Carthage boys lacrosse coach Kirk Ventiquattro believes his team learned its lesson one week ago.
The Comets were dealt their first loss of the season last week against Section 10 power Canton. Ventiquattro's message of being relentless until the season is over was inevitably heard, and Immaculate Heart Central found out quickly on Thursday night.
Carthage raced out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back as it dropped the Cavaliers, 16-8, in a Frontier League matchup at IHC. The Comets (11-1 overall, 7-0 league) received a game-high eight points each from freshman Thomas Grimm and senior captain Ben Koster.
"They're much more focused in practice," Ventiquattro said. "I think they appreciate the wins more. Sometimes you think teams are going to roll over for you, and we have some tough teams left on our schedule."
Carthage overcame one of its biggest remaining challenges in IHC (6-4, 4-2). The Cavaliers hammered Canton on the road Saturday, which left the Comets perplexed about their chances against the Cavaliers.
But Ventiquattro felt the game was won Thursday on faceoffs, where the Cavaliers have dominated league foes for the past few years. The Comets nabbed five of seven draws in the first quarter alone, and limited IHC to just four established possessions on offense. Carthage took 10 of 14 faceoffs in the first half en route to victory.
"IHC is always a big game," Grimm said. "They're a rivalry, and they have been for a while. When we come out here, the lights are on, and it's game time. We came out strong and took it to them."
Especially Grimm, who finished with a stalwart effort of three goals and five assists. Three of his points came in the overwhelming first quarter for Carthage. After hitting two pipes and firing shots wide of the cage, Koster started producing at an impressive rate.
Koster tallied two goals and assisted on another as the Comets constructed a 7-0 advantage after 12 minutes. A slight change in Koster's shot allowed him to finish with a game-best five goals and three assists.
"When you go up against a goalie who's good up top, you have to throw him variations," Koster said. "He'll get used to what you're going to do, and just keep changing it up so it's harder and harder for him to save it."
Trailing 9-0, IHC senior Colin Caldwell scored the team's first goal midway through the quarter. He finished with two goals. Juniors Ben Winkler and Tony Doldo each supplied three points, but the Cavaliers just couldn't keep up with the Comets.
"They were very simple, and they do what they do," IHC coach Jerry Standford said. "There is no complexity. They adjust to whatever you do. We tried to make some changes from the last time we played them, and they adjusted quickly."
The Cavaliers were down 10-3 at halftime, but never got closer until they scored the last four goals of the game.
Senior captain Robert Grimm produced four goals and an assist for Carthage, which refuses to accept another defeat.
"Everybody is stepping up their game," Koster said. "We already have one loss, and we can't have another one."
