John Jay laxmen send a message with big win on senior night

Blake O’Callaghan makes one of his ten saves for the Wolves. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By JIM MACLEAN 

When the calendar flips to May you can count on two things for high school sports teams: Seniors will celebrate senior night, and teams are thinking about seeds and rankings for the upcoming post season.

That was certainly the case for the John Jay boys varsity lacrosse team as it celebrated senior night on Friday, May 8, and honored the six seniors on the roster before the game.

“It’s crazy, freshman year you see the seniors and you don’t think anything of it, and then you’re here and it’s kind of surreal, now I know, so to the underclassmen, just enjoy every game,” explained senior captain Peter Hill. “Definitely a little sad, puts everything in perspective coming out here with all the guys, but this game definitely brought us together and we have a big week ahead of us.”

After the pregame celebration, it was time to get down to business, because John Jay knew the implications this game would have on the playoff seeds as the Wolves hosted Sleepy Hollow, a team coming in with a 9-1 record. The Wolves wasted no time sending a message, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and cruising to a 14-5 victory over the Horsemen.

“Right before we came out, coach put up the seedings and showed us that they were No. 2 and we were No. 7, so we came out with a little chip on our shoulder,” admitted senior captain Dino Rajamani. “This night meant everything to us, most of the seniors have been here three or four years. We all love this program, we played youth together; I just love all these guys, a huge night for us.”

Rajamani did his part, scoring three goals for the hat trick. James Tesi led the Wolves with four goals, and Chase Sable also had a hat trick with three goals. Senior Jack Casey scored a pair of goals, while Colin Kazanecki and Holden Hughes each scored a goal.

The one senior who has been around the longest was captain Blake O’Callaghan, a four-year starter in goal and a five-year varsity player. He has seen his share of senior nights, watching his brothers and other alumni go through the John Jay program.

O’Callaghan came up with 10 saves in goal for the Wolves to record the win.

“It’s really special, I’ve been around this program a long time, basically my whole life,” said O’Callaghan. “The alumni always inspire me, five years ago I saw them on senior day, so tonight was really special. Our goal toward the end of the season is to be peaking at the right time and I’m just really proud of our guys tonight, the offense really moved the ball and everyone played well.”

Tesi opened the scoring with a backhanded goal and John Jay led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter. It was all Wolves in the second quarter, including a pair of goals in the final 24 seconds with Sable scoring and then Kazanecki scoring at the buzzer for an 8-2 lead. The Wolves carried the momentum into the second half, leading 11-4 heading into the final period before closing it out.

In addition to the three senior captains, the other seniors on the roster include Casey on attack along with Patrick Ryan and James Bysshe at midfield, although Bysshe is currently out with an injury.

“In Class C we’re all battling for playoff placement and these guys were five spots above us,” admitted John Jay coach Mike Bocklet. “Senior night and they all played great. We have three senior captains and six seniors total and they are all great players and great leaders on and off the field. Blake made some great saves, Casey had two goals, and Pat Ryan was all over the field. They’re a special group and they have been great role models, really bringing the team together.”

With the win, John Jay improved to 8-5 overall, with three big games left on the schedule. The Wolves were set to face Manhasset on Long Island on May 12, and then close out the regular season with two more games against teams ranked ahead of them in the Class C standings, first hosting Somers on Friday, May 15, and then finishing up at Byram Hills on Tuesday, May 19.