Story by Near Post Sports
The boys’ lacrosse team tamed the Pensacola Tigers 14-7 at Ian Lockwood Field. It was their second win of the season – both against the Tigers (0-7).
Nick Wilhelm netted a double hat trick to lead the Raider attack. Ivan Bateman scored twice, and six teammates tallied one each.“Just seeing the open field, making sure I can go somewhere and not get locked up.Teammates gave me space to dodge and shoot,” Wilhelm said. “We definitely make a lot of mistakes, but tonight was just a crazy night. It was cool to see everybody doing everything right. Just making sure they were playing their game.”
Midfielder Nikhil Patel tallied five for the Tigers.“We put eight goals in the net, so we had a good showing offensively,” said Pensacola head coach Rodney Scott. “We’re short on numbers, so energy levels got low. So, it’s hard to be consistent when you’re playing tired. Defensively, we were a step slow on sliding and helping each other out.”
In the first half, the Tigers pinned the Raiders in their defensive half for a good three minutes, which taxed the defense and goalkeeper Chandler Kempf. “I feel like our defense definitely did a lot better … so, it’s a little bit easier for me,” Kempf said.
Things were tied up at three with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, but Navarre surged to a 6-3 advantage in just four minutes.They had a similar run of goals in the third quarter, entering the final period with a 11-5 cushion.
The 14-goal output was the highest number Navarre has scored this season.“You need these little victories to grow the program, to build confidence in the players,” Raider head coach Jonathan Jones said. “They executed things we’ve been practicing. Obviously, it’s a momentum builder.”
According to the schedule, the Raiders are off until March 23 when they travel to South Walton.
All photos by Stu Camp
