BC High finally exorcises St. John’s Prep curse with OT victory in Division 1 boys’ lacrosse semifinal

BURLINGTON — For five years, St. John’s Prep has provided a massive hurdle in BC High’s quest for a Division 1 boys’ lacrosse title.

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By taking down their rivals, 11-10, in an overtime thriller Tuesday night at Burlington High, BC High punched its ticket to Friday’s state final (site, time TBA) to take on top-seeded Lincoln-Sudbury (17-3).

Now they face another massive challenge: Resetting after the program’s most emotional win this decade.

“That right there, probably roped up all my five years,” said BC High coach Marcus Craigwell, who has led his team to the state final four times and semifinals once before falling to Prep each spring since 2021.

“Can we get over the hump? Can we get that one ground ball that Prep got in the finals? Can we get that one faceoff we need? This year, it was us. And we emphasize that in practice. It’s not talent at this level. It’s the little gritty plays, it’s discipline, and that’s what we executed.”

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The five-time defending champions, Prep (19-3) took a 3-2 lead late in the first quarter and did not trail again in regulation. They closed each quarter with goals in the final minute, including what looked like the winning tally from Ryan McCarthy (three goals) with 50 seconds remaining.

But sixth-seeded BC High (17-5) turned to All-American faceoff specialist Jackson Ketchen (two goals) for a huge win, collected a key ground ball in the waning seconds, and Enzo Serio got the ball to Jake Adams (three goals) to tie the game with just 4 seconds left to force overtime.

Ketchen won the next faceoff, Craigwell called timeout, and senior Murphy Belvin freed Nathan Rogers (four goals) with a pick — allowing the sophomore to fire the winning goal just under the crossbar with a satisfying sound, as the BC High players rushed the field in jubilation.

“That was just trust,” said Rogers. “We had a big talk about trust in your brothers and I’m so thankful that my coaches and everyone trusts in me. It was just an unbelievable effort. A great team win and there’s one left.”

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