Sports
Watch the Throne
Varsity Football Recap
November 17, 2017. A day that will live in infamy in SouthLake Christian football lore; the day the Eagles took home the Division III state title in one of the most improbable Cinderella stories ever conceived. Thanks to an incredible November run, a 6-6 team was sitting on the field of Village Christian Academy with a state championship trophy.
Of course, when you achieve the highest goal for the 2017 season, the expectations for the next season are simple: Do it again.
Repeating is always easier said than done, but the Eagles opened the 2018 season looking as strong as ever. The season kicked off at home the first week of school against regional rival Lake Norman Charter. The offense was able to do just enough to keep Charter out of the lead, including a 98-yard touchdown catch by senior transfer WR Cole Cameli and a goal-line sneak by senior QB Braeden McCarthy. Excellent coverage in the secondary led to forced errors from Charter QB Reed Mitchell, helping the defense take four interceptions as a unit, including one that was returned to the end zone by way of senior LB Donovan Lewis. Elsewhere on the defense, senior DL Zach O’Bryan wrapped up 2.5 sacks and senior LB Luke Binkley made 19 total tackles. A defensive stop on the final drive sealed the game as the Eagles beat Lake Norman Charter 21-17.
From there, the wins just kept piling on for the Eagles against Hickory Grove and North Raleigh Christian. In Week 2 against Hickory Grove, the Eagles had another stellar defensive performance, holding the Lions to just 103 yards of total offense. A Luca Lutzel pick along with 1.5 O’Bryan sacks forced five punts and helped keep the Lions back in their own territory for most of the night. The offense was equally amazing, led once again by Cameli, who led the way with 103 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just four receptions. Junior RB Beau Bullerdick carried the Eagles between the hashmarks, leading all rushers with 169 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown run. The Eagles were able to rely on big plays like that to cruise over Hickory Grove 38-6. The following week at North Raleigh Christian was a much different story offensively. The Eagles only had two plays go for more than 20 yards that night, only one player had more than 50 yards on the stat sheet (senior RB Austin Reed, rushing for 53 yards on only seven carries), and the only points of the night came from a McCarthy goal-line sneak in the third quarter. While the Eagles posted 180 less all-purpose yards than the previous game, 309 total yards still proved to be enough, as North Raleigh Christian only gained a measly 136 all-purpose yards on the night. Binkley led the way on the lockdown defense with 17 total tackles, and Reed and junior DE Bryce Duquesne both got over the five-tackle mark. This helped keep North Raleigh out of the endzone for the entire game and ensured the Eagles would get a well-deserved, hard-fought 6-3 victory.
The 3-0 Eagles once again looked ready to compete with the best in the state going into the meat of their schedule. The next three weeks would bring three tough tests in Metrolina Christian, Asheville School, and Christ School. The first test against Metrolina was not the ideal result the Eagles were looking for. The one highlight worth noting was a 35-yard pick-six by O’Bryan in the third quarter, which, along with Luca Lutzel’s two-point conversion, brought the only points of the night on a 33-8 loss, the first of the season for the Eagles. The Asheville School contest the next week brought better results for the offense, posting almost 50% more all-purpose yards than the previous week. Reed also proved his strong two-way potential for the Eagles, providing all 12 of SouthLake Christian’s points for the night, including a 1-yard touchdown run on offense and an electrifying 57-yard interception return for a touchdown on defense. It was Reed’s first career interception and the most touchdowns in a game in his career. With all that history over multiple seasons, it would have been easy to be overcome by the moment, but when asked about the return after the game, he said “I thought scoring touchdowns would be more fun, but I was just really tired.” The Eagles went on to lose the game 34-12. The team showed even more improvement in their game against perennial powerhouse Christ School the next Friday, doubling the all-purpose yards they put up against Asheville School. McCarthy had a career-best performance as a quarterback, throwing for 228 yards and three touchdowns, with 194 of those yards going to senior WR Hayden Humphrey. Humphrey had two of the touchdowns, one of which was on 89-yard play. Luca Lutzel also returned another pick-six for the Eagles defense, making this the third straight game in which the Eagles returned an interception all the way to the endzone. The 40-yard effort was the second pick-six in his career, and the first since his freshman year. Cameli added on another interception and freshman Josh Belvin notched his first career turnover with a fumble recovery for three total turnovers by the defense for the night. But all of this was not enough to overcome a 430-yard passing night by Christ School QB Navy Schuler and a 56-27 final score in favor of the Greenies.
