Jags end with win

The Carrboro High School boys' varsity lacrosse team ended its inaugural season with a 7-4 win over Orange High on Friday night. The Jaguars jumped to a 7-1 halftime lead on the strength of balanced scoring by Mackenzie Price (2 goals, 1 assist), Rich Leeper (2 goals, 2 assists), Ed Lydle (1 goal), Ty Fenton (1 goal), and Julian Van Name (1 goal). Will Powell helped win the battle for possession by netting six ground balls while Leeper, John Pamplin and Brooks Covington each controlled four. The defense was anchored by goalie Nick Swartzwelder, who held the Orange scoring in check with 12 saves.

In a non-conference game involving another Mid-State school, Cedar Ridge won an overtime thriller, 6-5, at Erwin's Triton High on Friday. Triton won the faceoff at the start of OT, but the Red Wolves got the ball back off a turnover and scored on their first shot to improve to 10-6-0. Alex Sparrow and Joe Robbins each scored two goals for Cedar Ridge, while Justin Ryan and David Prescott each had an assist and a goal. Corey Spell also notched an assist.

Streaking East

The East Chapel Hill baseball team won its seventh PAC-6 game in eight tries Friday night by crushing Southern Durham 14-2. East jumped out to a 3-2 lead after one inning, then erupted for a nine-run second that put the game out of reach.

Three pitchers combined to help East win the blowout, which was called after five innings, as starter Steve Gunderson was relieved by David Ruch in the fourth and Robert Moore in the fifth.

Alex Tempesta's hot bat led the Wildcat offensive surge, as he smashed a triple and went 2-2 with a pair of RBI on the night. Sam Hankins was 2-4 and drove in a run as well.

East Chapel Hill improved to 13-8, 9-4 in conference play, guaranteeing itself a playoff spot, while Southern dropped to 1-12 in the league.

Lax teams advance

Both the East and Chapel Hill girls lacrosse teams earned spots in the state quarterfinals Friday. The Wildcats cruised past Charlotte Country Day 13-5 while Chapel Hill earned an 18-16 win over Durham Academy.

East took command of its contest early, taking an 8-3 lead into the break. Star goal-scorer Kara Fisher again led the Wildcats with six goals, good enough on her own to best the Bucs' output. Casey Moran added two scores, and Julia Daugherty, Helen Newton, Wilton Burns, I-Wah Chang and Mackie Kennihan added one apiece.

Crusaders supreme

Cardinal Gibbons held off visiting Carrboro 1-0 Friday night to establish itself atop the Mid-State 2-A standings. The Crusaders, which got a first-half goal from Lauren McAnallen, finish the regular season 14-0 in the league (17-1-2 overall) and ranked No. 1 in the state.

The Jaguars, who stayed in the match thanks to nine saves from keeper Marshall Babcock, missed a chance to eclipse Raleigh Charter for second place and finish the regular season 11-4-1, 15-5-3 overall. Carrboro dropped from third to seventh in the 2-A rankings with the loss but will get a bid to the state tournament as the Mid-State's third seed.

'Cats came back

After a tough, 6-5 loss Tuesday to Durham Jordan, the No. 8 East Chapel Hill boys' lacrosse team bounced back to win its last game of the regular season, 16-1 Thursday over Northern Durham, and awaited word Saturday to see who the 'Cats (16-4) would draw in the first round of the state playoffs. ECH expects to host its first game Tuesday night.

"We hit a couple of rough spots in the road at the end of the year," coach Franklin Zirkle said. "Hopefully they will be learning experiences for us as we head into the playoffs. Despite two losses near the end of the season, I'm still excited to see where this team wants to go."

Zirkle praised his seniors, but also found some pleasant surprises this season in freshman Ryan Lucey and sophomore Noel Myers, a transfer from Grimsley. Sophs Kord Scharfenberg, Thomas Moore, Thomas Meyer and Cristo Briceno also made major contributions, he said. But some vets really stood out.

MacKenzie Turvey "has been great in goal," Zirkle noted, helped by strong defense by Mary Washington signee Will Devlin and face-off man Culen Wilson. Other juniors like Breck Ecker, Karsten Bench, and Dan Eron have been very steady performers.

"Scott Elkins broke the single season record for assists, and he has meshed really well on attack with Nick Vitali, who has also experienced a breakout season for us," Zirkle said. "We knew that the big guys, Scot Meyer and Tom St. Geme would step up big for us, and now we get to see how they will respond in the playoffs."