Staff Writer

PORTLAND — The Portland High boys` lacrosse seniors got another chance to win a Class A state championship Saturday, and made the most of it.

The Bulldogs, making their second appearance in three seasons in a state final, cruised to a 9-3 victory against previously unbeaten Brunswick at Fitzpatrick Stadium to capture their first state championship plaque.

``It was a crowning achievement,`` Portland Coach Eric Begonia said.

``The seniors hold every record in Portland history. They just went out and took care of every aspect of the game.``

In 2007, Brunswick, making its third consecutive appearance in the state final, recorded a 9-4 win against the Bulldogs to capture its first state championship.

``To all the seniors, this means a lot because we were here once and we just wanted to come out and win this game,`` said Portland middie K.R. Jurgelevich, a two-time All-American who scored a game-high three goals. ``It means a lot to the program. All the younger kids can take this and bring it on to their later years, and the seniors can just take it to college with them.``

``Hats off to Portland,`` Brunswick Coach Don Glover said. ``They put a lot of pressure on us and did not let us get into a rhythm because when we can get into a rhythm we`ve been productive.``

No matter what the Dragons did, they couldn`t keep up with the Bulldogs.

``We tried to run them a little bit,`` Glover said.

``We tried to change up some defenses. We got caught in some transition situations and they capitalized on some of those. We made some adjustments, and we got caught in some mismatch situations and they took advantage of it.``

For Portland, Caleb Kenney, a sophomore attacker, scored two goals and had an assist. Seniors Andy Holt and Tyler Sandler each had a goal and an assist. Senior middie Kyle Roberts scored a goal. Senior Jason Smith had two assists, and Gordon Parker, a junior middie, added an assist.

For Brunswick (14-1), Tom Gibson, Zach McMillan and Win Gillis scored goals.

Sophomore Mat Caputi had an assist.

Goalie Nick Sterling made eight saves for Portland, while sophomore Jeremy Diaz made 14 saves for Brunswick.

The Bulldogs (14-1) possessed the ball for most of the first quarter.

They held an 8-3 edge in shots on goal, but that translated into a slim 2-0 lead on goals by Sam Guimond and Holt as the Brunswick defense limited inside looks.

Jurgelevich bounced in a rocket from 15 yards less than three minutes into the second quarter to push the lead to 3-0.

``There`s a golden ratio between offense and possession, and we got stuck on the wrong side of that,`` Glover said. ``We spent too much time playing defense.``

Portland took a 4-0 lead when Kenney turned a feed from Sandler into a goal 51 seconds into the second half.

Gibson, a freshman attackman, scored the Dragons` first goal of the game 2:09 into the third quarter.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com