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Wednesday, February 17, 2021 - Pike County Journal Reporter - Page 7A
Pirates wrestle strong at state meet
The Pike County Wres
tling Team participated
in the State AAA meet
Feb. 10-11. The format of
this year’s tournament
was a little different due
to COV1D-19 safety and
compliance. The GHSA
came up with a sched
ule that allowed one or
two classifications to
compete in the Macon
Centreplex at a time.
The Pirates took a
school record of 14 to
compete in the State
Traditional meet. On day
one, several wrestlers
won matches. Winning
matches on day one were:
Aiden Stanley, Kaden
Norris, Gage Lee, Dawson
Guest, Cooper Jones,
Malikay Ray, Jakilen King,
and John Lovett. Others
on the team competed
well. John Lovett made
it to the finals, Gage Lee
made it to the semifinals,
Jakilen King and Malikay
Ray were still alive in the
consolation quarterfinals,
so all four were still in the
tournament on day two
and the team was in ninth
place over all.
Jakilen King ended up
in fifth place, Gage Lee
ended up in fourth place,
and John Lovett made
school history becoming
the first wrestler ever to
win the state finals. John
won the finals against a
former state champion
from Sornoroville.
John’s finals match was
one of the last matches
of the night in the Centre
plex. The match was 0 to 0
going into the second pe
riod. His opponent scored
first with a two point
reversal but just could
not keep up with John’s
relentless pace. John was
John Lovett earned the AAA
195 lb state championship ti
tle after going 81 -1 in the past
two years with the Pirates.
winning 4-2 by the end of
the second period. John’s
pace did not change and
he continued to score
points in the third to put
the match away.
John has been in the
wrestling program for 10
years, starting in the Pike
youth program before he
wrestled in middle school.
He has been a captain
on the high school team
for all four years. He also
placed fourth in state
his sophomore year and
was a state runner-up his
junior year. He finished
last year with a record of
48-1 and this year 33-0.
His career record at Pike
puts him near 200 wins
and he likely would have
passed that if it wasn’t for
COV1D-19. John also was
a state placer in track,
finishing fifth in the pole
valult his sophomore year
as well as a captain on the
varsity football team.
SUBMITTED PHOITOS
Above (l-r) the Pirates wrestling team set a school record by qualifying 14 for the state championship meet. Below, sophomore
Gage Lee placed fourth at state, sophomore Jakilen King placed fifth at state and they were congratulated by coach Dylan
Parker, senior and state champ John Lovett and coach Clay Woerner.
He plans to attend
Mercer University on
scholarship to play foot
ball next year.
“1 am so proud of John
and his accomplish
ments on the mat. He
has worked very hard to
finish his goal of being a
state champion. But, the
thing that sticks out in
my mind the most about
John is his leadership.
He treats his teammates
with respect, he cares for
them, he picks younger
kids up when they don’t
have a ride to practice,
he employs some during
the summer months so
they can earn money in
his lawn care business,
he is a real leader in many
ways,” said coach Clay
Woerner. “Many under
classmen look to him and
he keeps the team in line
without being degrading
or treating them as ‘ninth
graders.’ He and the
many athletes who have
placed in the state before
him continue to move the
wrestling program to a
higher competitive level.”
The team finished
tenth in the tournament
and will return 11 state
qualifiers and two state
placers next season.
mpwNS
Pirates soccer teams start 2021 season with big wins
BY JOE WALTER
The Pike County Var
sity Soccer teams have
started the season with
big wins. The Pirates
traveled to Dublin Friday,
Jan. 29 for a scrimmage
with West Laurens Raid
ers and dominated both
games, with the girls
winning 10-0 and the
boys winning 7-2. Both
teams were able to get all
players on the field and
the boys faced a feisty
opponent in the Raiders,
with the scrimmage be
ing cut short at the end
to calm both teams down
and stop any on the field
issues.
