Unbeaten Patriots Top ’Cats, 15-2

Despite Score, RC Boys Laxers Showing Improvement

Patrick Henry remained undefeated in boys lacrosse with a 15-2 victory over Rockbridge County High School in Lexington on Thursday.

Roderick Tasco and Drew Shroeder tallied five points apiece to help the Patriots improve to 7-0, as Tasco posted three goals and two assists and Shroeder finished with one goal and four helpers. Peter McConnel and Benjamin Dalsey each notched two goals and two assists for PH, and Cole Devine made 12 saves.

Andrew Kelly won 13-of-18 faceoffs for the Wildcats (2-6), and Jack Jensen recorded 12 saves while allowing 12 goals during his time in the cage.

The Patriots took a 6-0 lead by the 10:19 mark of the second quarter. But RC held PH off the scoreboard down the stretch in the first half, getting six saves from Jensen in the period – he made a total of nine before the break – while Kelly’s play at the dot made the Patriots work hard just to gain possession.

“Andrew Kelly got a lot of faceoffs and kept the game” close early on, RC head coach Jay Whitelock said. “Our defense played their best first half of the season. … They were good saves [made by Jensen], because they’re a good shooting team.”

Eventually, though, PH wore the Wildcats down. The Patriots opened the second half with a pair of man-up goals – they scored on all four of their extraman opportunities in the game – and would stretch the margin to 12-0 by the end of the third period and 13-0 early in the fourth.

But the ’Cats kept battling, and Quincy Speers’s extra-man goal with 5:46 to play got them on the board. That tally also broke up the shutout bid for Devine, the Patriots’ goalie, who had stopped the first 12 shots on frame that he faced – including a handful of spectacular saves.

Grayden Brown made it two in a row for RC when he scored from a Sawyer Hattersley assist with 4:22 to go, trimming the deficit to 13-2. PH added a pair of late markers to provide the final margin.

Jack Kenney bagged a hat trick for PH, and Marquay Cook had a pair of goals. The Patriots outshot the Wildcats 38-22 and forced 25 RC turnovers, while the ground ball count was even at 28-28.

Despite the final scoreline, Whitelock has seen signs of improvement from his squad. And while the six teams that have beaten RC are currently a combined 37-11, the Wildcats should get a reprieve from their difficult schedule with several winnable games ahead.

“We’re pretty much over the tough teams,” Whitelock said. “We hope to have a lot better games coming up.”

RC was scheduled to visit Franklin County on Monday, and the Wildcats return home to face Hidden Valley tonight, Wednesday, at 7 p.m. before playing at Christiansburg on Monday at 7:15 p.m.