By Aaron Perryman/Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Western Albemarle’s Christophe Drapanas may have only scored one goal against Woodberry Forest, but he picked an opportune time to do it.
With about 19 seconds left, the senior intercepted a pass from a Woodberry player, bolted toward the goal and threw a lightning quick shot into the back of the net with 16.4 seconds to go to lift the Warriors boys’ lacrosse team over the Tigers 10-9 Tuesday night in Crozet. It was Western’s first win over Woodberry in at least a decade according to school officials — records indicate that Western hasn’t beaten the Tigers since at least 2003.
“I was just dropping back like we do in our riding set and saw out of the corner of my eye that [the guy I was defending] was turning back toward the middle of the field and I stopped, looked at him, and I saw the ball in the air and just kind of broke for it,” said Drapanas. “It was pretty hectic in the middle so I kind of came out of nowhere. It was lucky that the ball landed in my stick and the goalie was out of position.”
Western coach Brad Haws referenced Drapanas’ football ability as a cornerback when describing the sequence. The senior was a standout cornerback for the Warriors during the fall, earning second team All-Jefferson District honors.
“Their long stick threw a lob pass to the middle and Christophe, being the great defensive back [that he is], picked it off and took it in,” he said.
Although the game’s final seconds were thrilling, the rest of it was no sleeper, either. The two squads were tied at 1-1 after the first period, 4-4 at halftime and Western took a slight 6-5 advantage heading into the game’s final period. No team led by more than two goals and usually the margin was only one. Woodberry quickly knotted the score up at 6-6 early in the fourth quarter when Tiger senior Griffin Burke scored his fifth goal of the match with 11:15 left. Woodberry senior Kyle Wheelock then notched a goal with 9:23 left, giving the Tigers their first lead since the 9:53 mark of the second quarter. Senior Turner Whitworth answered for Western with a goal at the 7:15 mark, but Woodberry quickly regained control when Burke scored his final goal of the match only 42 seconds later.
Warrior senior Tyler Ward scored his third goal of the game with 5:12 left and junior Abbot Wallenborn regained the lead for Western with a goal of his own with 4:23 left. Senior Elliot Brewer tied the game up one last time for Woodberry with a goal at the 1:11 mark.
“I just told our guys, ‘If you’re a fan, this was an awesome game to watch,’” said Woodberry coach Brian Hemming. “Back-and-forth, each team goes up by two, then by one, each team comes back and ties it up — does some things. So as a fan, you’re very excited. Hats off to Western Albemarle, they are good.”
Burke’s six goals led all scorers, and the senior tallied all five of Woodberry’s goals from the second quarter through the early part of the fourth quarter.
“Griffin is a very good player,” said Hemming. “He started for us as a sophomore and has been our leading scorer for the last two years. He’s probably one of the best attack men in the state. The way our offense works, you’re going to get opportunities right around the goal. The key is to make the most of them and he did.”
The attack was more balanced for Western. Ward and sophomore Reid White led the Warriors with three goals each and six players recorded at least one goal.
“My goal was lucky but we had a lot of good players step up like Tyler Ward, Abbot, and Reid,” said Drapanas.
After a slow start in the first period, Western seemed to control the tempo for most of the match despite not being able to build a wide margin.
“We’ve tried to say our team identity is hustle and riding,” said Haws. “If we do that, the rest will come. I think we started the game a little tentative — wanting it so badly — but when it came down to hustle it made a big difference.
The goalies—senior Burgess Robinson for Woodberry and sophomore Ben Carew for Western—made nine saves each, never letting the opposition get too far ahead.
“I think both goalies played great,” said Hemming. “Burgess has been great the whole year. I also think [Carew] is good. I scouted them last week and I was very impressed with him and he’s only a sophomore.”
Next up, Woodberry (8-6) travels to St. Christopher’s in Richmond. Though the Tigers have lost five straight, they can clinch a playoff berth with a win Saturday, said Hemming. Western (9-1) faces Rockbridge County at home Friday night.
