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STATESMEN SCOREBOARD    VARSITY, TUE 4/18 THOMAS JEFFERSON 16   MARSHALL  4      JV, TUE 4/18 THOMAS JEFFERSON  4   MARSHALL  3

Marshall High School, 4/18/06 --
TJ TAKES TWO OVER STATESMEN

PIPE! Kevin Hia saw a lot of action in goal tonight. (And another great photo by Mrs. Newcomb!)

According to LaxPower, Thomas Jefferson is one of the Top Ten teams in the Virginia AAA Northern Region. And their Varsity came into Jimmy Miller stadium - well-rested after the Spring Break and hitting on all cylinders. I don't have a write-up for that game, but the final score of 16-4 really showed how well their offense played.

Varsity Game: - Senior Casey Williams turned in a terrific offensive performance for our Statesmen, racking up two of Marshall's four goals. Jake Oster was just everywhere (as usual :-), and every time Pat Findaro touched the ball he really gave it up - always playing at full speed and always willing to dive into the middle of the action.

Even though we don't have many writeup details, we've got some just amazing photos from Mrs. Newcomb! Check out the closeup on the pipe save at left ... what an incredible picture. And there are a couple of great action photos of Pat Findaro (OK, so taking pictures at night always results in a little bit of blurring, but check 'em out and tell me if you don't agree - even with the blurring, they really capture the energy that Pat puts into every play). And you can get a good sense of how Casey really runs the offense from some of his game pix.

Detail of the Statesmen LAX helmet - which you don't really see much unless you're right on the field

And don't forget the defense out there. TJ came in with a high-powered offense - one of the highest-scoring attacks in the entire AAA Northern Region - so we were under the gun all night. We never flinched, we never hung our heads, and we played with Small School Big Heart pride from the opening whistle to the final tick of the clock. Mrs. Newcomb got some great photos around the Marshall goal, where Kevin Hia was standing tall (man, is he quick or what!). And check out the absolutely amazing photo of Ben Yazman clearing the ball deep into TJ territory!

JV Game: - The JV game writeup is on the JV page, but it was such an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter, that I've just got to say a little about it here on the Varsity page. And you know - it showed again why lacrosse is such an amazing sport to watch (and play). They don't call it the Fastest Sport On Two Feet for nothin' :-)

While we kept it close for most of the game, towards the end TJ seemed to pull out for what looked like a commanding 3-1 lead in this low-scored slugfest. But our Statesmen never quit, and play by play, face-off by face-off, we turned the tide and rallied to tie it up in the fourth quarter! And what a rally it was! But in the closing seconds of the game, the Colonials mounted one last charge. As it turns out, they scored on the play ... with just 30 seconds left on the clock!

You hate to see such a close game end up in the L column. But this game was just amazing to watch and it really showed the Marshall Pride out there. Teamwork and solidarity by all the players - JV and Varsity. Marshall Pride!

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VARSITY GAME: THOMAS JEFFERSON 16 - MARSHALL 4
These are pictures from the Varsity game. Pictures from the JV game are on the JV Pix page!

Co-Captain Pat Findaro STREAKS around the top corner - Fastest Sport on Two Feet

Goin' hard every play! Pat protects the ball high and outside.

Junior defenseman Ben Yazman zips down the sideline with about A MILLION TJ COLONIALS close behind! (Yet another sweet photo by Mrs. Newcomb)

It's gonna be a long night on defense. Kevin Hia gets bottled up on a clear by the swarming TJ offense!

Senior middie Chris Guerin gets the ball out in the flat to start some offense of our own.

Senior Casey Williams leads the attack from out front!

The goalie falls back on his heels as Sophomore Michael Born unleashes a blistering shot on a quality chance - but too many times the shots went wide.

Here's Casey again - Casey had a terrific game tonight and scored half of the Statesmen 4 goals ...

... cool and calm from the side of the crease, Casey calls out the next play!

Junior Co-Captain Jake Oster was just plain relentless!

HE SHOOTS HE SCORES! When we could get the ball out of our own end, we capitlized. Jake gets the goal!

Not exactly a pretty night. The ball was bouncing everywhere ... and our Statesmen did everything to dive for every loose ball. (Unfortunately, so did the Colonials.)

The Colonials are having a lot of success on offense - here it's Pat digging for the ball after the face off.

Freshman Kevin Smith gets the pickup!

Yup, it's a physical game out here, and the TJ attack stood their ground, even when our defenders brought out the lumber.

Close-checking game all night!

Senior middie David Warren gets the pickup after a face-off!

Ball control and stick-handling were crucial out here tonight!

Brendan Petak and Kevin Hia tried to seal off the crease, but the high-powered Colonials offense kept finding the back of the net.

Long night ... and longer still while waiting for the next face-off.

Ball control and stick handling. Ball control and ...

... stick handling!

Freshman long-stick middie Eliot Gehley grabs the face-off and starts a chance on offense.

The middle of the field was especially tough tonight - for both squads

I can't see who's down for the loose ball, but #15 is Sophomore Ryan Jarriel racing in to help out!

Big Brian Ritchey was a ROCK on defense ...

... and Senior Nima Khalilian played his heart out on this long, long night of Colonials offense.

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Your moment of Statesmen Zen tonight reprises the amazing photography by Mrs. Newcomb ... recording just how busy it was on the defensive side of the field. (How DID she get that picture?) Oh yeah, I'm a fan. :-)