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The Rockbridge County High School boys lacrosse team breezed to a 20-0 win over Christiansburg in Lexington on Thursday.
The victory was the second in roughly 24 hours for the Wildcats (5-5), who earned a 10-3 road win over William Byrd last Wednesday. RC also fell 19-5 at Patrick Henry last Monday.
John Brooke totaled seven points on two goals and five assists to lead the ’Cats to their second shutout win of the season over the Blue Demons (0-8). RC also won 18-0 at Christiansburg back on March 28.
Jayden Layman and Alex Nye each finished with four goals and two assists for the Wildcats. River Hull also scored four goals, while defenseman Colby Jarvis tallied three assists, and Andrew Kelly won 20-of-22 faceoffs and notched one goal and one assist.
Even though the ’Cats expected to walk away with another victory, RC head coach Robert Hull was pleased with the way his team stayed focused. He also anticipates that the Blue Demons – who only recently moved from the club level up to varsity – will improve in the near future.
“It’s one thing to know you’re going to win. It’s another thing to actually show up and play like you’re capable of, and not play down to an opponent,” Hull said. “[The Blue Demons are] physical, and they put in the effort; they just don’t have the skill level, unfortunately, that we do – yet. That is a team that will be up-and-coming down the road.”
The Wildcats jumped out to an 11-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Layman tallied three goals and two assists in the opening frame alone, while Nye bagged a hat trick and one helper.
Layman had perhaps his best offensive performance of the season, as the sophomore attackman’s accuracy is starting to match the pace of his attempts.
“Jayden Layman had some great shots,” Hull said. “He’s been working on his shot a lot. … He’s got a really hard, powerful shot, and I’m glad to see it starting to hit the cage.”
Jarvis notched assists on backto- back transition goals in the first period, and his third helper set up Layman to make it 12-0 with 5:25 left in the first half. Kelly and Hull added markers down the stretch as the Wildcats took a 14-0 edge into halftime.
Due to RC’s large lead, the second half was playing with a running clock. Still, there were some additional highlights for the Wildcats: Brady Cauley scored twice and recorded an assist in the third quarter, while Brooke had one goal and three of his assists after the break.
And with the big advantage on the scoreboard, RC took the opportunity to acclimate several freshmen to the varsity level.
“In the second half, we were able to get a lot of the youth in – a lot of the JV guys who will be part of this team next year at the varsity level – and get them a little bit of experience, kind of get the shock factor of stepping out on the field with the big boys out of their system,” Hull said.
Quincy Speers also totaled two goals and one assist for RC, and Jackson Speers – who has stepped into the long-stick midfielder spot vacated by an injury to co-captain Garrett Stillwell – posted one goal.
Tony Lunsford made 20 saves in three quarters of action for the Blue Demons. For the game, RC outshot Christiansburg 66-3. The Wildcats also won the ground ball battle 35-24 and forced 31 turnovers.
PH 19, RC 5
Patrick Henry defeated the Wildcats 19-5 in Roanoke last Monday.
Kelly bagged three goals for RC, while Layman and Quincy Speers notched one goal apiece. But the Patriots – who would suffer their first defeat of the season, a 17-16 setback against Western Albemarle, later in the week – proved to have too much offensive firepower. PH ended the week at 6-1. “I can say my team does not back down from any game, even when it is a tall ask,” Hull said. “I’m proud of the effort, and we did have some bright spots that we will take away. We will also continue to fine-tune our defense, as that is the strength of this team.”
RC 10, Byrd 3
RC pulled away from William Byrd in the second half of a 10-3 victory in Vinton last Wednesday.
Nye tallied four goals and Kelly recorded another hat trick to pace the Wildcats. River Hull chipped in two goals, and Quincy Speers netted the other RC marker.
The Terriers, who ended the week at 4-6, struck first, but Nye pulled the Wildcats even at 1-1. Kelly and Nye would score later in the first half as the ’Cats took a 3-1 lead into the intermission. But the offense came to life after halftime, as RC outscored Byrd 7-2 across the final 24 minutes.
“Once we relaxed and stopped throwing the ball away, and started getting the loose ground balls, opportunities started to present themselves a bit more quickly,” Coach Hull said. “We were better able to capitalize when we started sharing the ball, as we have been emphasizing all year long.”
The Wildcats will play host to Cave Spring on Thursday for a varsity contest at 5:30 p.m. before playing host to William Byrd on Monday, with the 7:15 p.m. boys’ varsity game following the 5:30 p.m. girls’ varsity game.
