Knights have tough time, but gain win over Cathedral
By By Adam Daigle / special to The Star
Jan. 30, 2003
NATCHEZ There's still plenty of memories from last season's 10-0 lashing from West Lauderdale, so Cathedral's 3-2 loss Tuesday was not as difficult to swallow.
But it still hurt.
The loss forced the Green Wave to exit the playoffs following an 11-1 regular season campaign that had the promise of a deep run in the Class 1A playoffs. Instead, West Lauderdale will do the honors with the win and will face the winner of the Richland-Mercy Cross winner Saturday.
Many of the Green Wave gathered at midfield circled around the "2" painted in memory of former teammate Bennett Jeansonne.
The loss put a damper on the season, but the seniors and everyone involved took solace in a score that wasn't as lopsided as a year ago. The Knights took a 3-2 lead by halftime and used a steady defense to hold the Green Wave scoreless in the second half and to just one shot on goal.
The Knights (17-4-1) controlled the ball more in the second half against a Cathedral defense that was trying to fight off their pressure. West Lauderdale had only two shots on goal in the second half as the Green Wave kept the ball out of the box and got key saves from goalkeeper Brett Tosspon.
But the more they controlled it on their side of the field, the less opportunities the Green Wave had to move downfield for a shot.
The Green Wave had more success moving the ball in the first half, but so did the Knights. West Lauderdale used its speed up front in the first half to put in three goals – the first two coming from a speedy C.J. Fountain and the third from Josh Herrington on an assist from Fountain.
Fountain put in the first one at the 35:47 mark for a quick 1-0 lead.
The Green Wave answered two of the West Lauderdale's goals in the first half, including a shot on a breakaway from Wyler Murray on an assist from Rinehart at the 32:01 mark to tie the score at 1-1.
Fountain scored his second goal four minutes later, and Herrington's goal came three minutes after that for a 3-1 West Lauderdale lead. But two minutes after that the Knights were called for handball in the box, and Rinehart sent a shot to his right that had the goalkeeper diving the opposite way.
