North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By John Smithson
The North Myrtle Beach boys varsity lacrosse team got their season underway last Friday night at The Hank with a 20-7 victory over Gilbert High School.
Prior to the game I met up with head coach Zach Lytle and asked him about his preseason action at the Laxapalooza on February 14th and some thoughts about the season opener that night.
“I think it (Laxapalooza) went well. It is hard to tell what kind of team you have in that setting with a running clock and trying to get everyone on the field. There are not a lot of situations in that format to give you a true definition of who you are. But I think we will be okay,” Lytle said.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year. We have some questions that we hope tonight will help us answer as to who we are and where we are at. I am confident with the guys who have stepped up to fill those positions.”
As far as the region schedule is concerned Lytle said that “a lot of the region teams got their growth year out of the way last year. They were young last year for the most part and we will be dealing with that this year.
“Tonight, I think we will make some mistakes. I just hope they make them fast with the most effort. That way we can coach them up to avoid those mistakes.”
I asked about the loss of last year’s keeper Conner Barnes. “Blake Swisher is our keeper right now. He is stepping in for Barnes and has grown a lot. There has been competition for the position, but Blake has come out ahead so far.”
“We have always been focused on the fundamentals of lacrosse. Passing and catching, fielding loose balls and of course scoring goals. I think we have done a good job with that, but time will tell just how good they will do in game situations,” Lytle said.
When the game got underway the Chiefs Jonathan Gill scored the Chiefs first goal at 6:07 of the first quarter but Gilbert took a 2-1 lead until Tennyson Hollo scored two goals in the last two minutes of the quarter for a 3-3 tie.
Hollo opened the second quarter with a goal (11:29), then scored two more times (9:36 and 8:39) for a 6-3 Chiefs lead. Rocco Cornett followed with a goal (5:35), Gill scored again (5:13), Easton Deal made it 9-3 and Hollo finished the half with a goal with :37 left on the clock and the Chiefs led 10-3.
Second half goals were scored by Hollo (2), Jonathan Gill (1), Jamison Gill (2), Cam Roberts (1), Josh Hutton (1), Rivers Higdon (1), Deal (1) and Sigsworth (1). Hollo’s 8 goals are a record for number of goals scored in a game.
Looks like the Chiefs answered a few of Coach Lytle’s questions.
The Chiefs have two away games this week, at South Brunswick on Friday and at Academic Magnet on Saturday afternoon. The 6AAAAA schedule kicks off Monday at home against Carolina Forest.
