The third of three straight boys club Indiana High School Lacrosse Association (IHSLA) state championships for the South Bend Bears may have been their toughest.
The 2026 season was one filled with adversity, setbacks, sickness and injuries. Torn ACLs, losses to rivals and more only proved to serve as motivation for the Bears.
That may have never been more apparent than in the state championship game Saturday, May 30, against La Porte. Both senior Ben Nevala and junior Sam Evans — students at South Bend Adams — were playing through pain.
For Nevala, it was his shoulder. For Evans, it was his groin, which had sidelined him for games against Penn, Valparaiso and Harrison (West Lafayette). In fact, the state title game was his first back.
“I love this team so much and I love the game so much, it was so hard to watch from the sidelines,” Evans said in a June 6 phone interview. “When we were down and we were feeling like it was over, we just had no other choice.”
With 30 seconds left to play, the game was tied at 11 apiece. Head coach Camden Hanks told Evans that was his cue to set in motion a play that would end up defining the Bears’ season.
Evans and Nevala, along with Sal Curran Munoz, were team captains for the Bears both on and off the field. Hanks said when South Bend needed a big play, that was the trio to which it went.
That much was true in the biggest moment of the season, and Nevala delivered, scoring with just seven seconds left on the clock to put South Bend ahead 12-11.
“It was just an amazing thing to see, feel and be a part of,” Hanks said. “It was such a funny thing, because we all erupted on the sideline and everybody started going onto the field. In the back of my head I’m like, ‘I don’t want to get a penalty, because they can get the ball back and who knows what could happen.’”
Lucky for Hanks, Nevala and the Bears, that didn’t happen. Seven seconds passed and they could celebrate as hard as they wanted, wherever they wanted. The state championship was staying in South Bend.
Hanks, an Adams alumnus, started playing for the Bears when he was in middle school all the way until high school graduation. He moved away from the South Bend area, but when he heard former head coach Kaene Haughee took the same job at Penn, Hanks returned home to lead the program for which he used to suit up.
It wasn’t an easy road, and yet the Bears didn’t skip a beat to repeat as state champions in Hanks’ first season as head coach. Nevala said a quick mid-game speech from Evans inspired him to play through his shoulder pain and gave him the confidence to make the game-winning shot.
Evans’ message was simple: fight back.
“We really had some adversity through the year. It came to that last shot, and to put us over the edge and win a championship felt really good,” Nevala said.
Evans and Nevala have been teammates for years, with Nevala even beginning his lacrosse career as far back as second grade. With Nevala graduating and Evans returning, the latter said he feels a responsibility to continue growing the team and sport like Nevala did.
The way to do so? Welcome everyone — no matter what South Bend school they come from — as brothers.
“I think the culture around the Bears is to play the game the right way, to have fun and to win. It shows you might be from different schools, but you can come together, mesh and win. We don’t expect to lose these games,” Evans said.
Nevala displayed that exact mentality when talking about his state-championship winning goal as the final moment in his journey with the Bears.
“I don’t know if there is a better way to end your lacrosse career. It’s the team effort of not giving up when there’s a minute left. I don’t want to put it on my shoulders; yes I did score, but we all battled through that,” Nevala said.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Bears win 3rd straight boys club IHSLA state title
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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By Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
