Murphy Cup staying put; Huskers bury Rebels, 18-9
Yorktown retains Murphy Cup; Mahopac reels off pair of wins

 

Husker Tom Interlicchio carries on Rebel Dave Sapanaro

Story & photo by Ray Gallagher
The game that used to mean so much to Section 1 lacrosse has failed to produce any sort of drama in recent years. The fabled Charlie Murphy Cup game between neighboring rivals Yorktown High and Lakeland/Panas – once as big a game as there were in Section 1 sports in the early to late-‘90s – lacked the suspense this past Saturday that used to generate interest from the most ardent lacrosse fan to those who casually watched. Fifty goals have separated the two programs during Murphy Cup games over the past seven contests, including Yorktown’s 18-9 dismantling of the overmatched Rebels Saturday when the Huskers retained the Cup for the 12th straight year, 16th time in 17 years.

It was over by halftime, the Huskers taking a 9-1 lead into the break, and before long the clock was on running time as Yorktown opened a 12-goal lead before dumping its bench.

Coach Dave Marr’s Cornhuskers (8-5) worked the ball better in the second quarter and their depth won out, leaving the Yorktown faithful proud in this first-ever Murphy Cup without Charlie Murphy – the original benefactor of the program – in attendance. Mr. Murph, as he was affectionately known, passed away last August at the ripe old age of 93 after dedicating much of the latter part of his life to the Yorktown lacrosse program. His impact was vast and his home became a shrine to the Yorktown lacrosse community, which mourned his passing and commemorated his service with a 5-minute pre-game speech delivered by assistant coach Adam Lodewick.

The Huskers finally responded to those emotions by torching the Rebels (7-5) in the second quarter, hitting wide-open looks and controlling both the tempo and the scoreboard. All-Section sniper Jake DeLillo, a tri-captain, delivered a seriously strong performance, scoring three goals and setting up five others with choice looks.

“We wanted to come out hard,” said DeLillo. “We were tired of our coaches asking, ‘where’s the effort’. In the first couple of games we were strong and tough, but then we hit a bit of a slump that hurt. Today, without Mr. Murph around for the first time, this game was definitely for him. We moved the ball around well in that second quarter and things took off from there.”

Yorktown sophomore Brendan Kurpis went off, popping for a career-high five goals, many uncontested by Rebel poles, who, know doubt, were busy turning their attention to DeLillo and captain Tom Interlicchio. Rocky Bonitatibus (1 assist) and Tim Curtain each scored twice for the Huskers. Lakeland/Panas got two goals apiece from Shane McCaron (2 assists), Keith Rodriguez and Mike Malan. Andrew Collins set up three tallies for the Rebels.

Interlicchio, who scored once, set up another and set the tempo at midfield, said: “In the first quarter a lot of players were getting some jitters out… you know, the Murph Cup, big crowd and all, but when the second and third quarter struck, we all played together. When we play together we’re very successful. This was a very emotional day for us, without Mr. Murph on the sideline. We had to come out strong and win this for him. There’s no chance we could lose this game or let it be close. It’s because of this man (Mr. Murphy) that we’re here today. A win was very important for us.”

L/P Coach Jim Lindsey, who pumped home four goals the last time the Rebels beat Yorktown in 1997, admitted the Huskers’ depth wore his team down.

“We’re young and the problem is we don’t have a whole lot of depth,” Lindsey said. “We competed for the first 12 minutes or so, but then we broke down. It’s part of the learning process. We have to learn to play through adversity. We lack guys who have been around in key spots right now, but we keep playing hard, which is what we’re trying to get out of our kids. If we keep working at the rate we’re working, the sky is the limit for these guys down the road. Our base for the future is on the field right now, and we need to keep building.”

Yorktown will look to build momentum down the stretch as they close out the regular season against tough tests from Wilton and St. Anthony’s, both of which are honorable mention in the STX national poll.

“Every game we go hard from here as every game means so much in terms of getting ready for playoffs,” DeLillo admitted.

“We talked about being unselfish,” Coach Marr said. “The kids showed some nerves early on and got a little over anxious. As soon as we settled down, we moved the ball a little better and made some things happen. It was a little awkward without Mr. Murph here. You never want to be a part of the team that loses the cup. You don’t want to give it up. We move forward from here, though. We’ve got a lot of good teams in front of us before June 1st, so we can’t afford to look past anybody.”

Mahopac (9-5) continued its bid for a No.3 seed in the Class A playoffs by knocking off Fox Lane, 7-6, and Mamaroneck, 14-6, last week. Coach Ryan McClay’s Indians got three goals and an assist from Stetson Hundgen against the Foxes and five more, plus an assist, against Mamroneck. Hundgen leads the team with 30 points (20 G, 10 A). Tyler Perrelle added four goals against Mamaroneck, who could not stop Matt Leithead (2G, 2A) or Joe Femia (2G, 1A) either. Leithead has 17 goals and eight assists for the year.