The Bellevue Wolverines (13-3) secure their first playoff win over the Ballard Beavers (16-1) in a crushing 19-2 victory at Bellevue High School Friday night.

The game was decided in the first 20 minutes when Bellevue went nearly 10 goals up on their opponent. Ballard couldn’t keep pace the entire game as they battled through a defeat they were not used to seeing all year.

Wolverine senior attackman Cameron McMahon, junior attackman Paul Johnson and senior midfielder Justin Angelel accounted for 10 goals making up half of their team’s final score. Angelel couldn’t have picked a better time to have the best game of his season as he pulls together four goals to lead his team to a playoff victory, the sort of things that look good for an aspiring Lehigh University lacrosse player.

Ballard’s star senior attackman Kai Chamberlain was able to snag the only two goals for their game that night but ends his season with an incredible 30 goals and 62 assists. He played a key role for his team in this season as head coach Don Preston has pointed out that he has grown much from last year demonstrating selfless play and a team-minded attitude.

This one sided affair did not start slow by any means when the Wolverines went on a nine-goal run that bled into the second quarter before Ballard could get on the board.

It’s immensely difficult for a team that has spent their entire season playing lower division teams to properly know how to compete at the level Bellevue has to compete at all season. Their only DI opponent came at a last minute schedule adjustment against Mercer Island at the end of the season (aside from a weak Blanchet team), which they dramatically lost 18-5.

So what is there really to say about this game other than the fact that lower division teams now have to compete for a championship against squads that have been competing on this level all season. Maybe if Ballard had more chances in their non-league games to play a tougher KingCo or Metro team they would have been a bit more prepared. Then again, maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Regardless, it’s still good work for a Bellevue team that has gone through some coaching changes late in their season. Professional athletes may have an easier time dealing with this because they are most likely experienced with it but for young athletes it can be a bit tricky.

“Any time a program experiences coaching changes in the middle of the season, naturally there is going to be obstacles to overcome, challenges we face.” Head coach Nick Welton said. “I think as coaches, we stress focusing and controlling the things that you can control and that’s what we have to focus on.”

Well said for a coach that had a lot put on his plate after John Baumann’s sudden departure from the Bellevue Lacrosse club. It’s silly to assume that the young athletes were ignorant to the situation so it became imperative to exercise as much control as needed when the goal is a State Championship.

“There are things that go on outside of the realm that we can't control on a daily basis, but what we can control is our focus, our effort and really our desire to get work done and work hard and try to control our outcome as best as possible.” Welton commented further.

This team is in good hands with Welton who is a former Lehigh lacrosse player (NCLL) and founder of the Courage Corporation, which promotes a wider education and awareness of LGBT equality in sports.

Bellevue will host Juanita (9-7) on Wednesday in the semi-finals. Their last meeting happened to be Welton’s first game with the varsity team where they decisively won 15-2. Maybe with Starfire on the line the Rebels might put up more of a fight.

It can be tough to watch a coach like Baumann, who has led this team to multiple championships, depart so suddenly but Welton remains focused on their current goal, an appearance at Starfire and a State Championship.

“Just one game at a time, one day at a time. We show up tomorrow ready to go to work”

Story by Michael Thornbloom