St. Pius Football Shuts Out Lovett 24-0

As the end of September approaches, the end of the regular season is just around the corner for softball and volleyball. The football team continues to sit in the No. 5 spot in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution AAA poll while volleyball stays put at No. 3 in the scoreatl.com poll. Boys’ cross country reclaimed the top spot in the ga.milesplit.com AAA poll and climbed to No. 5 in the all-classification poll. Girls’ cross country has held steady in the No. 2 spot in AAA since the beginning of the season.

The Golden Lion football team shut out No. 4 Lovett (AA) 24-0 in the first meeting between the two schools since 1983. Ryan Braswell scored on a pair of one-yard touchdown plunges, and Jack Spear rushed for 110 yards, including a 56-yard TD in the win. Thomas O’Leary opened the scoring with a 43-yard field goal. Daniel Crochet led the defense with eight tackles, while Quincy Nieporte chipped in with seven stops, including three for loss and a fumble recovery. St. Pius (3-1) open Region 6-AAA play at home versus Towers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. where head coach Paul Standard will be looking for career victory 100, all at St. Pius.

Volleyball knocked off Area 5 foes Cross Keys and West Hall, continuing its undefeated mark in area play. The Golden Lions (29-13-1, 4-0) travelled to the Rocky Top Classic at Karns High School in Tennessee over the weekend. St. Pius finished the tournament 5-1-1 with wins over Blackman twice, Clinton, Stone Memorial, Seymour and Grace Christian, all from Tennessee. The Golden Lions tied Cave Spring (Virginia) and lost to Bayside Academy of Alabama in the finals. St. Pius will be in action on Tuesday at North Hall where it will take on Decatur and the hosts, before hosting Marist at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Boys’ cross country finished seventh at the Battle of Atlanta Invitational at Nash Farms Battlefield in Hampton. The harriers were led by Thomas Glenn, who placed 25th and Stephen Martinez who finished 31st. The squad will travel to Raleigh, N.C., for the Great American Cross Country Festival this weekend.

The girls’ cross country squad finished second in the Battle of Atlanta Invitational with Devon Dabney pacing the lady harriers with a sixth-place finish. Katie Glenn placed 19th, while Emma Jayne Braxton finished 27th, one spot ahead of team mate Sarah Fristoe. Tessa Schwarze rounded out the Golden Lion five with a 35th-place showing. The ladies are off this weekend.

Softball dropped a 9-8 decision to Decatur in the only Region 6-AAA game of the week. St. Pius (9-15, 3-2) travelled to the Brookwood Invitational this weekend where things started off promising with a 9-2 win over Central Gwinnett. The Golden Lions then dropped four consecutive games to Northgate, Loganville, Perry and Jones County. St. Pius will host Blessed Trinity on Monday at 5:30 p.m. before concluding the regular season at Buford on Tuesday.

Competition cheer finished in fifth place at the Bulldog Classic at North Gwinnett. The squad will be back in action Oct. 13 at the Peachtree Ridge Invitational.