How past heartbreaks fueled Page’s first boys lacrosse state championship

NOLENSVILLE — Cole Barnett smiled with a medal around his neck, unaware that he was limping until someone asked about it. 

He's used to the pain, having rolled both ankles this season, including the one he broke two years ago playing football, while also dealing with back pain.

All of the bumps and bruises were worth it to be part of Page’s 14-6 victory over Hillsboro in the TSLA Division I-A state final Friday, as the Patriots won their first boys lacrosse title in their first championship game appearance. 

“It feels great. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been playing varsity since my freshman year and every year we’ve been knocked out in the semifinals,” said Barnett, who scored four goals. “So it feels great to get here and actually win it and not fall short.” 

Page (11-6) took this year's playoffs seriously after some tough defeats. It surrendered a five-goal lead in a 15-10 semifinal loss against Signal Mountain last season. The year before that, the Patriots suffered a 9-6 loss to Soddy Daisy in the semifinals. 

Barnett and fellow senior Cole Eggleton finally decided enough was enough.

They netted two apiece in the final minutes, with Page up by a wide margin, to make sure there would be no comeback. 

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“The Signal Mountain loss was demoralizing,” said Eggleton, who also had four goals. “You saw the energy we had tonight. I felt like if we just had the guys who wanted it, then (a title) would just come to us eventually if we made it to the finals.” 

Hillsboro (8-5) was making its third appearance in the state final since winning the 2021 championship and defeated Page 14-13 in overtime earlier this season. 

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Charlie Schultz scored four goals for the Burros, who led 2-0 in the first quarter but lost the lead for good when Barnett scored to make it 3-2 in the second. 

Page coach Kyle Mitchell took over the team three games into the season after the club’s board decided to make a coaching change. He found a group of players that wanted to win no matter who was leading the way. 

“I knew it was a team that could do great things,” Mitchell said. “I took the reins and did the best I could, and they made my job easy.” 

Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.