PEABODY — It came out organically, a bellowing pronouncement that CJ Masone was willing to share with anyone within earshot Saturday night at balmy Donaldson Field.
“I’m the best player in Peabody!,” shouted the Bishop Fenwick boys lacrosse standout — and boy, did he put his money where his mouth was.
A senior captain, Masone poured in seven goals and assisted on another as his Crusaders doubled up city rival Peabody High, 10-5, in the 15th playing of the Danish Cup between the two programs.
The victory was not only Fenwick’s second-ever against the Tanners in this event — which drew upwards of 400 fans on a beautiful evening — but also clinched a Division 3 playoff spot in the team’s final regular season contest.
“It just happened. The Danish Cup just brings that out of you,” the 17-year-old Masone, who leads the Crusaders in goals (44), assists (27) and total points (71), said about letting loose with his emotions.
“It was in the heat of the moment, but I have total respect for everyone on the Peabody squad. I know all those guys, and I’m rooming with (Tanner captain and defenseman) Ryan Rich at UMaine next year.”
Having been played since 2011, the Danish Cup honors Bob Danish, who began coaching as an assistant in football and baseball at Bishop Fenwick in the early 1970s before moving across town to Peabody High and becoming the father of the Tanners’ lacrosse program, going on to a legendary career on the sidelines.
First-year Bishop Fenwick head coach Brandon Boutin has been on both sides of the rivalry, having been a former Peabody assistant. For his team to win Saturday night and clinch a postseason berth was, to state the obvious, extremely satisfying.
“It’s awesome, to be honest with you,” said Boutin. “It’s awesome to see how much this day brings out the best in Peabody lacrosse and the history of it. And it was even bigger today, since we had an alumni game in the morning and a girls game before this one (won by Peabody, 15-9). Being a part of it all is fantastic.”
Masone, chosen as Fenwick’s game MVP, scored thrice in the opening quarter and once again in the second to give the hosts a 5-2 lead at halftime. He added another tally late in the third quarter and put home two more in the final stanza for good measure.
“I had been here all day and just knew I was going to have a big game,” said Masone. “Once I scored my first one early, I knew I was going to have a game. I was feeling it.”
“We tried sending early slides against him,” said Peabody (2-15) head coach Jason Marshall, “but Masone was able to work his way through it. He’s a great player who caught fire. Great players can do that; they get that momentum and feed off of it.”
Freshman Logan Bryte was picked as the Peabody game MVP after notching a goal and dishing out three assists in his team’s final game of the season.
“Logan does so much for us,” said Marshall. “Both he and Matt (Vaz, a sophomore captain), our offense runs through them. A lot of our core guys are freshmen and sophomores, so we’re excited about what the future holds.”
Both goaltenders were busy, with Liam Kelsch stopping 14 shots for the Crusaders and Ben Wager coming up with 13 stops for the visiting Tanners.
Junior attack Freddie Pfischner added two goals for Fenwick, with sophomore middie Mikey Paolini adding one goal and one assist and senior Dylan Patturelli — who unselfishly moved from the first midfield line to the second unit to space out the offensive talent —picking up one assist.
Twin brothers Doron and captain Sam Appleyard were both stellar on defense in their final Danish Cup game, as was another Fenwick senior captain, Dan Ryan, in the midfield.
Vaz scored three times for Peabody and freshman attack Kellen Quadros also found the back of the net.