St. Pius Weekly Sports Recap

completed another week undefeated in region or area play in all sports last week. Volleyball (No. 1-AAA) saw its 24-match win streak snapped at the highly competitive Lovett Block Party Invitational. The Golden Lions boys’ cross country team moved up a spot in the ga.milesplit.com All-Classification poll to No. 4 while continuing to sit atop the AAA poll as the ladies maintain their second spot in the AAA poll. Football climbed to No. 3 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution rankings but dropped in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) poll to No. 4.

The Golden Lion football team cruised to a victory in its Region 5-AAA opener against North Springs, 60-0 to run its record to 4-0. Senior quarterback Trey White connected with senior running back Geno Smith for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Senior running backs Logan Rosborough and Jake DeLany scored two TDs while Brandon Mitchell, Nick Ruffin and Dalton Wilson each added a rushing score.

Junior Grayson Klinger returned an interception for a score. Defensive backs Aaron Avant and Nick Glass also added interceptions leading St. Pius to its second shutout of the season. The Golden Lions host North Atlanta this Friday at 7:30pm for its annual Homecoming game.

The volleyball squad started the week with area wins over Druid Hills and North Springs to remain undefeated in Area 5 play. The Golden Lions took their first three matches at the Lovett Block Party Invitational against No. 5 Columbus (AAA), Homewood and Landmark Christian before falling to No. 5 Roswell (AAAAA). The lady netters rebounded by knocking off No. 3 McIntosh (AAAA) before succumbing to No. 4 Whitewater (AAAA) in the Red Bracket Classic. The Golden Lions are 33-4 overall on the year and host area matches Tuesday starting at 5pm against No. 5 Riverwood (AAA), Towers and Columbia.

Both boys’ and girls’ cross country teams competed in the Warpath Invitational in Canton last Saturday. The boys’ squad was the top finishing AAA school and finished third overall in all classifications. The male harriers were paced by a third-place finish by Austin Sprague and ninth-place showing by Calvin Tirrell. 

The performance by Sprague and Tirrell earned them the all-time second and third best times, respectively, in school history. Andrew Anastasiades, Paul McNeil and Chris Beach also helped the team to the second best team time in St. Pius history. 

The lady harriers finished fifth overall and were the second AAA finisher just two points behind No. 1 Allatoona (AAA). Devon Dabney led all Golden Lion runners finishing in 22nd-place. The boys’ team will run this weekend at The Atlanta Classic at Clinton Farms while the girls’ team is idle.

The softball squad opened the week with a Region 5 victory over North Springs to remain undefeated in region play. The Golden Lions then travelled to Chattanooga for the SCORE Invitational where they went 1-4 on the weekend. After dropping the first two games to Ringgold and Bryan County, St. Pius rebounded for a win over LaFayette before losing the final two games to No. 3 Calhoun (AA) and No. 1 Gordon Lee (A). The Golden Lions host Grady on Tuesday and Riverwood on Thursday in region action. First pitch for both games is 5:30pm.

The competition cheer squad saw its first action of the 2011 season at the Mill Creek High School Competition. The Golden Lions placed third in the event finishing ahead of Locust Grove which finished in the top six at the state championships last year. St. Pius will return to competition at the Rumble in the Jungle at Parkview High School on Oct. 8.