When Kettle Moraine and Arrowhead boys lacrosse teams get together, the entire state of Wisconsin knows the game will be a fight to the finish.
But what if there is no finish?
In this weeks Amplify game, we’ll never know if the Warhawks had one last scoring run in them as the Lasers take a 12-8, weather-shortened victory over the Warhawks that was concluded with 10 minutes, 23 seconds left to play due to lightning in the area.
“It’s a little funky with the weather situation — the game doesn’t feel complete, but I’m glad we’re on the positive end of it,” Kettle Moraine coach Michael Stefan said.
Before the skies lit up, Malloy Murphy was shooting bolts for the Lasers. The senior attacker scored five goals for Kettle Moraine (8-1, 3-0 Classic Eight – Red).
“Our three attacks (Murphy, Chris Bender and Nolan Rappis) work really well together and they have great chemistry, so it’s not a shock Murphy scored that much,” Stefan said.
Arrowhead (4-3, 1-1) jumped out to a 5-4 lead with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter, with junior Will Lauterbach scoring three of the Warhawks’ five goals during that stretch.
The fact Lauterbach was available for this game – and, frankly, the rest of the 2019 season – is a credit to modern medicine. According to Arrowhead coach Jake Swietzer, Lauterbach took a vicious high cross check to the throat during the Warhawks’ trip to St. Louis earlier this month, which resulted in a trip to the hospital by ambulance. However, without any structural damage, he managed to fit in enough rehab and therapy to be ready for the big game against his school’s biggest rival.
“He played pretty well tonight and, fortunately, we didn’t lose Will, who is a great kid,” Swietzer said.
With 1:36 left in the first quarter, the Lasers started a 4-0 run to take the lead for good. Malloy scored three of the goals, and Rappis added the fourth.
“They’ve been producing at a high rate, and their secret sauce is the chemistry that they have together,” Stephan said.
Arrowhead would pull within one goal with 1:31 left in the second half, but Kettle Moraine scored twice more in the final minute of the half to go up two before halftime.
Swietzer admired the fact Arrowhead never quit, even when they were down four with just over 10 minutes left to play before Mother Nature stole the show. Like the rest of us, he can only wonder what that final quarter had in store.
“It was a great game, and I would love to have finished this one,” he said. “It’s like sitting through a movie then missing the ending.”
Kettle Moraine heads to New York this week to take on St. Michael’s College of Ontario in Rochester on Friday before visiting Victor on Saturday. Arrowhead travels to Franklin for another conference tilt tonight.
Each week WisconsinLacrosse.com will highlight a select game from around the State of Wisconsin. Made possible by a donation from Amplify Lacrosse.
