By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The high-flying LaGrange Grangers made easy work of visiting Lafayette on Thursday in the first round of the Class AAAA soccer playoffs.

Liam McDonald scored less than six minutes into the game, and LaGrange was off and running on the way to a 7-0 victory.

The Grangers, who are averaging close to four goals per game, have scored more than twice as many goals as they had a year ago.

LaGrange (13-4-1), which earned its state spot by finishing second in Region 5-AAAA, will look to keep the goals coming when it returns to the field on Wednesday for a second-round matchup.

LaGrange will either host St. Pius X, or visit Marist.

Robert Reese led the scoring effort with three goals, and Liam McDonald, Jimmy Cancino, Max Halcomb and Harrison Hunnicutt each had a goal.

Hunnicutt also had three assists, and he showed no signs of rust in his return to action after missing a few weeks with an injury.

“Harrison coming back from an injury, had three assists and a goal,” LaGrange head coach Shane Pulliam said. “He hasn’t played since before spring break, so he came back, and that was huge for us.”

The Grangers scored less than six minutes into the game on a goal by McDonald.

With 24 minutes left in the first half, Cancino found the back of the net for a goal, and LaGrange led 2-0.

That’s the way it remained until, with less than two minutes remaining in the half, Reese scored the first of his three goals, and LaGrange had a 3-0 lead at the break.

“I think (scoring early) takes some of the pressure off, and then we score right after that, and it was 2-0 for a while,” Pulliams said. “We weren’t breaking through. We got a lot of off-sides calls, more than we got all year. It forces us to be a little more disciplined.”

The Grangers didn’t let up in the second half.

Reese scored nine minutes into the half, and Hunnicutt notched his goal with 23:57 to play.

After Reese scored again with 19:51 to play, Halcomb capped the scoring six minutes later.

Jack DeVane and Butler Evans combined for the shutout at goal keeper.

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