The Pirates then trav
eled to Barnesville to
compete in the Trojan
Cup in the cold and rain
with games on Feb. 1, 2
and 6. The Pirates played
the Harris County Tigers
at Trojan Field Feb. 1
with an icy crosswind,
which significantly af
fected play. The girls lost
a tough game, falling 2-0
to the Lady Tigers. The
boys took an early lead
at goal by Ozzie O’Steen
and survived a penalty
kick by Harris County
in the first half, where
the Pirate keeper came
off the line early, which
forced a re-kick. On the
second attempt, a Harris
County player entered
the penalty box early
and negated a successful
strike, leaving the score
1-0 Pike. Pike added a
beautiful Matt Webb
“Olimpico” goal off a cor
ner kick to build the lead
to 2-0 and Webb scored
another goal with a PK
conversion in the second
half to increase the lead
to 3-0. From then on, the
Pirates floundered and
allowed Harris to creep
back in to the game,
eventually tying the game
with three minutes left
and the score ended up
3-3.
The Pirates faced
Jones County on Feb. 2
on a cold night at Trojan
Field with the girls win
ning a close match 1-0
and the boys roughing
up the Greyhounds 6-1.
Ozzie O’Steen, Clayton
Matthews, Jake Rich
ardson, Victor Avila and
Matt Webb all scored
goals for the Pirates
and generally kept the
Greyhounds from getting
any good looks at the
goal. Keeper Ryan Brooks
made many saves, but
was unable to stop a
Jones County PK in the
second half, which made
the score 5-1 at that
point. Pike added a late
goal to finish the game
6-1.
Due to the tie with
Harris County and goal
differential, the Pirates
ended up playing for
third place against
Trinity Christian School
in the Trojan Cup on a
rainy, 35 degree night at
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Christian Fowler battles a Lo
cust Grove Wildcat for the ball.
the new Lamar HS soccer
field. The Lady Pirates
thumped Putnam County
10-0 earlier in the day
even though it sleeted
through much of the
game. The boys played in
a steady downpour, but
managed to defeat the
Lions, clearly overmatch
ing the team from Sharps-
burg. The Pirates built a
4-0 lead with goals from
Matt Webb, Jake Richard
son, Sebastian Facundo
and Christian Fowler.
Keeper Ryan Brooks had
to be substituted due to
the cold/wet conditions
and Lautic Fordham
stepped in goal and
promptly had to defend a
PK. Lautic tried his best,
but was unable to stop
it, making the score 4-1.
Two more late goals, one
by Ozzie O’Steen, were
added in the second half
to bring the score to 6-1
as the Pirates were able
to play everybody and
the final whistle blew.
The Pirates played in
slightly warmer weather
Tuesday, Feb. 9 against
the Locust Grove Wild
cats at Pirate Stadium.
The Lady Pirates outlast
ed the Lady Wildcats 5-1
in the earlier game and
the Pirates outmuscled
their 5A opponents to
win 5-2. Locust Grove
drew first blood with a
looping shot over Ryan
Brooks and it appeared
the Wildcats had all the
momentum. The Pirates
quickly equalized with
a Matthew Smith goal
and then added two
more goals off of free
kicks, both scored by
Matt Webb. The first half
ended with the score 3-1.
Locust Grove added a
goal off a deflected shot
to close the gap to 3-2
and the game teetered
back and for many min
utes until an Allen Davis
rocket shot and a Chris
Cuviello tap in increased
the lead to 5-2 for the
Pirates. The Pirates
substituted freely at this
point and held on to win
5-2. The Pirates rematch
with Trinity Christian
on Thursday, Feb. 11
was postponed due to
weather, so the next time
the Pirates take the field
will be Tuesday, Feb.
23 when they travel to
McDonough to play the
Union Grove Wolverines.
All home game tickets
have to be purchased on
the Go Fan app, either in
advance or at the gate.
Jacob Patterson honored at Lenoir-Rhyne
Jacob Patterson of
Williamson was recently
honored on the 2020 fall
semester President’s
List for Lenoir-Rhyne
University in Hickory,
NC. He plays on the of
fensive line as a center
for the LR Bears. He is
a sophomore studying
Medical Services. He
hopes to be a PA or a
pediatrician.
Students on the LR
President’s List must
have a grade point aver
age of 3.9 or higher.
“The grades Jacob at
tainted demonstrate his
dedication to learning
and preparing himself
for a fulfilling and mean
ingful life after Lenoir-
Rhyne,” said school
president Dr. Fred Whitt.
“We are very fortunate
to have students at LR
with his academic com
mitment and abilities.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO
At right, Jacob Patterson
of Williamson was recently
honored on the President’s
List at Lenoir-Rhyne Univer
sity in Hickory, NC.
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