TUKWILA – One of, if not the biggest rivalry in Washington State High School Lacrosse took place in the Division I championship on Sunday. Mercer Island – suffering it’s only loss of the season against the Wolverines of Bellevue, would execute one of the most memorable 4th quarter runs in recent memory to capture the Division I State Title, 11-8, in front of 2,200 rowdy fans in Starfire Stadium!

Shots were not rare in the first quarter, but both goalies stood tough, each making a big save to keep the game at 0 until late. At the 4:30 mark, freshman Paul Johnson would wrap around from X to bury one in the back of the net – literally bouncing off of Islander keeper, Ezra Tillinger’s shoulder to put the Wolverines up first. With under a minute left, Evan Condon would tie things up, putting away a fast bouncer to hype up the Islander student section.

Beginning in the second quarter, we would start to see a little separation, with Bellevue looking composed and taking advantage of the holes in the Islanders defense. Augie Fratt would bury one of his own on a drive through the Mercer Island defense to put Bellevue back up, but not to be out down, the Islanders would strike back just seconds later on a feed to the driving crease man to tie things up at 2. Augie Fratt would go to work again on a shifty right-to-left split dodge, burying a rocket on the far side of the net, and he wasn’t done. Seconds later, he would find junior Joe Bethke on the crease for a dump, and then again, the same connection – Fratt to Bethke, this time on the wing for a rip.

Heading into halftime, the Wolverines had clear momentum and looked to lock up their second win over the Islander’s of the season.

In the third, we witnessed even more separation. Bellevue would outscore Mercer Island 3-1 in the quarter, including 2 more goals from the Boston University commit, Augie Fratt. Mercer Island’s goal would come midway through the third when Jack Counihan fought his way low, tip toeing the crease for the inside finish. With clear momentum heading into the break, it looked as if Bellevue was running away with the State Championship, but the Islanders’ weren’t done.

Cole Bouwman made tremendous saves all game for the Wolverines, but the state’s 2nd highest scoring team – Mercer Island, put up 7 goals in the 4th quarter in what was one of the greatest comebacks in recent years. Things got started early with a goal by Johnny Van Der Velden to close the gap, and then a minute later, Mitch Stickney would hit a left-to-right split dodge down the alley to bury a bouncer past the Wolverine’s keeper. With the Islanders’ student section in full effect, the Mercer Island sideline came to life. On a ball-down scuffle, Jack Counihan would find a cutting Bryan Glant in the crease, who would finish with a low back-hand shot to send the 2,200 in attendance into a frenzy. Again, Johnny Van der Velden would put away another, this time from Jack Counihan, to tie the game up at 8.

The Islander’s dominated the time of possession throughout the fourth, contributing to their shutout performance in the period. Bellevue was held to only a couple opportunities and spent most of the time on their heels.

With a little over 2 minutes left, Bryan Glant would score again to put Mercer Island up, and then with just a minute left and an empty net, Evan Condon & Brett Bottomley would put the finishing touch on things, completing one of the craziest comebacks, and capturing the Division I State Championsip!