In the span of five rough days, the Marcellus boys lacrosse team plunged from its early high altitude thanks to a trio of defeats. Amid it all, the Mustangs had to face Skaneateles, the state’s top-ranked Class C team, and could not overcome a blinding first-half effort from the Lakers in a 16-7 defeat. Rarely in the first half did the Mustangs have the ball, a direct consequence of Sknaeateles dominating the face-offs. This led to a 7-1 deficit by the end of the first quarter, and the margin grew to 11-1 by halftime. Finally, Marcellus got moving in the second half as Tyler Tomeny got three goals, with Dalton Wenzel and Tom McNaney each finding the net twice. Nothing the Mustangs did could contain Skaneateles star Kevin Rice, who amassed four goals and six assists to lead his side. Knowing that Skaneateles and Cazenovia were looming, the Mustangs may have looked ahead, past Tuesday’s trip to Christian Brothers Academy – and paid for it with a 13-11 loss to the Brothers at Alibrandi Stadium. Marcellus was behind most of the way, CBA doing a lot of damage in the third quarter when it outscored the Mustangs 5-2 to expand its margin to 12-7. Despite a furious late rally, it was too much to overcome. Tom McNaney had three goals, with R.J. Linder adding two goals and two assists. Tyler Tomeny and Dalton Wenzel also had two-goal outings as Luke McNaney earned a goal and two assists and Connor Wheeler also converted. Chris Martin made 10 saves. Cody Radziewicz led CBA’s winning effort with four goals and one assist. The Mustangs’ long, rough week concluded Saturday with a brave effort at Cazenovia that still led to a 9-6 defeat to the state Class C no. 3-ranked Lakers. Though it always trailed, Marcellus did not let Cazenovia get away in the wet, windy conditions. Tom McNaney had four assists, feeding it to Wenzel and Mike McNaney (two goals each), with Tomeny also getting a goal and Martin recording 11 saves. John Greacen (three goals, one assists) and Connor Cannizzaro (two goals, three assists) led the Lakers’ effort. Meanwhile, Westhill’s week started with a 14-3 defeat to those same Cazenovia Lakers last Tuesday, also at Fenner. The Warriors did not get on the board until the third quarter, by which time the Lakers were up 9-0. John Zimmerman had two of Westhill’s three goals, with Owen Nicola earning the other. Three Cazenovia players – Connor Cannizzaro, Matt Donovan and John Greacen – had three goals apiece. The Warriors would rebound Thursday to beat Jordan-Elbridge 13-3. Gradually, Westhill assumed control, eventually gaining an 8-3 edge by the end of the third quarter before closing strong. Zimmerman, by himself, outscored the Eagles with four goals, adding four assists. Connor Byrne had a three-goal hat trick, while Nicola backed up his three goals with two assists. Austin Webb and Jack Centore each had one goal and one assist, while Richie Easterly also converted. On Saturday, Westhill lost 12-5 to Skaneateles, who holds the top spot in the state Class C rankings. Again, the Warriors were shut out until the second half, by which time it trailed 7-0. During that late push, Zimmerman had a goal and three assists, with Nicola finding the net twice. Byrne and Justin Selbach had the other goals. Mike Richards led Skaneateles with three goals and two assists. Before this, J-E had its own encounter with Skaneateles last Tuesday and took an 18-9 loss to the Lakers. The start to each half proved important. Skaneateles outscored the Eagles 6-1 in the first quarter and 7-1 in the third period, which accounted for more than the final margin, once J-E made a spirited late push. Gale Thorpe and Mo Town each scored twice, while Aurie Schwarting had one goal and one assist. Tyler Richardson, Zach Stevenson and Derrick Cheney also scored as Mike Killeen had a brave effort in the net, recording 19 saves. Kevin Rice (six goals) and Paul O’Donnell (two goals, five assists) led the Laker assault. J-E also played Saturday, falling to CBA 13-10 in a game that was tied 1-1 before the Brothers used a 5-2 spurt through the second quarter to move ahead for good. Still, the Eagles stayed close as Thorpe and Richardson both had three goals, Thorpe adding a pair of assists. Town had two goals and two assist, with Stevenson getting two goals and one assist. CBA teammates Cody Radziewicz and Nick Papayanakos both managed four goals and two assists.