by Anne Wheeler, Spartan Parent
photos by James Wells, Spartan Parent

In exciting match ups, the St. Stephen's Spartans Varsity and JV teams played their best games of the season in beating Bowie High School. The Varsity prevailed in double overtime with a final score, Spartans 9, Bowie 8. Just the night before, the JV handed the Bowie Bulldogs their first defeat of the season with a final score, Spartans 5, Bowie 3.

In the Varsity game played at House Park on Friday night, April 23, a part of the League’s rivalry weekend and in the game given the name “The Showdown,” before a large and enthusiastic crowd, Bowie scored two quick goals at the beginning of the first quarter. The Spartans kept up the offensive pressure. Senior attackman Russell Debes scored with five minutes left in the quarter followed by senior attackman Devin Daneshjou’s goal with four minutes left.

The second quarter featured a defensive battle. With four minutes left, sophomore attackman Adam Wallace scored, putting the Spartans ahead 3 – 2. That opened up offensive play and Bowie countered with a quick score. At the half, the score was tied 3 – 3.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Spartans came out with a furious attack. Russell Debes scored just eight seconds into the start of the second half. The rest of the quarter displayed back and forth offensive triumphs. Russell Debes scored a goal making it Spartans 5, Bowie 4. Then, senior attackman Taylor Nelson scored, making it Spartans 6, Bowie 4. With one second left in the quarter, senior attackman Wes Patterson scored, giving the Spartans a significant lead, Spartans 7, Bowie 4.

The players and fans knew the fourth quarter was crucial and that the Bowie Bulldogs are known for their tenacity as the game closes. As the quarter began, Bowie began their attack, scoring quickly. Score - Spartans 7, Bowie 5. St. Stephen’s answered with a spectacular assist by Jackson Simons to Wes Patterson who scored making it Spartans 8, Bowie 6. With two minutes left the Bulldogs came roaring back - Spartans 8, Bowie 7. Despite valiant efforts, the Spartans defense couldn’t hold off the Bowie attack. With just five seconds left in the game, Bowie scored, making it 8 – 8, sending the game into overtime.

Knowing that the first team that scored would win this rivalry game, the four minutes of overtime featured exhilerating near misses on offense and gutsy defensive play. With the crowd on their feet, overtime ended with no score, sending the teams into double overtime.

In the most heart stopping finish of the season, Taylor Nelson found his way through the Bowie defense, scoring the winning goal. The Spartans won with a final score of 9 – 8. The Spartans celebrated by carrying away the rivalry trophy which will serve as a reminder of a great 2010 season and promises for a winning 2011 season.

“This was one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of,” said head coach Christopher Figueroa. “We started off slow but the guys never gave up. It was a great game for the seniors to end on. Like I told the guys, this will be one of the games you will talk about for the rest of your lives. It definitely had a great ending. I was proud of all of them, they played hard, and I couldn’t have been happier for Taylor Nelson to get the game winning goal.”

In the JV game played Thursday night, April 22, the Spartans were down at the half, Bowie 3 – Spartans 1. But in the second half, the Spartans stepped up their game giving fans and players a glimpse of the future of Spartan lacrosse.

The Spartans defense held Bowie to just one goal in the second half and the Spartans offense got the job done. In the total game, Noah Stewart scored three goals with two assists by Will Baizer and one assist from Will Brothers, Alex Edwards scored one goal assisted by Noah Stewart, Michael Greeson scored the go ahead goal assisted by Sam Douglass. Nesta Murphy had a great game as goalie stuffing the potent Bowie offense. Final score, Spartans 5, Bowie 3.

In a hard fought game, the Spartans played well but could not prevail against the Westwood Warriors in a District game on April 20th.

Westwood jumped ahead with four quick goals early in the first quarter. But the Spartans kept their offense going. Just before the end of the first quarter, senior attackman Ryle Edwards scored, making it Westwood 4, Spartans 1.

The second quarter saw blazing offense from both teams and the Spartans came back with solid passing and shot selection. Goals were scored by Spartans Ryle Edwards, senior attackman Russell Debes, and sophomore attackman Adam Wallace. At the half, the score was tied, 5 – 5.

In the second half defense prevailed much of the game. Senior attackman Taylor Nelson and sophomore attackman Alex Edwards scored but the Spartans could not hold off the Westwood attack. Final score Westwood 9, Spartans 7.

In an exciting back and forth game, the Spartans were triumphant in beating the Anderson High Trojans 12 – 11 in a District game on April 7th.

After the game, Head Coach Christopher Figueroa said, “This was a big win for us. We were missing some key players but the entire team stepped up. This puts us in great shape for the playoffs.”