After such a tough schedule, the Eagles needed a chance to show their overall improvement off to the world with a winning result. A senior night contest against Cannon looked to be just the opportunity, and the Eagles pounced on it. Reed opened the scoring in the first quarter with a rushing touchdown to put the Eagles up 6-0. From there, it was defensive domination, with the Eagles holding Cannon to a measly 66 passing yards and sacking Cougar quarterbacks twice during the first half. Lewis picked up another interception around the line of scrimmage to bring his total to two for the season, and senior DE Miller Ramsey stole the show with a fumble recovery in the endzone against his former school for his first career score to put the Eagles up 13-0. After a Cannon touchdown brought the lead down to 6, the Eagles went back up 13 when Luca Lutzel scored on an 80-yard touchdown catch just before the half. The dominant first half performance would prove to be enough, as the game was called for severe thunderstorms at the start of the third quarter and the final score was 20-7 Eagles.
The Eagles have been tested through fire and storms during the first six weeks of the season. Their strength of schedule and a 4-3 record place them in 4thplace in the NCISAA Division III, according to MaxPreps. Their remaining schedule allows them some room to move up that list with a contest against the 9thranked private school in the state in High Point Christian and their season finale against 1-5 Concord First Assembly. It wouldn’t be crazy to imagine this could be another title-winning year for the Eagles given the road ahead. With both the offense and defense trending upward going into the final two regular season contests, the sky is the limit for the 2018 Eagles. Could there possibly be another day of infamy in the legacy of SouthLake Christian football? The answer is as simple as those preseason expectations. Just win, baby.
-Andrew Simonson
Stick It to ‘Em
Men’s Varsity Lacrosse Season Preview
Everyone likes to talk about the champion. But not everyone thinks about the team that’s supposed to come right after them.
That’s exactly where Eagles lacrosse stands going into the 2019 season: in the shadow of itself. Ten months after winning their first state championship in the program’s young history, the expectations for this year’s team are sky high.
“I definitely believe winning last year put a big target on our heads and a lot of pressure to win this year,” said senior midfielder and captain Luke Binkley. “Last year we had the element of surprise, but now everybody knows and it’s driven us to play harder.”
But it’s also business as usual for the Eagles, as the players have been attending captain-organized workouts since late 2018, and in the weight room for even longer. The team has also had opportunities to bond as a unit through preseason tournaments like the Viking Games on February 23. The Eagles knew that nothing would be handed to them again and that this work would be needed to make victory happen again.
“Offseason got us some good work with our fundamentals and strength [and] conditioning so we didn’t have to spend practice time doing that stuff,” said senior midfielder and captain Braeden McCarthy.
The regular season schedule won’t be doing them any favors either. After beating Charlotte Christian 14-5 last Tuesday, the Eagles face area powerhouse Charlotte Latin for their home opener on March 12. They also have matches lined up against fellow D-II opponents Davidson Day and Asheville School, as well as a home tilt against Charlotte Country Day and road grudge matches against Lake Norman Charter and Hough. When all is said and done, the Eagles will have played 13 matches in just eight weeks.
Not like the Eagles aren’t prepared to face these challenges, though. The team returns captain Luca Lutzel in the attack, as well as freshman standout Matt Lutzel, who after a strong 8th grade season on varsity last year, already has 8 goals after just one game. Look for many goal scoring opportunities to come from the midfield, which will once again be anchored by senior captains Braeden McCarthy, Zach O’Bryan, and Luke Binkley. The Eagles also seem to have found their everyday goalie in junior Jack Harrison as he prepares to start his second season in an Eagles uniform. The defense will be interesting to watch play out as the season progresses, as many newcomers and underclassmen back up regulars Daniel Quigley and CJ Simmer. With most of the roster from the 2018 championship squad intact, watching the younger Eagles come into their own and start earning playing time will be crucial to the team’s future growth.
“This year’s team definitely has much more depth than last year and has improved a lot defensively as well as knowing the game of lacrosse,” said McCarthy.
