Bishop Guertin coach Brian Cameron, left and assistant coach Luke Solms embrace after the Cardinals defeated Pinkerton 19-5 Saturday night to win the Division I boys lacrosse championship. (Photo by Joe Marchilena/NH-HighSchoolSports.com)

EXETER – There are a lot of different defensive strategies a high school boys lacrosse team can employ in an attempt to win a game.

In Saturday night’s Division I championship game, Bishop Guertin High School found itself playing a lot of keep-away from Pinkerton Academy.

The second-seeded Cardinals kept possession for almost all of the second quarter to build up a lead and left no doubt in the third quarter on the way to a 19-5 win over the No. 1 Astros to win the program’s fifth straight championship at Bill Ball Stadium.

The title ties the state record for consecutive titles, which Bishop Guertin set from 2010-14, and was also its 14th championship, extending another state record. It was also the 13th time the two programs have met in the D1 final, with the Cardinals having now won nine of them.

“This one, we had three days to prepare for it and we got our guys riled up with the history of the rivalry,” Bishop Guertin coach Brian Cameron said. “There’s a big battle between our programs. Once we had a good lead, the ball was moving the best its moved all year. I think our guys were confident and I think the lead was part of that.”

The Cardinals (16-5) went up 1-0 just 47 seconds into the game, had a 5-2 lead after one quarter, and led 8-3 at halftime after controlling possession in the second quarter.

Nine players scored for Bishop Guertin, as Owen King and Michael Ponto each had four goals while Sean McGarry added three goals and Beau Dubois and Hudson Schmitt scored two goal apiece. Tyler McLeod, Liam Connerty, Cam Hayden and Drew Redfern also scored for the Cardinals.

Paulo Vazquez won 16 of 20 faceoffs through the first three quarters, a big reason why the Cardinals were able to out score the Astros 8-1 in the third quarter.

“We came into it knowing we were going to win faceoffs,” Vazquez said. “(Assistant) coach (Luke) Solms said our best defense is the offense with the ball. I think I come in and try my best to get the offense the ball. I trust my offense where, if I get the ball every time, they’re going to put it in the back of the net. If we do that over and over again, we can’t really lose.”

Pinkerton (16-5) got two goals from Jackson Farrell while Kyle Ushkevich and Jeff Gormady had a goal and an assist apiece. Levi Weaver also scored while Matt Gormady and Gavin Burwell each added an assist.

But any game plan the Astros had offensively was never fully put into action.

“We didn’t have the ball on offense enough,” Pinkerton coach Marty Auger said. “If we’re going to win (against Bishop Guertin) we have to win the middle of the field, we have to win faceoffs, we have to play a heck of a game on defense, we have to play a heck of a game in goal.

“We needed all of those things to happen (Saturday) for us to win, and none of those happened. That’s why the score was what it was.”

Bishop Guertin’s Owen King fights off a hit from Pinkerton’s Ronan Connors during Saturday’s Division I boys lacrosse championship. The Cardinals won 19-5. (Photo by Joe Marchilena/NH-HighSchoolSports.com)

After getting outshot 17-1 in the second quarter, the Astros started the second half with a chance for some momentum. Dylan Stingel won the faceoff and Pinkerton looked like it was in business.

Instead, Stingel saw an opening and went to the goal, but Cardinals goalie Jonah Feliciano made great save and Bishop Guertin quickly got out in transition. Seconds later, King scored just 31 seconds into the half to make it 9-3.

“That was turning point in the game, I thought,” Cameron said. “They made a great play, had a shot, and Jonah (Feliciano) made an incredible save, tracking the bounce. We got it up and out and scored.”

Pinkerton got the goal back moments later, but the next time the Astros would score, the game was into running time, as Bishop Guertin scored 10 straight goals.

“We have tons of turnovers on any given night, but you can’t have them against a good team, because then they capitalize,” Auger said. “It was one thing after another.”