St. Pius added more hardware this past weekend for the trophy case as Golden Lion sports took home two state crowns and one region title. Both cross country teams raced to the AAA state title on Saturday in Carrollton while football captured the Region 6-AAA championship with its win. Football remained ranked No. 7 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll for the second consecutive week. Competition cheer ended its season in the sectionals in Macon.
Boys’ cross country won its third consecutive AAA state championship, and sixth title overall with a dominating performance as the Golden Lions took the top three spots and four of the top five. Austin Sprague won the individual championship with teammates Calvin Tirrell and Joey Ferrugia finishing second and third, respectively. Andrew Anastasiades completed the course in fifth place. The Golden Lions will lose only Tirrell to graduation.
Girls’ cross country captured its first AAA state title since 2009 as three runners placed in the top seven. Devon Dabney finished in second place and Margaret Crawford placed third. Emma Jayne Braxton finished seventh with Katie Glenn placing 12th and Elizabeth Pettit 14th. The championship was the third in school history.
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Football won its second straight region championship and third in four seasons as the Golden Lions shut out Decatur 48-0. St. Pius (8-2, 5-1) was led by senior quarterback Jack Spear’s 120 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. Spear scored one touchdown on the ground while finding Branden Mitchell for a TD through the air. Ryan Braswell added two TDs while Joey Connors and Kevin O’Toole found pay dirt once apiece. Harris Woodward returned a fumble for a score for the Golden Lions. St. Pius will host Dawson County (6-4), the fourth-seed out of Region 7-AAA, on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Winter sports begin this weekend with boys’ basketball facing Creekview on Saturday at noon in the North Forsyth Holiday Tournament. The lady cagers, ranked No. 8 in the AJC pre-season AAA poll, open in the Parkview Classic Saturday versus Lovett at 12:30 p.m.