Nation Ford boys’ lacrosse coach Cory Turner admitted their 10-5 win over Catawba Ridge wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done.
The Falcons improved to 4-1 overall with the win and will next play at Greenville today, before hosting a very good JL Mann team March 16.
“We still got a lot of work ahead of us,” Turner said. “We came out flat tonight. Catawba Ridge has a bunch of gutsy kids. We got to buckle down and keep working hard.”
The Falcons jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game with goals from Owen Ameo, Ty Keaton and Tyler Ajemian. Nation Ford controlled the ball most of the first quarter and once they got the early lead, the Copperheads did a better job in stopping the Falcons attack on goal.
Catawba Ridge opened the second quarter with a score from Luke Peterson, but the Falcons struck back almost immediately with Keaton’s second goal to extend their lead to 4-1. The second quarter provided more opportunities for the Copperheads, but they struggled to take advantage of them at times.
The Copperheads did cut the Falcons lead in half with a goal about 7:30 left in the half from Ryan Michels.
Keaton was king of the Nation Ford offense and scored his third goal of the half with about five minutes left in the half. Tyler DeMarco got into the scoring action for the Falcons and scored about 2:30 later.
Catawba Ridge didn’t go quietly as Michels scored his second goal of the game just under three minutes to again cut into the Falcons lead.
In the second half, the Copperheads goalie Dorian Dugger did well in the game, but wore down over time as Nation Ford’s offense-controlled possession for much of the third quarter. The Falcons’ Ajemian and Keaton added goals in the third quarter about midway through.
Catawba Ridge’s Adam Christenberry scored with about two minutes left in the third to keep the Copperheads within striking distance.
Ameo opened the fourth scoring for Nation Ford about 32 seconds into the final quarter. Christenberry came back two minutes later to give the Copperheads their fifth goal of the game and second for himself.
Catawba Ridge continued to pressure the Nation Ford goalie Owen Collette in the fourth to try and chip away at the Falcons lead, but failed to convert the majority of their attempts.
For good measure Nation Ford’s Ameo added a third goal before the end of the game in the fourth quarter to give himself a hat trick.
After the game, Catawba Ridge head coach Mike Gambrill said his team is still learning and growing, but he was proud of how they stayed with Nation Ford.
“We are running short on numbers,” he said. “We are working to get healthy and keep building.”
Up next for the Copperheads is a road trip to Chapin on Saturday.
Tennis
The Nation Ford boys’ tennis team beat Gaffney 6-0 with each Falcons player No.1-5 singles winning 6-0, 6-0 and No. 2 doubles winning 6-0, 6-0 as well in Jonny Reagan and Shiv Patel. Nation Ford is now 2-0 on the season and will host Gaffney March 16.
Golf
The Nation Ford boys’ golf team split matches with South Pointe and Lancaster in a three-way match Thursday. The Falcons shot 172, beating South Pointe’s 184, but trailing Lancaster’s 158. Ben Mills led the way for the Falcons with a 39, followed by a 42 from Tyler Kemmerlin and a 45 from Ben Wakefield. Ben Harvey finished with a 46 to round out the scoring for Nation Ford, who will next play in the Bengal Invitational March 15-16 in Columbia.
The Fort Mill golf team picked up two wins Thursday against Catawba Ridge and Northwestern. Fort Mill shot a 155 at Fort Mill Golf Club, compared to the Copperheads 170 and Northwestern’s 207. Bryce Wittmer led all scorers with a one under 35. Catawba Ridge was led with a 38 from Nolan Will. Fort Mill travels to Columbia to play in the Bengal Invitational Monday.
Baseball
Nation Ford fell to Gray Collegiate 10-9 in West Columbia as part of the Carolina Ale House pre-season tournament. The Falcons are now 2-1 on the season.
Catawba Ridge beat Chester 8-0 in the Comporium pre-season tournament to improve to 2-1 as well on the year.
Fort Mill baseball won the Battle at the Fort tournament with a 13-2 win over Rock Hill in the finals. The Jackets are now 3-1 on the year.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
