At the time, already up two on Centennial with just over two minutes left in regulation, Tyler Burford's goal appeared rather inconsequential -- more like icing on the cake, instead of a necessity.

But, against a traditional county powerhouse such as the Eagles, Burford and Glenelg knew better.

"We needed every goal we could get. ... No lead is safe against a team like that," Burford said. "They get out on every ball, they just keeping coming at you."

"I totally expected them to make a run, this was too important of a game and they're too good of a lacrosse team to expect anything else," Glenelg coach Josh Hatmaker added.

Centennial fulfilled the expectations of its opposition, getting goals from Shane Jaeger and Harrison Chaires, who combined for five goals and two assists on the night, in a span of 47 seconds to pull within one with just over a minute left.

However, like it managed to do all night, Glenelg stayed composed and responded. The Gladiators won a critical ground ball and then, after a Centennial penalty, effectively ran out the clock for a 7-6 victory April 18 that kept their undefeated record intact.

"The character of our kids really showed through in the fact that they didn't get rattled," Hatmaker said. "They took (Centennial's) run as a challenge, rather than it's the end of the world. That's what wins these kind of games."

Glenelg (6-0, 7-0) was tied or in the lead the entire way, getting on the board first on a goal by Burford just over seven minutes in. Centennial (4-2, 6-3) answered before the end of the first quarter with a goal by Chaires. However, that turned out to be the Eagles' only goal of the half.

Glenelg's Ryan Dougherty (three goals) and Josh Braun each scored in the second quarter to push the lead to 3-1 at halftime.

"Our defense did great today, really limiting their number of broken-play chances and transition opportunities. It certainly made my job a lot easier," said Glenelg goalie Jon Selfridge, who finished with 16 saves and was a big reason Centennial went 18 minutes without a goal between the first and third quarters.

Dougherty pushed his team's advantage to 4-1 just 10 seconds after intermission and the Gladiators appeared set to pull away. But Centennial's defense clamped down and its offense broke through for three goals in a span of three minutes to tie things, 4-4, with 4:32 left in the third.

Jaeger accounted for two of the goals during the spurt.

"We had a lot of opportunities in the first quarter, we just weren't finishing, so when we started moving a little better in the second half I thought that's why we started scoring," Centennial coach Mike Siegert said. "Crunch time, the game on the line, our guys picked up the intensity."

Seeing the momentum slipping away, Glenelg picked things up on its end as well, scoring three straight goals to establish a margin that, in the end, proved too large for Centennial to overcome.

The Gladiators top scorer from last season, Chris Gotschall, didn't get his first point of the night until he assisted on what turned out to be Burford's game-winning goal with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter. But that one point, which was set up by a Centennial turnover, turned out to be a big one.

"It's been happening all year, teams putting a big emphasis on stopping Chris, and that's allowed me, Josh, Ryan and some other guys to get open a lot," Burford said. "And I think we've stepped up a lot more than we did last year."

Marriotts Ridge falls

Thanks to Atholton, Glenelg emerged from last week as the only county team left with an overall undefeated record.

The Raiders, which were playing without one of their offensive leaders in Joey Placek (calf contusion) for the third straight game, got hat tricks from Harrison Nowalk and Rick Rappaport to edge the previously 8-0 Mustangs, 9-8, on April 18. Atholton used a five-goal run in the third quarter to go ahead, 9-4, before eventually holding on for the one-goal victory.

"The whole game the guys' resiliency showed, whether it was pulling together to take that big lead or holding off their late run," Atholton coach Jared Albert said. "I feel like we've been real good in spurts all year, but that was really a breakout effort. We played loose, we played confident and I think we've got a little of our swagger back now."

Raiders' goalie Brian Humphreys (nine saves) came up with a pair of huge stops in the final minutes to help preserve the lead. Tom Hart also played a big role in the win, registering a goal and three assists.

Kyle Williams led the way with three goals and two assists for the Mustangs, who even with the loss are still right in the thick of the race for the county championship game. Danny Incontrera and Jimmy Yoon added two goals apiece.

E-mail Brent Kennedy at bkennedy@patuxent.com.

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