Hazelwood Central Boys Lacrosse On 3-Game Roll After First Loss

By Jim Wieners

While High School Varsity Sports teams started the Spring season this past weekend the Hazelwood Central Boys Lacrosse Club began their season on March 8, over two weeks ago.

Hazelwood Central Boys Lacrosse, with players mainly from Hazelwood Central and Hazelwood West high schools but chose the Central nickname “Hawks,” stumbled in their opener with a 5-4 loss at Chaminade College Prep. Since then the Hawks went on a roll, winning three consecutive games, all in Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association Division II, and has out scored the three opponents by a combined score of 49-4.

Hazelwood Central defeated Fox and Belleville (Ill.) Township by identical 17-1 scores and defeated Lindbergh 15-2. According to the web site laxpower.com Hazelwood is in MSLA II East along with Belleville Township, O’Fallon (Ill.) Township, Clayton and Ladue. None of the three opponents the Hawks defeated have a win prior to March 18 not including the March 17 Fox-O’Fallon Township game.

Junior Goalkeeper Logan Humphrey has a 2.35 Goals Against Average with 32 saves. Junior Brendan Stuckenschneider has 42 shots, 16 goals including four against Belleville Township and has picked up 12 ground balls. Junior Nathan Besaw has 34 shots, 13 goals including four against Belleville Township and six assists for 19 points as well as picking up 13 ground balls.

Junior Nick Jambga has 25 shots, 10 ground balls, 10 goals and four assists for 14 points but five of those goals were against Belleville Township. Also scoring against Belleville Township were sophomore Blake Terry with two goals and sophomore Sean Bentrup with one. Terry and Junior Noor Ghazal each has 11 shots.

Nine Hawks have each picked up 10 or more ground balls including junior Johnathan Wishnask (24), Terry (21), Ghazal (18), Humphrey (18), Besaw, Stuckenschneider, freshman Jackson Timmy (11), Jambga and senior Tylin Davis (10). About 20 players on the 22-player roster are underclassmen including 11 juniors, five sophomores and four freshman. Davis and Mark Hodges are the only seniors on the roster.

Hazelwood Central returns to action March 29, 5 p.m., against Parkway West High at Parkway West Middle School. The next Hawk home game is April 1 against Francis Howell High. Hazelwood Central Boys Lacrosse Club home games are behind Hazelwood Northwest Middle School.

   GIRLS LACROSSE — All three Hazelwood high schools have girls Lacrosse, which is a varsity sport in Missouri. Hazelwood East opens first, March 30 at Kirkwood, Hazelwood West hosts Marquette (Rockwood School District) March 31 and Hazelwood Central hosts Pattonville April 1. Season-opening varsity games start at 4:15.

   BASEBALL — Lutheran North swept a season-opening doubleheader March 18 at home over Trinity Catholic, 5-4 and 11-6. Senior Connor Burnett struck out eight Trinity batters but gave up four runs and was pulled with two out in the top of the. fifth inning and the scored tied at 4-4. Sophomore Egan Biggs pitched the final two and a third innings, struck out four and was credited with the win when Lutheran North scored the tie-breaking run in the bottom of the fifth. Senior Zach Moravec had two RBIs.

In Game Two Lutheran North scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning after trailing 2-1 and the Crusaders added four more in the fourth. Junior Lloyd Abernathy, who had two doubles, and Burnett each scored three runs while seniors Jerrick Fayne and Cameron Russell-Clemons each drove in two runs. Senior Ethan Wallace was the winning pitcher with nine strikeouts in four innings and he contributed at bat with a home run, one of his two runs scored, and two RBIs.

Junior Sal Pellerito, the game one losing pitcher for Trinity, had two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs in game two while senior Jake Gantner, the game two losing pitcher, scored twice.

Lutheran North hosed Westminister Christian Academy March 22, played Thursday, March 24, 4 p.m. against Bishop DuBourg at Forest Park #1 and hosted Metro-East Lutheran (Edwardsville, Ill.) March 30 at 4:30. Trinity Catholic played a home-schooled team, the St. Louis Patriots, March 23 at the Hazelwood Sports Complex and visited McCluer March 31 at 4 p.m. before their April 2 home opener, a double header against Orchard Farm at 11 a.m.

Leave a Reply