 2022 title.

“This time of year, it’s a matter of survival,” first-year Hartland coach Steven Petersen said. “Even when Coach (Nick) Levanti was here, he preached that. When you get to these regional finals, it’s all about living to play another day and doing everything you can that day to move on. Today, we did that. I am happy to continue that tradition of a deeper postseason run.”

The Eagles (15-5) set the tone early, playing a very aggressive defense that kept Clarkston on its heels and led to uncharacteristic mistakes from the Wolves (16-3). Hartland would capitalize with transition goals that set up a 5-1 lead after one and a 6-1 advantage early in the second.

Eventually, the Eagles slowed down a bit, which opened the door for Clarkston to get into the game. The Wolves would score four of the next five goals to cut the Hartland lead to 7-5 midway through the third period.

“A lot of these guys have been around since they were freshmen and it’s our fifth regional (final) in a row, so we’ve been here and we know teams are going to play hard and play fast,” Kaminskas said. “We just had to stay calm and not lose our cool. Lacrosse is a game of runs. They had theirs and we had one back.”

Clarkston would have opportunities to get the score even lower, but again struggled with turnovers. That allowed Hartland to snap back into the play it showed to open the game. The Eagles held the Wolves scoreless over the final 20 minutes of play.

“I knew if we kept playing the way we were playing, we were going to pull away,” Petersen said. “(Clarkston) spotted us a couple of goals, and luckily we were able to take advantage of some opportunities.”

Hartland ended the third with four straight goals, including two from junior Clayton Penzien, who would finish the game with six goals. He credited the Hartland defense for its effort to allow the young Eagles’ offense to shine down the stretch.

“We have an all-underclassmen offense, so we knew we had to step up,” Penzien said.

“We have a really good senior defense that helps our offense and allows us to push the pace and get the ball in the back of the net.”

Sophomore Drew Schaecher had three goals in the win for Hartland while sophomore goalie Nate Anderer made 10 saves.

Clarkston was led by a pair of goals from senior Luke Darnell, while Damian Miller, Parker Royse, and Denny Wandrei also scored.

Hartland advances to the D1 quarterfinal on Friday at Parker Middle School in Howell.

The Eagles will face the winner of Wednesday’s Grand Ledge vs. Holt regional final.

Clarkston closes its season with just three losses, two of which came by a single goal. The Wolves will graduate seven players from the roster.

“It was a really good season. Outside of this one, we lost two other games by a goal each,” Kaminskas said. “We made it a point to play some big games in Ohio and big games in Canada. We challenged the guys and it led to some good things.

“As a program, we’ve been in more regional championships than we haven’t, so the expectations are to be at this level each year.”