GETTING IT DONE: Hun School boys’ lacrosse player Chris Donovan heads to goal last Thursday in the state Prep A title game against Lawrenceville. Post-graduate and Georgetown-bound Donovan tallied four goals and an assist to help Hun prevail 14-6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

It was lights, camera, action for the Hun School boys’ lacrosse team as it started last week by facing Haverford School (Pa.) in the championship game of the Inter-Ac Challenge.

The battle of unbeatens between No. 4 Hun and top-ranked Haverford at PPL Stadium in Chester, Pa. on the evening of May 19 was billed as a national championship game and was broadcast on TV over the Comcast network.

The Raiders proved ready for prime time, battling the Fords hard for three quarters, trailing 10-7 entering the fourth. Haverford, though, pulled away over the last 12 minutes to earn a 15-8 victory.

Three days later, another crown was at stake as Hun hosted 13-time champion Lawrenceville in the state Prep A title game.

After licking their wounds from the Haverford game, Hun post-graduate star attacker Chris Donovan and his teammates weren’t going to let disappointment and fatigue stand in their way as they went for the program’s first Prep title since 1998.

“Bouncing back from Monday night was very tough,” said Donovan. “We gave it our all against the No. 1 team in the nation, they played incredibly. We knew we had to come out hard, we knew we were going to be tired. This got pushed back because of that. We are just hungry and humble, that is our motto this year.”

In the early going against the Big Red, Hun looked a little tired as it ended the first quarter clinging to a 4-3 lead. In the second quarter, however, the Raiders clicked at both ends of the field, outscoring Lawrenceville 7-1 to seize control of the contest.

“I think it was getting back to it, we were a little tired and took time getting the feel of the game again,” said Donovan.

“A lot of emotions were spent on Monday night obviously but getting back here was great. We knew what was at stake. We hadn’t won one since 1998; that was in the back of our minds. We just got back to practice and worked on things we needed to work on and obviously it showed here.”

In the second half, the Raiders took care of business, weathering a couple of Lawrenceville flurries to earn a convincing 14-6 win.

“We knew they were going to come back strong, they are a very talented team with a lot of big, strong guys,” said Donovan, who ended up with four goals and an assist on the day.

“I bounced right off of one of them and I was like oh my god. They have great players. We just kept going.”

In reflecting on Hun’s great campaign, which saw the Raiders post a 19-1 record, Donovan pointed to chemistry as a key ingredient in the squad’s success.

“I think it is just everybody loves each other, I have to say that,” said Donovan. “Half of the team boards at the school and we are up with each other until 1 in the morning, talking about lacrosse and the state championship. Since the fall, we have been going to bed every night dreaming about this.”

The attack line of Georgetown-bound Donovan and fellow post-graduates, Yale-bound Brendan Rooney and Hobart recruit Chris Aslanian, gave Hun’s foes nightmares this season.

“Chris, Rooney, and me had a great connection,” said Donovan, who led Hun in scoring this scoring with 105 points on 56 goals and 49 assists.

“Aslanian is my roommate, we talk about this all the time. We stay after practice every day, catching passes. Rooney has taught me a lot of things I will never forget, like the behind the back shots. Chris Aslanian is a great kid, a great person, a great athlete.”

Hun head coach MV Whitlow was thrilled to see his squad show its greatness in the win over Lawrenceville.

“The mindset was to finish,” said Whitlow. “I think the willfulness of this team and the character of the team really was evident coming off of that loss on Monday night to the No. 1 team in the country. Being able to rebound emotionally and physically and play a state championship game just says a lot about these boys and their character. This is a really special group of young men, a very high character group of men and they were a pleasure to coach.”

It was a pleasure for Whitlow to watch his team go on its 7-1 second quarter run.

“I think we opened the game up a little bit, we got into transition,” said Whitlow.

“We figured out what their defensive schematic was after one quarter and we knew where the openings are and we took advantage of them.”

Whitlow noted that Donovan has been particularly adept at taking advantage of his scoring chances.

“He is truly a generational type player,” asserted Whitlow, who also got three goals from Aslanian in the win with Rooney and Cole West chipping in two apiece.

“The level of lacrosse in the Princeton area is very good this year and I think some of that is due to Chris Donovan and his level of play. His performance Monday night against Haverford was truly an inspiring performance. They were shutting him off today so I put him in the midfield to let him be the athlete that he is and he had four goals.”

Achieving the goal of winning the Prep A title was sweet for Whitlow, a former assistant coach at Lawrenceville.

“It means everything to these guys,” said Whitlow. “I really wanted these guys to have champions next to their name and they will have it now and we will hang a banner. This team will live on at the school because they deserve that and they worked for it.”

In Whitlow’s view, the title run was fueled by a focus on team. “The closeness of the group, the selflessness stands out,” said Whitlow.

“The group really didn’t care about individual stuff, they were all about the team and the teammates. They really worked hard in the offseason and they were a truly selfless, high character group of young men.”

Donovan, for his part, will always remember his year with the group.

“It has been great, this school has given me everything I could ask for,” said Donovan. “I am going to miss the hell out of it.”