LADUE – Johnny Brison decided to celebrate his birthday by delivering gifts rather than receiving them.
The senior all-state specialist won the first 15 faceoffs to give John Burroughs a staggering advantage in possession time and propel the Bombers to a 12-6 victory over Edwardsville in the opening round of the Class 2 Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association playoffs Tuesday at John Burroughs.
No. 7 seed John Burroughs (11-4), which advanced to the Class 2 quarterfinals for the second time in three years, will face No. 2 Chaminade at 7 p.m. Thursday at Coach Don Ohlms Field on the campus of Chaminade.
In the regular season meeting with Edwardsville, Brison was not as dominant at the faceoff X, so he watched film from that game and adopted a plan.
“I watched the film back and I saw I needed to go out the back and be confident with that. Then, I had to be ready for the counters,” Brison said.
Brison pushed the ball backward and forward, retrieved it himself and directed it to teammates, won with both physicality and by picking it clean. Each time Edwardsville tried a new tactic, including falling on top of him, Brison was one step ahead.
“I was trying to vary it up every single faceoff and keep them on their toes. Eventually, if you keep doing the same thing, they’re going to send a counter, but if you mix it up every time, they can’t predict the unpredictable,” Brison said.
Brison won the first three faceoffs, but two Bombers’ turnovers and a save by Edwardsville goalie Corbin Siron relinquished possession, and the Tigers pounced.
Two transition goals by Coltyn Davis and a nifty, inside roll by Cohen Schmidt gave Edwardsville a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter and prompted an early John Burroughs timeout.
“We were really hyped coming out of the locker room, and unfortunately, even though Johnny got us those first three faceoffs, we didn’t take care of the ball the way we should have,” senior Spencer King said. “After we took that timeout, we had a good pep talk and we turned it around.”
King began the Bombers’ turnaround with a sneaky shot that eluded Siron. Then, Brison took matters into his own hands by scooping the following faceoff and scoring 11 seconds later to cut the deficit to 3-2.
“Juice goal,” Brison said.
And Brison kept filling the glass of the John Burroughs’ attackers.
A bouncing shot by senior Oscar Scully snuck under the crossbar to tie the score at 3 after one quarter. King and sophomore Sam Levy added goals early in the second and a lefty sling by Scully gave the Bombers a 6-3 lead at halftime.
“We started slow, but we came back together as a team and did the things that are important to us – picking up ground balls, making hustle plays and taking control,” John Burroughs coach Jeff Fell said.
And Brison did not let up in the second half. He cleanly lifted the opening faceoff of the second half and fed Scully for a goal seven seconds into the third quarter.
Scully scored in transition one minute later, then drained his fifth goal of the game to give John Burroughs an 11-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter. For Scully, who is among the top five players in the area in scoring, offense is just as much a cerebral as physical.
“I make sure both hands are my dominant hand, and then I read my defender’s hips. I’m not the biggest guy, but I’m able to slip, slide and get my shot off,” said Scully, who has 58 goals and 27 assists this season.
Brison finally lost his first faceoff late in the third quarter, but eight seconds later, he forced a violation and earned back possession for the Bombers. In all, he finished 17-for-19 from the faceoff X.
“Johnny is a baller, and it’s hard to beat the best guy in the state. He’s first-team all-state for a reason,” said Edwardsville coach Zac Bilyeu, who coached Brison as a freshman when Bilyeu was the head coach at John Burroughs.
Bilyeu took over Edwardsville United three years ago when it was coming off an 0-11 inaugural season. Since then, he has led the program to two consecutive Class 2 tournament appearances and two consecutive 10-win seasons.
“I’m super-proud of these guys. These seniors were 0-11 when they were freshmen. Two years back-to-back in the top bracket speaks to the work ethic and the buy-in that these guys have had,” Bilyeu said.
For a senior-laden John Burroughs team, leadership and culture are the ingredients that have the program back in the Class 2 state quarterfinals.
“We noticed that the great teams are the ones that are the closest, and brotherhood is very important to us,” King said.
John Burroughs recovered from a three-goal deficit in the final four minutes to defeat Priory earlier in the month and showed no panic when falling behind by three goals in a win-or-go-home scenario Tuesday.
“This team has a steady drive,” Fell said. “We know goals will come as long as we take care of the little things. This senior class has embodied that all year, and this was just a culmination of that.”
For a photo gallery from this game, click: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/2024-Boys-Lacrosse/Boys-Lacrosse-2026/Edwardsville-vs-John-Burroughs-5-12-26