Kelly Reaches Faceoff Milestone In 16-3 Win Over Eagles
The Rockbridge County High School boys lacrosse team split a pair of home games last week, falling to Patrick Henry 17-9 on Monday before bouncing back with a 16-3 win over Franklin County on Wednesday.
Against Franklin County (0-7), the Wildcats (3-2) dominated from start to finish. With the victory, the Wildcats completed a sweep of the regular-season series with the Eagles. When the two teams met nine days earlier at Franklin County, RC won 12-6.
It was a milestone night for RC senior Andrew Kelly, who won his 450th career faceoff in the second quarter. The announcer honored this accomplishment for Kelly, who won three faceoffs in the game and scored three goals. In the Wildcats’ April 6 game at Franklin County, Kelly scored his 100th career point.
Reflecting on the faceoff milestone, Kelly said, “It means everything. It’s great. I worked hard my freshman year, and that really set the pace for me. I got a whole bunch my freshman year and then just continued throughout my career.” The Wildcats led 5-0 after the first quarter and extended their lead to 10-0 in the second quarter before Winston Davenport scored the Eagles’ first goal with 4:01 left in the first half. Miles Holland then scored to put RC up 11-1 at halftime.
Kelly scored the first two goals of the second half to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 13-1 with 6:20 left in the third quarter. Because the lead was 12 points or more the rest of the way, the teams played the rest of the game with a running clock. Tristan Sigmon scored FC’s last two goals in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Parker Flint led the Wildcats with five goals, while Kelly and Grayden Brown each scored three goals. Holland and Justin Higgins added two goals each, and Trent Cash scored one goal.
RC goalies Chase Pooley and Finbar Looney each made four saves, with Pooley playing the first half before Looney replaced him for the second half.
Pleased by how his team played, RC head coach Davey Jones said, “At the end of the day, it was all about execution from the first whistle, and we talked about discipline a lot this week, and I think that was the difference between our first Franklin County game and this Franklin County game.”
“We came in, and we stuck to the game plan, and I was proud of the guys, especially on offense,” added Jones. “A lot of our guys scored tonight, which means we’re working the ball around. We have a lot of guys who can score this year, which I think is a real advantage of ours.”
Jones said one thing the Wildcats did better in last Wednesday’s game than any of their games before that was clearing the ball.
Kelly agreed. “We kept the ball on offense a whole bunch,” he said. “We didn’t let them get on defense. We cleared the ball a lot more. That’s what we worked on a lot in practice.”
PH 17, RC 9
The Wildcats suffered a 17-9 home loss to a tough Patrick Henry team on Monday of last week in Lexington.
Brown led the Wildcats with five goals, while Flint, Kelly, Malcolm Forbes and Pat Looney each scored one goal. Miles Holland dished out two assists to lead RC, and Kelly had one assist.
The game was close early on, with RC taking a 2-1 lead after goals by Looney and Kelly. The Patriots (4-2) then tied it at 2-2 just under four-and-half minutes into the game. PH took advantage of RC mistakes and a Wildcat penalty to score six more goals in the first quarter, taking an 8-2 lead into the second quarter.
Reviewing the rough start, Jones said, “Against a team like Patrick Henry, possession matters a lot, and we ended up playing a long stretch of defense, and it’s unfortunate that, in the first quarter, we just dug ourselves in a hole that it was gonna be really hard to get out of for the rest of the game.”
Each team scored two goals in the second quarter, and the Patriots took a 10-4 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, PH outscored RC 6-1 to extend its lead to 16-5.
The Wildcats had a strong finish, outscoring the Patriots 4-1 in the fourth quarter, with Brown putting in two goals.
“We started rotating some guys in toward the end who came in and helped us and brought some life back into things,” said Jones.
PH’s Quinn McCahill led all scorers with seven goals, while Owen McNeil scored three goals, and Oscar Barham chipped in two.
In goal for RC, Pooley played most of the game and made 18 saves. Looney replaced Pooley in the second half and made four saves. For PH, Lucas Maxey made six saves.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Jefferson Forest on Monday before visiting The Covenant School last night. On Thursday, the Wildcats will celebrate 50 years of lacrosse in Lexington, recognize alumni, coaches and others who have helped the sport grow locally. The Wildcats will take on E.C. Glass at home, starting with the junior varsity boys’ game at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity boys’ game at 6:15, with the girls’ varsity game scheduled for 7:45.
On Monday, the Wildcats will play at Blacksburg, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m.
PATRICK HENRY’S George Casteel tries to stop RC senior attackman Grayden Brown from scoring. Brown led the Wildcats with five goals. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
WILDCATS PARKER Flint (left) and Pat Looney work together to recover a ground ball. Flint scored one goal against Patrick Henry last Monday and led the Wildcats with five goals in their 16-3 win over Franklin County last Wednesday. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
