Bowling Green junior attack Evan Brandt scored a new state record 14 goals in leading the Bobcats to a 22-5 rout over Findlay at Bobcat Stadium Tuesday.

Brandt, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound three-sport athlete, eclipsed the 13 goals scored by Grady Holmes for Oxford Talawanda against Taylor almost one year earlier, on March 23, 2021.

Motivating Brandt was BG’s season opening 17-3 loss to Ottawa Hills, the 2018 Division II state runners-up who will likely be state ranked again this season.

That does not mean much to Brandt.

“We practiced really hard the past few days because we cannot let what happened the first game happen again,” Brandt said.

“That’s why we played so well tonight. We only lost to them (Ottawa Hills) by two last year, so we have to do better than that.”

Brandt believes the win over Findlay shows how good the Bobcats can be.

“We just have to keep building on tonight. It feels good to be winning. That solves a lot of problems,” Brandt said.

Brandt converted on 14 of his 17 shots (82%) and the vast majority were from 20 to 30 feet.

He could score skipping his shot off the ground low past the Findlay goalkeeper, or he would bring over his skills learned on the basketball court and jump shoot a shot into the net.

Or, if Brandt was guarded too tightly, he would spin past a defender and score near the crease. He could also spin from 20 feet away and instantly fine tune his shot toward the net. Brandt even sent one shot through the Findlay goalie’s legs.

Brandt, a wide receiver and safety on the gridiron and starting guard on the basketball team, also had three steals and three ground balls, proving he has nearly every aspect of the lacrosse game down.

“What can I say? He’s a stud. He’s a show,” BG coach Connor Rogowski said. “He showed up tonight. He’s our best player.

“Tonight, he set the record for most goals in the state of Ohio, so we’re excited about that. He’s a captain, he’s vocal, and he does everything the right way and we’re really happy for him.”

Brandt, who had two of BG’s three goals against Ottawa Hills, added, “I’ve been playing for about 10 years, so it’s taken a lot to finally be where I want to be.”

When word gets out about Brandt’s scoring ability, he is going to find that defenses are focusing on him, often double-teaming or triple-teaming him. Brandt has an answer for that, too.

“Someone is going to have to step up and get open, and I’m going to hit them,” Brandt said.

BG, which had four of their top seven offensive players missing Tuesday due to illness, has others who can put the ball into the net.

Ethan Helvoigt, a 6-3, 180-pound junior midfielder and attack, scored a three-goal hat trick and 6-0, 170-pound sophomore attack Reece Rath scored twice.

Michael Kisor, a 5-10, 210-pound junior midfielder, scored twice, and 6-3, 240-pound senior starting defenseman and captain Sean Gollehon was moved to offense late in the game, scoring on Rath’s second assist.

Among those getting assists were Kisor and 6-0, 170-pound junior midfielder Matthew Robinette. Hunter Stockman, a 5-9, 140-pound junior, got the win in goal.

In the second half, BG outshot Findlay 24-4, and for the game the Bobcats outshot the Trojans, 46-22.

Findlay junior attack Mason Greenawalt scored twice, and senior attack Tyler Wolke, junior midfielder Kellen Wetz, and freshman attack Nathan Marchal scored one goal apiece.

The Trojans drop to 0-2 after losing their season opener, 6-4, to Delaware Buckeye Valley.

The Bobcats are young, returning just three seniors: Gollehon, 6-0, 180-pound midfielder Gavin Sudlow and 5-7, 135-pound defenseman Kale Frank.

“We have a real young team,” Rogowski said. “What we’re doing is we’re trying to get better every single day. Every game we’re trying to get better.

“That’s what we are doing — development, development, and more development. We’ll see where it takes us.”

Rogowski, the head coach of BG’s varsity hockey team, is in his first season in charge of the lacrosse team. Multiple hockey players made the transition to lacrosse with him.

“It’s been a good experience. It’s different guys, it is a different ballgame, but I played in high school (at BG) as well, so it’s fun,” Rogowski said.