In a regular-season matchup with Severn, Calvert Hall's Kevin Huntley was a one-man offense, Matt Eckerl split the faceoffs with his counterpart and the Cardinals lost by one goal.
But No. 3 Calvert Hall was a different team in yesterday's 18-9, Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference lacrosse quarterfinal rout of the No. 8 Admirals (9-11) at Towson University, in which Eckerl was dominant and Huntley was just another threat among 10 different offensive contributors.
The Cardinals (16-4) led only 6-4 after a first half that featured five ties and as many lead changes, but erased all doubt with a 13-1 run for a 17-5 lead early in the fourth period, earning a rematch with No. 1 Loyola (12-3) in Tuesday's semifinal at Towson.
"We haven't been in the playoffs since 1997, and it was a great experience for us to get out here and win as a team," said Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly, whose Cardinals beat Loyola, 10-9, on Monday. "We've got a big game ahead of us."
The Towson University-bound Eckerl won 19 of the 22 faceoffs he participated in, taking two of them straight to the goal for scores during a seven-goal third period that put the Cardinals up 13-5 and allowed Kelly to empty his bench.
"First time we played them, it was 50-50 on faceoffs, but we knew we were a better team," said Eckerl. "We felt we had something to prove. I think we proved we can play and we're one of the best teams in the league."
Also scoring twice in the third period were Nick Williams (two goals) and junior Kevin Buchanan (four goals), who led all goal scorers for the second straight game.
Senior Sid Blevins (two goals) helped to establish the tempo by scoring two of the Cardinals' first four goals, and Huntley (three goals), Mike Edwards (three goals, two assists) and Brian Gorman (one, one) also contributed.
"First time we played them, I had six of our seven goals and assisted on the other. Today, everyone else stepped up," said Huntley, who had been shut out during the previous eight quarters. "When guys are making it hard for me to score, now they have other guys to worry about."
Calvert Hall's Jeremy Blevins had 10 saves and Severn's Kip Turner had eight of his 13 saves in the first half.
Severn's Michael Phipps (two goals, three assists) scored two of the Admirals' first three goals and assisted on the other, but was largely contained by defenders Anthony Miele and Chris Dunlop after that.
"We kept fresh legs on him and he didn't do too much in the second half," said Miele. "We tried not to let him touch the ball."
