KENTS HILL — The general approach for the Maranacook/Winthrop boys lacrosse team is to focus on defense first and then worry about the offense later.

After firing 28 shots on net in a 5-3 loss to North Yarmouth Academy last Saturday, though, it was clear to Hawks coach Zach Stewart that his team needed to put a little more emphasis on the attacking zone.

Marancook’s Josh Murphy, left, celebrates with teammate Denver Cram after Cram scored during a game Friday afternoon against Oak Hill at Kents Hill School. The Hawks soared to a 20-1 victory. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

Oak Hill’s Kyle Field, left, and Maranacook’s James Canwell tangle for a loose ball during a game Friday afternoon at kents Hill. The Hawks cruised to a 20-1 victory. Staff photo by Joe Phelan

“This week after that performance against NYA we’ve shot thousands of balls,” Stewart said. “I’m still out of breath from blowing on the whistle.”

That extra work clearly paid off for the Hawks (1-1), as they blitzed potential Eastern Class B contender Oak Hill 20-1 on a blustery Friday afternoon at Kents Hills School’s Huard Field.

“We’ve done a lot of work on offense this week, dialing in on shots and getting our rotation,” Hawks senior James Canwell, who finished with four goals, said. “We worked on moving the ball around and really just hitting the cage and following through with the shots.”

Maranacook/Winthrop wasted little time in showing those improvements against the shorthanded Raiders (0-1), who played without four-year starting goaltender Matty Martin and key reserve Bailey Drouin for the contest, as well as three starters for the opening quarter.

Denver Cram got the Hawks on the scoreboard 3 minutes and 7 seconds into the game when he finished off an assist from Bailey Clark, and 1:22 later Clark set up Cram to give the home team a 2-0 advantage. The opening quarter proved to be all Hawks, as they ultimately took a 7-0 lead into the second on two goals from Kyle Morand, one from Ty Smith and another each from Cram and Clark.

Backup goaltender senior Kyle Tervo — who is normally a midfielder and had not played in goal since his freshman year — performed admirably in Martin’s stead and finished with 13 saves.

“There’s only so much you can teach a goalie in a week and a half,” Oak Hill coach Dan Brannigan said. “I’ll give Tervo credit, he played his heart out, but when you have three kids that show up late for practice and can’t play the whole first quarter, which is why they came out and blitzed us the way they did, (that happens).”

The Raiders somewhat regained their footing in the second quarter with Steven Gilbert scoring off an assist from Samuel Woodard to cut the deficit to 7-1, but the Hawks tacked on two more before the end of the quarter to take a commanding 9-1 lead at the break.

Cram finished with five goals and three assists for the Hawks, while Morand and Clark poured in three each. Josh Murphy had a team-high 12 ground balls, won 19 faceoffs, scored a goal and added two assists.

While the result was clearly not what the Raiders were looking for, Brannigan expects a far different outcome when the two teams meet again May 22 at Oak Hill.

“I looked at the score and I immediately erased it from my mind,” Brannigan said. “This isn’t a 20-1 difference, this isn’t a 19-goal difference in talent. Give me a run with all my guys any day of the week and we’ll hang right with them. I’m not worried about it.”

The Black Bears tend to agree.

“They’re better than this,” Morand said. “We just played a better game, but … another game it will be a closer one.”

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley

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