‘Chippy’ Senior Day win for Farragut LAX vs. Irish
Head coach James Graf’s boys would outscore KCHS 12-2 for the next roughly 34 minutes to lead 12-5 before holding off a late Catholic charge for a 13-8 victory in a battle described as getting “chippy” in the fourth quarter by the Admirals’ skipper.
Chippy enough to where the two officials, along with Graf and KCHS head coach Jacobe Nall agreed to call the match with 1:14 left in the final period.
“Once they really want to lock in, we’re a really good team,” said Graf, whose Admirals improved to 7-5.
The winners were led offensively by senior midfielder William DeFranco — the program’s all-time leading goal scorer with 106 for his career entering this week — two of those against the Irish, along with two assists.
“He’s been a captain for three years and a leader for five (starting in the eighth grade),” Graf said of DeFranco. “He’s our heart and soul.”
Fellow senior Eddie Gofreed tallied a game-high four goals.
Sophomore midfielder Moses Burnette also scored twice for the winners. Single goals for the Admirals came from sophomore attacker Gavin Corn and freshman midfielder Alexander Babb.
Senior midfielder Rhett Flatford led Farragut in assists with three, while Corn and sophomore attacker/midfielder Brock Lockart each contributed one assist.
Junior goalkeeper Baker Sandavol made a number of key saves, some at close range, to keep Catholic from slowing down the Admirals’ momentum, which began building late in the first period.
In addition to Sandavol, Gofreed joined three other Farragut players who stepped up defensively with takeaways. Sophomore defender Carson Tucker led the winners in this category with two. Senior goalkeeper Adrian Gomez joined Gofreed and Lockart with one takeaway each.
Senior attacker Anderson Pierce led KCHS (1-11) with two goals. “We played a tough game,” Nall said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t come out our way. ... Our record doesn’t reflect how we play.”