In a way, this season also serves as a last ride for veterans like McCarthy, O’Bryan, and Binkley, as well as attacker Will Crosbie and midfielders Will Howlin and Miller Ramsey, who have been in the program since freshman year, and some even before that. And what better way to go out than with another state championship? When asked about whether the fact that it’s their last season has hit the seniors yet, Ramsey said “I don’t think that this is my last year playing lax has hit me yet, but all the seniors realize it and we are all grinding it out to finish as state champs.”
Eagles lacrosse could not be in a better place going into 2019. Even with all the weight of repeating as champions on their shoulders, they seem as calm, poised, and dangerous as ever. As the momentum keeps building for this season, the Eagles’ goals are clear. Win another state title, and leave no doubt in the process. It seems foolish to think they couldn’t do just that.
-Andrew Simonson
Kill All Doubt
Varsity Volleyball Regular Season Recap
Grace Iannarino is over it.
For what seems like the thousandth time, she and teammate Mia Handlogten are arguing with a group of football players about how volleyball’s 2017 season was more impressive than football’s. And it’s getting old.
Volleyball’s 27-4 season was undoubtably an impressive feat, capped with a MAC conference championship and a #2 ranking in the NCISAA state playoffs. All of that accomplishment was forgotten within two hours, as the Eagles lost to #7 High Point Christian 3-1 in the state quarterfinals. Football had the convenience of making up for a 6-6 season with a state title, but the team that won 87% of their games was forced into the background. Again.
If the first twenty-five games of the season have said anything, it’s that the Eagles are ready to change that narrative.
The Eagles opened up the season with a dominant showing at the Calvary Day Classic in Winston-Salem. The weekend tournament opened with a very familiar face: High Point Christian, the very team that ended their states run in 2017. Refusing to let their past dictate their present, the Eagles roared out of the gate with two hard-fought set wins to sweep the match. Smith led the way with 12 kills and Iannarino served up a pair of aces in the win. The Eagles stormed their way to four more match wins after losing to Caldwell Academy in the second round, only to beat them back in the finals for the tournament title and a 5-1 start to the season
After going 2-1 over the next two weeks, SouthLake Christian had an opportunity to show their talent on a grand stage on their home court with the SLCA VolleyBash tournament. The path to a title would require winning five matches in just ten hours, but the team was more than up for the challenge. Providence Day, Calvary Day, Community School of Davidson, and Cary Academy would each fall one by one to the lethal Eagles attack on the road to the finals. Providence Day would have the honor of facing the Eagles for the second time that day, and they were met with a flurry of Eagles kills: 20, in fact, with 11 of them assisted by senior Abby Peck. The defense also racked up five blocks, including two for Smith, on the road to a 2-0 sweep and another tournament title.
From there, it’s been all uphill for the Eagles. Since losing to Carmel Christian on August 21, the Eagles have won every match they’ve played for over a month. The Eagles didn’t even drop a set from the VolleyBash semifinals until a closely contested and hard-fought 3-2 win over Carmel Christian, sweeping conference foes Gaston Christian, Hickory Grove Christian, Metrolina Christian, and Concord First Assembly twice each, and Northside Christian once in that span. The unbeaten stretch all but locks up the MAC conference regular season title and a #1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament, where the Eagles look to defend their title from the past five seasons. That tournament starts the week of October 8 at Gaston Day, with the state playoffs beginning the week after.
One thing is for certain going forward: the 23-2 Eagles want redemption. After years of coming oh-so-close to winning it all, there’s something in the air about this year’s iteration that says it’s their time. It’s been eight seasons since SouthLake Christian was last at the top of the volleyball world. Turning that eight on its side shows exactly how long the wait has felt to the players: infinity. In fact, half of the team’s starting six—Smith, senior Macey Garrison, and sophmore Taylor Geist—were not even at the school when the Eagles last won it all, and this year’s senior class was in third grade at that time, three years away from heading out on the court for the first time in an Eagles jersey.
Somehow the debate continues over which fall sports team is better. It’s once again the girls against the boys, and once again, the girls are currently up, with one less loss and a whopping nineteen more wins than the boys. If they have their way, in a few short weeks, the volleyball girls will have a state title of their own to throw into the debate. There’s still a while to go to get to the trophy, but at their current pace, Grace Iannarino and the 2018 Eagles players won’t ever be over hearing about their success. They won’t be able to hear enough.
-Andrew Simonson