OSWEGO – It was almost a fairy-tale start to their first game in their season. Trailing 8-5 at halftime, the Oswego River Hawks box lacrosse team rallied to tie the game at 8-8 early in the third quarter in the team’s NABLL debut on June 18.
“I watched and said to myself, ‘We’re going to win this thing,’” said General Manager Dan Witmer.
Well, that prediction proved to be a bit premature, as the visiting Utica Yeti found their offense and went on a run, and led 18-10 about midway through the fourth quarter. When the River Hawks took out their starting goalie, the Yeti showed no mercy to his replacement, scoring 13 goals in the final eight minutes.
“You look at a 31-10 final score and all you can do is shake your head. I honestly thought we were in the game,” explained Witmer.
A week later, the River Hawks faced the same Utica squad in Rome for their second game of the season. With a few key players missing, the Oswego team played tough from start to finish, and came away with an 18-6 loss.
“I felt like we made progress. We’re a very young team; in fact, we were missing about five players because they were going to high school graduation ceremonies that night,” Witmer said. ” The Yeti GM joked that he was missing a few players, too – dads who were attending their kids’ graduations.”
Two days later, with only 13 runners and two goalies, the River Hawks played the Salt City Eels at the Onondaga Nation Arena. The Eels had already beaten the Yeti, so no one was expecting the River Hawks to put up much of a fight. Final score: Eels 15, River Hawks 11, and the Oswego team was missing all three of its three player/coaches.
“There’s no doubt we’re getting better. We’re learning the game, the pace, the angles, even the rules,” said Witmer. “And once we start putting 22 of our best players into the lineup, watch out.”
There will be no better test than next weekend, when the River Hawks are scheduled to play two games in two days at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Oswego will play a league game versus the Yeti on Friday night, and then play a non-league game against the Virginia Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Bears play in the Mid-Atlantic Division of the NABLL and last year, like the Eels, qualified for the IBLA national championshipsin Florida – so the competition will be stiff.
After three games, Tully’s Will Hardy leads the River Hawks in scoring, with 8 goals and 9 assists (17 points). Other leading scorers include Tully’s Thomas Berry (8-5-13), C-NS grad Mason Blakemon (2-3-5), Fulton’s Evan Kistner (3-0-3), and former Syracuse University All-American Dylan Donahue (3-0-3).
At the other end of the floor, the River Hawks are led by defenders Jason Webb, brothers Owen and Tyler Spearing, Jack Rice, Dillon May, Cory Tilton, and Zach Cole. Goalies include starter Jack Beck (71.4%), Chris Brancato, Aaron Hewson, Connor Waller, and Richie Bennett.
“I love the mix we have on our roster,” Witmer said. “We have 2022 high school grads, guys that are currently playing in college, and a number of ‘older’ guys who, of course, have the most box lacrosse experience. Our players/coaches – Chris Brim, JD Jones, and Dylan Donahue – beat the bushes to find talented players from all over Section III. The high schools include Oswego, Fulton, Central Square, C-NS, Tully, Jordan-Elbridge, Auburn, Baldwinsville, F-M, West
Genesee, ES-M, and Liverpool, and the current colleges include Oswego State, Brockport, Potsdam, Mercyhurst, Morrisville, Merrimack, SUNY Poly, Salisbury, Clarskon, Medaille, and Jacksonville. I’d say we have a pretty good cross-section, and the coaches are doing a great job of teaching and getting everyone to buy in.”
Chris Brim is the River Hawks’ player/head coach, recruited by Witmer after he watched him play last year with his son Brian as they competed for the Eels.
“Chris is a veteran player and coach. He was on the OCC coaching staff for 11 national JUCO championships in 14 years, and the Eels won their division last summer and went to Florida for the IBLA finals. I think he can help us from the floor as much as he can from the bench,” said Witmer.
Dylan Donahue is a player/assistant coach, and he was the first player to register with the River Hawks when the opportunity opened up this past spring.
“I didn’t know Dylan personally, but of course I’ve watched him play since his high school days at West Genny,” Witmer said. “He runs programs out of the Marcellus indoor facility and, like Chris, I knew that he was in touch with dozens of local players. Those contacts were vital to creating our roster.”
The third player/coach is JD Jones, a J-D graduate who has been an assistant varsity coach at ES-M for years. The Towson alum is also a fixture in the CNY lacrosse scene, playing and coaching youth teams, club teams, and more.
“And he brought his son Trey with him” said Witmer. “I’m not sure if there are any other father/son duos in our league.”
Added to the mix of experienced Upstate lacrosse fixtures is assistant coach Ken Kimpel.
“Ken just showed up with Chris at our first practice, and we welcomed his commitment and passion immediately,” said Witmer. “He was an assistant coach for the Eels last year, and he’s been playing club ball – box and field – for years. We’re lucky to have him on board.”
One other element expected to help the River Hawks next week is the play of Witmer’s son Brian.
“He lives in the Czech Republic these days, just got married over there, and has been named to the Czech National Box Team for this summer’s European championships,” Witmer said. “This Oswego team was all we talked about when he was home last summer, and now he’s back in Oswego for about three weeks. The games in Utica thist weekend are the only two he’ll be home for, and he’s looking forward to helping the team.”
Following the two contests in Utica, the River Hawks return home on Friday, July 22 for a 7 p.m. game against the Yeti at the Crisafulli Rink at Fort Ontario.
You can follow the River Hawks on their website (www.oswegoriverhawks.org), on Instagram (oswegoriverhawks), and/or Facebook (Oswego LC River Hawks NABLL).
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