New-look Beaufort team hitting stride
LowcoSports.com
It was an uneven start to the season for a Beaufort High boys team looking to reconfigure after losing a boatload of seniors off last year’s state runner-up squad, but the Eagles are still in position to defend their region crown.
Despite a 2-0 loss at Philip Simmons to open Region 8-3A play on Tuesday, Beaufort looks like a contender once again after routing Battery Creek, 7-0, on Friday to even its region mark. The Eagles have four wins and a tie in their last six matches, and they’re well-positioned to add another victory Friday at North Charleston before a key trip to Hanahan on March 27.
If the Eagles take care of business between now and then, they’ll have back-to-back home games against Hanahan and Philip Simmons on April 9 and 11, and the region title could hang in the balance.
JPII bounces back in big way
After letting a halftime lead slip away in a 3-1 loss to First Baptist last Tuesday, John Paul II’s boys rebounded nicely Thursday with a 10-2 win at Coastal Homeschool.
Eight different players scored goals for the Golden Warriors, including Jackson Sanders’ first career hat trick. Brennan McDermott scored a goal and added three assists, while Collin Anfinson had a goal and two assists, and Seth Cano and Brian Orta each scored one goal and assisted on another. Kelon Reynolds, Luca Madhere, and Christian Tilton also found the back of the net for JPII, which hits the road to Northwood Academy and Hilton Head Prep this week.
Warriors grinding out region wins
Their aggregate goal total isn’t pretty, but the Whale Branch boys are finding ways to win the games they’re in. The Warriors have won three hard-fought results in their first four region contests with a 10-0 defeat at the hands of upstart Royal Live Oaks mixed in, putting them squarely in third place in Region 7-1A.
After a 4-3 win over Branchville and a 5-4 overtime victory over Bamberg-Ehrhardt to start region play, the Warriors were able to pull out another tough win Thursday against Bethune-Bowman, as Miguel Ruiz netted a hat trick to lead Whale Branch to a 6-4 win after being tied 3-3 at halftime.
The Warriors were set to face a tough test Tuesday against Bridges Prep, which is 6-0-1 overall and has outscored its first three region foes 23-0, including 9-0 wins over Bethune-Bowman and Bamberg-Ehrhardt last week
