Emsing, BC High catch fire, roll past Franklin, 13-1

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS LACROSSE

Eagles (13-1) net impressive win

Franklin’s Andrew Fraulo, right, is pursued by BC High’s Johnny Krzywda during the first quarter of a boys lacrosse game Saturday. BC High rolled to a 13-1 win. PHOTO BY PAUL CONNORS — MEDIA NEWS GROUP/BOSTON HERALD

Franklin goalie Sam Freedman makes a sliding save on a shot from BC High’s Enzo Serio during the first quarter. BC High rolled to a 13-1 boys lacrosse win. PHOTO BY PAUL CONNORS — MEDIA NEWS GROUP/BOSTON HERALD

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By Brendan Connelly

Correspondent

Trailing out of the gate Saturday, Nick Emsing and his teammates kept their composure.

The Trinity commit erupted for a five-goal outburst, as BC High’s lacrosse team registered a convincing 13-1 romp of Franklin along Morrissey Boulevard.

“It really doesn’t matter who we play,” said BC High coach Marcus Craigwell. “As long as we can execute our plan, we’re successful against any team. Franklin is talented, super talented. They’ve got some depth, but I knew it wasn’t in doubt with the preparation that we had.”

It was a unique matchup between two of the state’s winningest teams. BC High (13-1) had been running roughshod the regular season, ranked second in the Boston Herald’s top 25. Meanwhile, Franklin (11-2) had been finding ways to pull off victories against teams of all shapes and sizes, slotted 15th overall.

In the early going, it appeared as though the Panthers might see their success continue, as sophomore Nate Walsh sniped a shot to provide Franklin a 1-0 edge with 4:27 to play in the opening quarter.

It was the only lead the Panthers held all game. BC High closed the quarter with force, as Jacob Adams buried the equalizer, before Emsing netted his first goal with 4.2 seconds to go in the frame to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.

They were far from finished. Enzo Serio and Emsing opened the second quarter with a pair of goals for BC High, and the lead was suddenly 4-1 with 7:56 left in the half.

As the clock began to bleed out in the second quarter, David Leahy found the cage with a missile, as the Eagles constructed a 5-1 advantage by intermission.

“All it takes is getting hot,” said Emsing. “Again, we struggled getting hot, but once we start clicking, this offense is hard to beat. I think that was just the goal today, to come out with the win. We faced adversity, which is (going to help).”

Once the second half commenced, BC High drained the clock for the majority of the third quarter, before putting the pedal to the medal in the final stanza. After being held silent early, junior Murphy Belvin caught fire in the fourth quarter by registering a hat trick to put things to bed for the Eagles.

Craigwell was quick to credit BC High defensive coach Nick Klein, who’s squad shut down one of the highest scoring squads in the Commonwealth.

“We’re a Catholic school,” Klein said. “It always starts with placing trust in God, and telling our boys to trust in the Lord. Then, we have a great head coach. One of the best in the state, and he places a lot of trust and belief in us. Coach Craigwell, in all the things he does, it helps just ooze confidence into our players. He places a lot of trust in us, it puts a lot of trust in them, and they’re confident and executing.”

Leahy and Serio finished with two goals apiece for the Eagles, who closed things with 13 unanswered as a team.

Now, BC High turns its attention to its Catholic Conference slate. The Eagles will clash with another tough squad when they take on Catholic Memorial.

“CM gets better and better as the season goes on, so we’re not going to overlook them,” said Craigwell. “They’re going to give us all they have, and we just have to be prepared for that, and for any other team from here on out.”