Wildcats Honor 50 Years Of Lacrosse In Lexington
The Rockbridge County High School boys lacrosse team lost all three of its games last week, suffering road losses to Jefferson Forest and The Covenant School before a 16-0 setback against E.C. Glass on Thursday.
With the losses, the Wildcats fell to 3-5. RC started the week with a 16-1 setback at Jefferson Forest (5-3). The next night, the Wildcats fell 13-3 at The Covenant School (11-2).
Thursday’s game against E.C. Glass was part of a lacrosse tripleheader at Prasnicki-Ross Field at Veteran Stadium, which centered around a celebration of the 50th anniversary of prep lacrosse in Lexington. The first boys lacrosse team launched in April 1976, and several alumni and former coaches from the past half-century were in attendance.
But the varsity boys’ contest itself was one-sided in favor of the Hilltoppers, who improved to 6-1. Glass took the lead just eight seconds into the game, with David Matthews winning the opening faceoff and flying down the field to score. Matthews finished 15-of-17 at the faceoff X.
Preston Laughon led the Hilltoppers’ attack with five goals and one assist. John Sorenson notched three goals and one assist, and Landry McCall registered one goal and three helpers. And though Glass limited the number of offensive chances for RC, Charlie Kershaw shut the door on the Wildcats with six saves.
Chase Pooley was a key bright spot for RC, making 13 saves while yielding 12 goals in three quarters of action. The senior goalie, who recorded his 150th career save, recorded five stops apiece in the second and third periods despite an onslaught of Glass chances.
“Chase has been such an anchor for our defense – and frankly, he’s keeping us in games longer,” RC head coach Davey Jones said. “He’s a kid who just, if he does get scored on, he goes right to the next play. You don’t see his hands up; he’s not blaming other people. He’s played phenomenal this year.”
As the Wildcats look to improve upon other facets of their performance, they should be able to draw inspiration from the history and tradition that have been built for lacrosse in Lexington.
Fifty years ago, the prep program was established right after Washington and Lee University had made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division I semifinals from 1973-1975. RC’s connections to W&L – now a routinely successful Division III program, which reached the national semifinals again in 2024 – remain as strong as ever.
Jones, who’s in his second year as the RC mentor, praised current W&L head coach Gene McCabe and his staff for continuing to boost the local high school and youth programs. He mentioned shooting clinics and summer sessions at W&L, as well as informal chats with McCabe and his staff to discuss schemes and strategies.
“They’ve supported us in so many different ways,” Jones said of W&L. “Fifty years ago, it was really just kind of on the back of W&L lacrosse that Lexington lacrosse started … I think that the lacrosse community here, although small, is just super tightknit and really supportive of one another.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at Blacksburg on Monday and will play host to Salem on Thursday before visiting William Byrd on Monday. Both nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity games scheduled to follow at 7.
WILDCAT SENIOR goalie Chase Pooley tries to stop E.C. Glass attackmanAkbarali Syed (7) from scoring while RC senior defender Benjamin Davis (left) stays close. Pooley made 13 saves, including his 150th career save. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
