Fort Mill boys lose state lacrosse title game to Wando -– again

Like an unsuspecting knockout blow they didn’t see coming, the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets fell once again to the Wando Warriors in the 4A boys state lacrosse championship losing 6-5 in double overtime Saturday.

For the second straight year, Wando yet again, broke the hearts of the Jacket faithful. Fort Mill rallied in the fourth quarter to tie the game and sent it into sudden death overtime, but with 2:02 left in the second overtime, Wando finally found a crease and junior Sam Weis scored the game winner for the Warriors.

“We came up a few shots short,” said Fort Mill head coach Steve Nadolski. “Execution was great on our part. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way. We kept it close in the end; we just came up a few shots short.”

It was the fourth consecutive state finals match between the two schools with Wando winning three of the four meetings in the state finals. Fort Mill’s only win against them in recent state championship matches came in 2014.

Wando had been known for going for the early knockout against Fort Mill trying to get the down both in the match and in their heads mentally, but the Jackets had none of that Saturday.

Having played Wando earlier this season, the Jackets knew what to expect. Wando wasted no time establishing their offense as they scored just 95 seconds into the game. They would add a second goal about two minutes later, before Fort Mill finally scored with about 2:15 left in the first quarter on a goal from freshman Aiden Grabb.

The second quarter was a battle of attrition between each team as neither one seemed to gain an edge on the other one. Both had shot attempts, but their defenses were able to hold each other at bay.

Both teams used the second quarter as a dog fight with neither one giving an edge to the other one. Every ground ball, sticks came flying in swatting at the ball with each team trying to gain the slightest edge. The game looked more like a rugby scrum at times more so than a lacrosse match, which resulted in neither team scoring in the second quarter as each team pounded on each other throughout.

In the third quarter, Fort Mill struggled to hold onto the ball while looking for an opportunity to try and get a shot off. The Jackets were able to cut into Wando’s lead in the third quarter as senior Josh Cobbina gave Fort Mill their second goal of the game with about two minutes left to play.

Turning point

Trailing 5-3 with 11:20 left in the fourth quarter, Fort Mill got back-to-back goals from Cobbina and freshman Trenton Wiley to comeback and tied the game at 5-5. Fort Mill held possession for the final four minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime. Despite several shot attempts, they couldn’t convert anything in sudden death overtime sending things to a second extra period.

Critical

Wando opened the second half much like it started the game and score within about 96 seconds to start the third quarter to take 3-1 lead on Fort Mill.

Fort Mill made a comeback in the closing two minutes of the third quarter. After cutting Wando’s lead to two goals, Jackets’ freshman Jack McGuire even further cut into the Warriors’ lead with a goal with one second left in the third quarter to make it 4-3.

Star contributions

Cobbina scored two goals for Fort Mill and the Jackets had three freshmen to score a goal apiece to lead the team.

Overheard

Nadolski said he feels for his seniors who have played their last game at Fort Mill.

“They put a lot of work in with me the last year and the last three or four years and to see them go out this way, really hurts,” he said. “It hurts me knowing it hurts them.”

Box score

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Fort Mill boys lose state lacrosse title game to Wando -– again."