AURORA | Last season, the battle for The Hammer was decided by a single goal.
Friday night’s rematch between the rival Eaglecrest and Smoky Hill boys lacrosse teams for the traveling trophy was more one-sided, as the Raptors scored early and often on their way to a 17-1 victory at Stutler Bowl.
Sophomore Wynston Crampton scored six goals to lead a diverse offensive attack for coach Neil McCarthy’s Eaglecrest team as it kept custody of The Hammer — a sledgehammer painted with the colors and logos of both schools — for a eighth year, which includes seven straight victories along with the COVID-19 year when the matchup was wiped out.
History of The Hammer from 2006-2025, here
Eaglecrest played its first game in two weeks and upped its record to 2-1 ahead of a busy week with matchups against Heritage (April 2), Boulder (April 4) and Thompson Valley (April 5).
Smoky Hill — which played without leading scorer Cody Scott — had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-3 on the season. Senior Brylan Mahrholz scored the lone goal in the closing seconds of the first period for coach Logan Booth’s Buffaloes, who next play host to Palmer on April 5.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
EAGLECREST 17, SMOKY HILL 1
Score by quarters:
Eaglecrest 6 3 5 3 — 17
Smoky Hill 1 0 0 0 — 1
Eaglecrest goals: Wynston Crampton 6, Payton Friedel 4, Spencer Wakefield 3, Bradyn Goos 2, Paxton Beecher, Luke Severts. Smoky Hill goal: Brylan Mahrholz. Eaglecrest assists: Friedel 4, Groos 4, Crampton, Brayden Turner, Wakefield, Grant Withycombe. Eaglecrest saves: Clayton Taylor (6 shots on goal-5 saves)
