St. Pius X Sports Leap Into State Playoffs

The spring sport season continues to see the regular season end at St. Pius X with only the lacrosse teams still having regular season games remaining. All other teams have entered the playoffs with both tennis teams advancing to quarterfinal play this week. The girls’ soccer team vaulted back to the top spot in the AAA state polls by scoreatl.com while the boys’ team remains No. 1. Baseball moved up a slot to No. 6 in AAA while girls’ lacrosse stays at No. 8 in the A-AAAAA rankings.

Boys’ tennis advanced to the AAA state quarterfinals as the top seed out of Region 6-AAA. Austin Boaz, Jack Cote and Ryan Francis helped the Golden Lions posted two first round wins over Banks County and North Oconee, respectively. St. Pius X will face Buford at DeKalb Tennis Center on Thursday.

Girls’ tennis also advanced to the quarterfinals with 3-0 romps over both Banks County and Cartersville. The lady netters will face region rival, Woodward at DeKalb Tennis Center on Wednesday.

Boys’ soccer took its only match of the week to close out the regular season.  Tyler Alexander and Calvin Jackson scored two goals apiece in a 6-0 win over Decatur. The Golden Lions (14-0-2) will open the state playoffs at home on Friday night against Region 7 No. 4 Dawson County at 6 p.m. The teams have only one common opponent as St. Pius X defeated Blessed Trinity, 2-1, and the Tigers dropped a 3-0 decision to the Titans.

Girls' soccer defeated Decatur, 6-1, in the last regular season game. After trailing by a goal early, the Golden Lions (14-1-3) erupted for six straight goals, with Avery McKenna and Amanda Vocelka each scoring two goals. The ladies will host Region 7 No. 4 West Hall on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the first round of the state playoffs.

Boys’ lacrosse had a busy week last week, rattling off four wins. St. Pius X (9-8) knocked off Marist, 7-6, before downing Dunwoody, 14-1, and Southwest Dekalb, 18-1. The Golden Lions wrapped up the week with an 11-0 shutout of Lakeside-Evans. The squad will finish the regular season on Wednesday at Etowah.

Girls' lacrosse split both of its decisions last week. After shutting out MLK, the Golden Lions (13-4) dropped a 12-9 decision to Marist. The ladies will end the regular season with three games this week. The Golden Lions will host Lovett Monday, before hitting the road Wednesday at Woodward and then Friday at Grayson.

Boys’ golf finished third at the region meet but still posted a qualifying score for the state sectionals held next week. Chris Harris was the low Golden Lion. St. Pius X travels to The Invite at Chattahoochee Golf Course in Gainesville on Friday and Saturday.

Girls’ golf finished second at the region meet last week and will participate in the state sectionals next week. Brittany Tarnowski paced the team. The ladies host the third annual Golden Lion Challenge on Monday.

Track and field had the following student-athletes qualify for the state meet this week: Rachel Pyden, Elizabeth Pettit, Emma Jayne Braxton, Margaret Crawford, Sarah Fristoe, Martinique Edwards, Bryanna Gillooly, Elisabeth Carr, Alexa Rushworth, Calvin Tirrell, Austin Sprague, Andrew Anastasiades, Joe Beach, Fred Dorsey, Cooper Metzler, Daniel Haugh and Kyle Johnson.