Sticking with lacrosse

Lacrosse is a very physical game as evidenced by this collision.

A.C. Flora 7 Heathwood Hall 14 Photos and Story

By Mike Maddock

Mike@TheColumbiaStar.com

First came the carpetbaggers, then the bagels, and now another Yankee import is spreading like wildfire through the South. According to many, lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in high school sports today and for good reason.

Heathwood Hall head coach Paul Baly describes lacrosse this way, "It's a great game. It moves up and down the field real quickly. There's a lot of scoring, but not so much so that each goal matters. It's kind of a combination between soccer, hockey, and basketball when it comes down to it. It's a lot of fun. Once people come out and watch, they usually stick with it."

Baly should know. His Highlanders are among the S.C. Lacrosse League's elite. The league is comprised of 22 schools throughout the state and includes teams from A.C. Flora, Blythewood, and Ridge View. The Highlanders lost to Greenville in last year's state championship game, but last week they avenged that loss with a victory over the Red Raiders.

Heathwood Hall's Harper Frankstone runs from A.C. Flora's Frank Rodgers and Brandon Brewer. Rodgers scored a goal for the Falcons.

Monday, March 19 the A.C. Flora Falcons visited Heathwood Hall for a 4:30 match. As advertised, the game was high scoring, physical, and fun to watch.

The Falcons scored the game's first goal when Frank Rodgers' overhead shot found the net just 40 seconds into the first period. The Highlanders then rattled off four unanswered goals from Adam Mandell, Burk Knowlton, Cam Foster, and Will Kennemur and went on to a 14- 7 victory.

"It's a cross town rival. So we know their personnel and they know ours. It's good to beat a rival like that. It ended up being kind of a fast break game," Baly said. The ball was going up and down the field quite a bit. We were able to run a little faster than they did at the end of the game."

Heathwood Hall's Adam Mandell tries to avoid the stick of A.C. Flora's Joey Thompson. Mandell scored five goals for the Highlanders.

The combination of Mandell and Kennemur was just too much for A.C. Flora. They scored five goals each assisting each other on many of the shots.

A.C. Flora was led by senior John McWilliams with four goals.

McWilliams helped start the team when, as a freshman, he approached Coach (then teacher) Danny Pipes about putting a lacrosse program together at A.C. Flora. Pipes said McWilliams did much of the leg work, and 40 people showed up at their first meeting. The Falcons won their first game, then lost every game the rest of that first season. Pipes admits he knows little about the sport, so it helped when he brought in some guys in the program's third year with some knowledge. The Falcons are 5- 4 so far this season.

The Highlanders host a S.C. Lacrosse League Playday Saturday, March 24. They host Camden Military Academy Monday, March 26 at 4:30.

Heathwood Hall's Will Kennemur tries to knock the ball away from A.C. Flora's Chase Mitchum. Kennemur scored five goals for the Highlanders.

The Falcons host Bluffton Tuesday, March 27.

For more information on lacrosse visit these websites: www.lacrosse.org and www.sclacrosse.com.

A.C. Flora (5- 4): Shots 20, Saves 7 (Chris Hood). Goals: John McWilliams (4), Frank Rodgers, Jackson Haynes, William Chandler.

Heathwood Hall (4- 2): Shots 26, Saves 5 (Alex Zelisko). Goals: Adam Mandell (5), Will Kennemur (5), Cam Foster (2), Burk Knowlton, Perrin Guignard.