Colchester — The normally reassuring concepts of faith and hope felt sadly abstract earlier this season at Bacon Academy, where a year of lacrosse had already been lost to a virus. And then came another two-week, virus-related pause after the fourth practice in early spring, leaving the Bobcats wondering what would become 2021, given that all the other programs in the league were at least on the field.

But then faith and hope didn't get to be faith and hope without good reason. Suddenly, Tuesday arrived on the grassy turf behind the school, a day of 80-degree weather, ample butts in the bleachers and a championship game that hit every note.

Bacon scored five unanswered goals in the fourth period to erase a 12-11 deficit and defeated Stonington, 16-12, to win the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II title. The Bobcats are 11-1 overall and 7-0 in the division, having swept second-place Stonington (8-6, 6-2).

"When we were out for two weeks, we had some time to work on our own, but it definitely set us back a lot, as it would any team," senior Jake Chapman said. "When we got back out there, we just started ballin.' That's all we could do. When life gives you lemons, right?"

Lemons never tasted sweeter than during a 2-minute, 25-second span of the fourth quarter. Chapman and Tyler Graham scored four of Bacon's five goals to deliver a memorable win.

"This is huge," said Bacon coach Brian Martin, who led the Bobcats to the 2019 state championship game. "This is a group of seniors and a team that lost their junior year. We were eager to get back on the field and win the division. We knew Stonington was going to be tough. We were down a lot and battled back."

Martin, whose team trailed 11-10 and 12-11 in the fourth quarter, kept reminding his team about "little things" that sure turned out to be big. They not only contributed to a win, but may serve as reminders during future moments of peril.

"We had too many turnovers and talked to the kids about losing those possessions and giving them extra opportunities," Martin said. "They have one of the best faceoff kids in the ECC in Will French. We knew our possessions would be limited. We cleaned it up in the fourth quarter."

Chapman led the Bobcats with five goals. Graham had four while Kellen Paparella, Sam Blumberger and Jason Consiglio had two apiece.

Cam Elenteny led the Bears with four goals. Ben Massengale scored three times, while Tyler Simao and Aidan Davies had two apiece.

Bacon's lone loss came to East Lyme earlier this season. A chance for revenge looms at next week's ECC Tournament. Either way, though, lacrosse is becoming a signature sport at Bacon.

"We have a great administration," Martin said. "Mr. Peel (principal Matthew Peel) and Mr. Burke (athletic director Kevin Burke) help us out with everything we need behind the scenes. The kids have worked hard and bought in. They're playing in the summer. We are getting a full cycle going."

m.dimauro@theday.com