While it’s not easy to get comfortable on wet metal bleachers, Easton lacrosse fans were as comfortable as they could be for much of the District 11 boys lacrosse finals.

Parkland took a quick 2-0 lead only to have the undefeated Red Rovers bite back and lead 5-3 before four unanswered goals in the second quarter made it 9-3 at halftime.

A furious fourth quarter rally sent the game to overtime only to see Easton keep its perfect record intact with a 13-12 win at Lehigh’s Ulrich Sports Complex.

Freshman Colton Arezzi scored twice in just under a minute to put the Rovers back on their heels in the early stages of the first quarter. Easton regrouped with Sean McPeek getting a first-quarter hat trick to tie the game before pushing its lead to 5-2.

Parkland’s Matt Kelley scored for the Trojans with :18 left on the clock to cut the lead to two goals.

Just :11 into the second quarter, Easton head coach Brad Bachman noticed something he didn’t like and called a time-out. Just :45 later, Easton scored and then scored again for a 7-3 lead. Before halftime, Easton added two more goals for a 9-3 lead at the break.

Down by six goals and without top scorer Parker Kusko, the light rain falling onto Frank Banko Field seemed to add to the tough task ahead of the Trojans in the second half.

Danny Tapia and Blake Finnegan scored a pair of goals in the third quarter for Parkland, but Easton answered each goal with one of its own, including senior Shae Linegar getting his 200th career goal to make it 11-5.

Senior Luke Placotaris was called for targeting with 9:40 left in regulation with the penalty being locked, meaning he would have to serve the full two minutes despite any scores by the Trojans.

That was just the opening that the Trojans needed and they blitzed the Rovers with three goals in the span of just :40 to take advantage of the power play.

The senior class took over for Parkland as Maxwell Esteban continued to dominate faceoffs to help Parkland control play.

Mazzin Afif got the first of the goals and classmate John Gerancher added the next two to suddenly make Easton fans nervous with the lead cut to three with 8:02 left to play. It was the freshman Arezzi being the playmaker with assists on all three goals.

Easton had a goal waved off for a crease violation, which just added to the Parkland momentum.

Gerancher scored his third goal of the quarter to make it 11-9 as Parkland fans abandoned their wet seats to stand and give added encouragement.

McPeek put them back down onto the medal benches when he scored for the fourth time in the game, seemingly stopping the Trojans march to a gold medal.

“We haven’t really ever played with a lead,” said PHS interim head coach Cory Andrews, who took over the team after the first game of the season. “My players have had to fight all season for moments like this. They worked so hard to get themselves into those moments where they can compete in overtime for a district championship.”

Afif scored with :58 left, and Finnegan fired a laser to make it 12-11 as the momentum reached a fever pitch. But Parkland still needed another goal to send the game into overtime and there was just :25 left on the clock.

Parkland used a time-out and right on cue the tandem of Arezzi and Gerancher made it three hookups in the quarter as the Trojans tied the game with just :11 remaining in regulation.

With Parkland pushing Easton further than it had been pushed all season and the momentum on the Trojans’ side, an upset seemed to be coming. Unfortunately for Parkland, junior Evan Placotaris was able to get open enough for Quentin Hammerstone to get a pass off to him near the yellow line and the sophomore used his speed to get around a Parkland defender and deposited his shot into the top left corner of the net for the game winner in overtime.

The win sends Easton (22-0) to the PIAA tournament and ended the season for Parkland (15-6), who came into the tournament as the number three seed.

“I come out here and do this because I love these kids, and I want them to be able to play for each other and play for the Parkland program,” said Andrews. “You get to play the game you love with the kids you grew up playing with, and it’s always a hard moment when it’s the last time you get to play with one of your best friends. I’m so proud of them and I am so proud of their effort. There’s nothing to be ashamed of at all in losing this game.”