BOCA RATON – Like they have for better part of the season, Ponte Vedra took the field the No. 1 ranked team, yet they still had to prove it every night.
Mission accomplished.
Ahead 8-5 at the half, the Sharks went on a 10-0 run to seal their first ever boys lacrosse state title in a running clock 18-7 win over St. Thomas Aquinas.
Whatever head coach Tom West said at half worked as the Sharks put it away in the third quarter to become just the second public school to win the boys title.
Ponte Vedra got contributions from several players as ten different guys scored in the win including five goals from Dylan Hess and three from Patrick Dotsikas.
Not to mention two goals each from Carter Parlette, Freddie Dimarzo and Jack Dowd; as well as single goals from Freddie Amato, Tommy Zitello, Will Frank, Joe Taraboletti and Aidan Dunigan.
Goals from Zitello, Dotsikas and two goals from Hess gave the Sharks a quick 4-0 lead barely three minutes into the game.
The Raiders cut the lead in half with two quick scores of their own nearly a minute apart.
Parlette scored back-to-back goals for the Sharks to increase the lead to 6-2, while Dimarzo and Amato added goals to take a 8-5 lead into the half.
The second half was a different story though as the Sharks came out of the locker room with a different purpose or attitude.
Hess and Dotsikas scored with in 30 seconds of each other to start the second half.
From there it only got worse as the Sharks started the second half with a 8-0 run in the third quarter that extended to 10-0 two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Just like that the lead grew to 18-5 and the Sharks began to sense their first state title.
To get to the final, Ponte Vedra (24-1) first had to get through defending state champion Jupiter in the semifinal holding them off 10-8 Friday night.
The Sharks jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the game, only to see Jupiter cut it to 7-6 in the third quarter.
Ahead 9-8 with less than three minutes left, Taraboletti put the game away with a goal with 2:42 left to put the Sharks up two scores.
Only a loss to Lambert, GA stood in the way of a perfect season as the Sharks closed out the season with 17 straight wins.
And just like when the took the field tonight they leave the field the No. 1 ranked team in the state and perhaps the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
