As the weather warms up, lacrosse heats up as well. Every year, the Athens Drive men’s varsity lacrosse team has stepped it up, and this season’s scores are better than last years. The Jaguars played Panther Creek and won 10-3 for their senior night May 8, 2014.
There are 14 different seniors on the varsity team including Scott Baird, who has committed to play lacrosse at Mercer University, a division-one school, next fall. The Jaguars have 12 wins this season and two losses and were ranked number one in their division going into the season; they are now ranked third. Middle Creek and Apex are their biggest competition going into playoffs and now they are ranked fifteenth in the whole state. The game was supposed to be played the previous week but was cancelled due to inclement weather. The game was moved to the day before their biggest rival game, adding stress because they did not want to be tired for that.
“I felt sad that this was my last home game I would ever play, but it also motivated me to work hard because we have playoffs coming up,” said Justin Moody, senior.
Moody scored two goals in the senior night game and helped assist many others. Before the game started, the fourteen different seniors lined up and were given a chance to give their thanks to not only their teammates and coaches, but also their family and friends for supporting them throughout the season. Seniors have been on the lacrosse team since freshman year, some starting out on junior varsity and moving up. After their speeches, they waited for their family to meet them and walked onto the field holding their Athens-inspired orange flowers.
“It’s sad seeing all the seniors playing their last home game, we have spent so many hours with them and have learned so much from them, we will miss them,” said Worth Lineberry, sophomore.
Most of these seniors have been playing since they were freshman, whether it was on junior varsity or varsity. The boys have grown a lot throughout the years and have learned so much from not only their coaches, but their teammates as well.
“Being on the team made me learn so much more than just how to play well; I made a ton of friends that I have gotten close to and I have learned how to work with people better,” said Matt Balog, senior lacrosse player.
