Class B Lax Notebook
Casey Goes Crazy in Yorktown’s Region 1 Class B Title Win
Huskers to Face Rival Garden City in Downstate Semis Wednesday
Way back in March, we put out the memo: Beware of Yorktown senior A/M Kyle Casey this season. It was in this sports section and on the world-wide web, but apparently the communiqué didn’t make its way to the capital district, despite the fact Casey will play there next season for Coach Scott Marr’s Great Danes at SUNY Albany.
Casey torched Section 2 powerhouse Niskayuna for five goals and three assists in the state-ranked (No.2) Huskers’ 12-11 NYSPHSAA Region 1 Class B championship win last Saturday at Mohonasen High School in Schenectady.
“He was special today,” Yorktown Coach Sean Carney said of the recently-minted All-American he likened to former Husker All-American and current Marquette senior stud Conor Gately. “I told him at half that it was Casey time. He started going to the cage and taking the initiative, didn’t defer any more. He is a pretty special player as he can shoot and has vision up there with some of our best. He’s got no-looks like Gately had, and he uses his size well and his teammates kept picking to get him free.”
When Casey wasn’t free, he drew slides and found open teammates, specifically in the second half. The Silver Warriors held a 6-5 halftime lead and Carney’s “chat” with Casey paid the kind of dividends he’s returned all season (six second-half points).
“If you are going to lose, you better lose with your best kids attempting to make plays,” Carney said. “Kyle did that throughout the second half. It really was a special game for him.”
Yorktown’s junior twins, Jamison Embury (3G) and Hunter Embury (2G, 1A), did what they do as well as anyone in the state, scurrying about the field with elusive speed. With their speed and the combination of Casey and Justin Cavallo’s power, the Huskers are tough to contain, given the depth they have, too.
“It got a little scary at the end, I’m not going to lie,” Cavallo admitted. “But once we see a short stick on any one of our offensive players we tell them to go, let alone Kyle. It was almost disrespectful to him to have a shorty on him and he showed that no team should have a short stick on him.”
Shane Dahlke added a goal and Husker G Louis Ragusa made six saves, including one in the waning seconds.
“Nisky was really good,” Carey said. “The boys are very excited now for the next opportunity.”
The next opportunity has often been the bane of Yorktown’s existence: The Huskers play Section 8 champion and Long Island rival Garden City at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at SUNY Albany in the NYSPHSAA downstate semifinal.
Garden City will throw haymakers at the Huskers. Between Finn Gibbons and Luke Keating, the Trojans have two lethal scoring threats that Yorktown All-Americans Jose Boyer and Brett Makar will have their hands full with. The duo combined for 12 goals in the Trojans’ 14-4 win over Eastport-South Manor in the one-sided LI title tilt.
Makar suspects the 2016 NYS runner-up Huskers will have enough firepower to match up with the Trojans, and expects another big game from Casey, who has been a match-up nightmare for opposing poles or fools who try to contain him with a shorty.
“Kyle’s been doing that all year,” Makar said. “He’s truly an All-American player and leader. Coming out of half, Kyle knew if he made a play everyone would follow his lead. We’re thankful we got a guy like him on our team, and I got more lacrosse left with him. We’re looking forward to Wednesday for sure.”
It has the makings for a classic in yet another chapter of Yorktown vs. Garden City.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
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