Toby Smith was one half of the best scoring combination in Class B boys lacrosse.
Between he and teammate Zach Glazier, the Maranacook/Winthrop duo accounted for 101 goals and 166 points, leading the Hawks to a perfect 12-0 regular season record before ultimately bowing out in the Eastern Class B semifinals.
Additional Images
KJ/MS Boys Lacrosse All-Stars
Team
Toby Smith, Maranacook/Winthrop
Zach Glazier, Maranacook/Winthrop
Denver Cram, Marnacook/Winthrop
Ben Weeks, Messalonskee
Jake Caldwell, Gardiner
John Bennett, Cony
Zach Bessette, Maranacook/Winthrop
Honorable Mention
Cony: Bronson Kieltyka, Kevin Kingsbury, Jon Saban, Sean Zubrod, Nic Benner, Nate Silsby, Isaac Gingras
Gardiner: Jake Truman, Adrien Heath, JD Crocker, Alex Nadeau, Chase Begin, Trevor Quirion, Skyler McMillan
Maranacook/Winthrop: Alex Tooth, Levi Emery, Josh Murphy, James Canwell, Kyle Morand, AJ Stephens, Simon Davis
Messalonskee: Devin Campbell, Ryan Erskine, Albert Languet IV, Eric Van Derr Karr, Jordan Carson, Elijah Tuell, Jacob Smith
Oak Hill: Kyle Flaherty, Matty Martin, Chad Merrill, Alex Mace
Mt. Blue: Sam Taylor
Glazier scored the most goals with 54. Smith, however, totaled more points (93) after scoring 47 goals and adding 46 assists. For his success throughout the season, Smith is the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. Glazier was also considered for the award.
Maranacook/Winthrop’s run during the regular season was no surprise for Smith. The Hawks — an 11-4 team last season that made it to the semifinals — graduated just two seniors. Smith was part of a large, successful senior class ready to make a run at a state title.
“It went like we thought it would go,” Smith said. “We had a big group of seniors who all knew had to play really well and we had good chemistry. I think we expected to do well. I think we did a little bit better than we thought, but we knew we’d have a good year.”
Smith developed a reputation for a strong scoring shot, something that has been worked on constantly both on and off the field.
“I would see Toby in his driveway just tearing apart nets,” Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart said. “Everyone came to see him tear down those nets.”
Mostly a pure shooter in the past, Smith became more of a distributor to his fellow teammates, while still taking — and successfully making — the open shot when he had the chance.
“It was amazing to me the progression, the amount of goals Toby could put in the net,” Stewart said. “We had teams come to us and try to shut down Toby’s left hand. But the thing is, we never got someone that could shut off his left hand. Toby can score righty, no problem, he just preferred to score lefty. He would take on triple teams all the time and get through them.”
Smith credits most of his success from hard work in the offseason.
“I’ve been playing lacrosse since fifth grade,” Smith said. “Since then, I’ve been putting in a ton of time. During the summers and during the offseason I play wall ball almost every day. I do various travel programs. I put a lot of time in and it seems like success has come out of it. It’s a really good feeling and I have a lot of pride in that.”
In the beginning of the season, the Hawks’ scoring was mostly coming from just Smith and Glazier. As the season progressed, multiple scoring threats stepped up for Maranacook/Winthrop. Among those threats was Denver Cram, who finished behind Glazier and Smith as the third top goal-scorer in Eastern Class B. Having multiple threats, Smith said, gave the team confidence.
“It was awesome,” Smith said. “Those first few games were kind of freaky. We didn’t know if was just going to be (Smith and Glazier) putting balls in the net. As soon as other kids were stepping up and finishing, it was such a relief. It felt so good to have a whole group of guys you could trust and know that if you gave them the ball, they’d finish.”
The Hawks had several key wins throughout the season, including wins over North Yarmouth Academy and a 22-7 win over Gardiner on May 12, whom Maranacook/Winthrop lost to four times last season. The Class B Hawks played Class A Messalonskee in the regular season finale for bragging rights to the area’s best team and Maranacook/Winthrop came out on top.
“We knew it didn’t matter that much (with playoff seeding), we knew were just going in to have fun and play lacrosse,” Smith said. “They’re a huge Class A school, so we had no idea how it was going to end. When we came out with the victory with that, it was good to see going into the (Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship game) and the playoffs that ‘Hey, we’re a pretty good team.'”
The Hawks defeated NYA 9-2 in the quarterfinal round but fell once again in the semifinals, losing 10-7 to eventual Eastern Class B champion Yarmouth on June 14.
Smith plans to attend the University of Vermont in the fall. He plans to continue to play lacrosse at the club level.
“I love lacrosse,” Smith said. “But I prefer it more as a low-key, casual thing. Club seems to be the way to go and enjoy the sport the way I like to.”
Dave Dyer — 621-5639
ddyer@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @Dave_Dyer
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