Anderson scored quickly just as the first quarter began, but the Spartans wasted little time in answering with a goal from senior attackman Russell Debes, assist by Henry Coates.

St. Stephen’s either trailed, or was tied with, Anderson during the first half. At the end of the first quarter, the score was Anderson 5, Spartans 4.

In the beginning of the second quarter, the Spartans tied the game at 5 with a goal by Russell Debes, assist by junior Khari Douglas.

Just before the half, sophomore Adam Wallace scored a goal, making the score Anderson 7, Spartans 6, as they went into the break.

In the third quarter, the Spartans tied the score, then senior Wesley Patterson scored the go ahead goal, making it Spartans 8, Anderson 7. At the end of the third quarter, the score was Spartans 10, Anderson 7.

The fourth quarter featured quick scoring, amazing defense, and a major push by the Anderson offense. In the fourth quarter, with 4 minutes left, the Spartans were ahead by one, 11 - 10.

With 2:30 left, Adam Wallace scored a goal, giving the Spartans a cushion of 12 – 10 going in to the final crucial minutes of the game.

With 52 seconds left, Anderson scored, needing only one more quick strike to tie the game. The Spartans defense held off an aggressive effort by Anderson, winning the game 12 – 11.

Taylor Nelson – 3 goals, 3 assists

Russell Debes – 3 goals, 1 assist

Wes Patterson – 1 goal, 1 assist

Adam Wallace – 3 goals

Alex Edwards – 2 goals

Khari Douglas – 1 Assist

Henry Coates – 1 Assist

Alex Edwards scored a goal for the Spartans with one second left in the game but it wasn't enough as the Spartans fell to Austin High by a score of 6 - 3 Thursday night, on April Fools Day.

The Spartans played well from the opening buzzer until literally the last second. In the first quarter, the Spartans and Austin High held each other scoreless but with 14 seconds left, Austin High scored a quick goal. In the second quarter, senior attackmen Russell Debes and Wesley Patterson each scored a goal. At the half, the score was Austin High 4, Spartans 2. The third quartered mirrored the first with defense leading the way. Neither team scored a goal.

In the fourth quarter, the Spartans' offense couldn't match their opponent and the final score was Austin High 6, Spartans 3.

Following the game, Spartans head coach Christopher Figueroa said, "We played an all around good game. Our defense played a great game and goalie, Travis Fox, played big for us tonight. Our offense did the best job all year possessing the ball and we had some good looks but Austin High's goaltender played big all night. It was a tough loss but the guys never let up. We will be ready for Anderson next week."

The Spartans displayed relentless offense and good stick skills in their win over Cedar Park with a score of 13 - 4 on March 3, 2010. At the half, the Spartans led by 5 – 1 and the offense took over the game in the second half. It was a complete team effort featuring several fast breaks with many statistics.

Goals:
Senior attackman Taylor Nelson – 3
Senior attackman Russell Debes – 2
Senior attackman Ryle Edwards – 5
Sophomore attackman Adam Wallace – 2
Junior middie Jason Watt – 1

Assists:
Russell Debes – 4
Taylor Nelson – 4

“Even with a slow start, the guys really turned it around,” said head coach Christopher Figueroa. “We’re now 2-0 in district and looking forward to our trip next week to Florida before coming back to a big game versus Westlake after the break.”

The Spartan's lacrosse team played hard and with great improvement in two weekend games against top-ranked Dallas teams.

In Friday night's game against Episcopal School of Dallas, the Spartans jumped out to a two goal lead in the first quarter, displaying potent offense and strong defense. ESD came roaring back with five goals in the second quarter. Still, St. Stephen's played a complete game and the final score of ESD (8) versus St. Stephens (4) did not reflect how hard fought and close this game was.

Dallas Episcopal's head coach, Kevin Barnicle, told westsidelax.com, "I think we snuck out of there with a win. St. Stephen's played a great game. That program has turned it around from last year."

Leading the Spartan's effort were senior attackmen Ryle Edwards and Russell Debes who each had a goal and assist. Senior attackman Taylor Nelson and sophomore middie Alex Edwards each scored one goal.

"We played very well," said St. Stephen's head coach, Christopher Figueroa, "It's the best we've ever played ESD. Our guys played a complete game. Our guys just gave up too many opportunities."

At high noon on Saturday, the Spartans faced off against another Dallas powerhouse, St. Mark's. Again, the final score of St. Mark's (12) and St. Stephen's (4) did not portray the sustained effort by the Spartans.

St. Mark's displayed great stick skills in scoring 8 goals in the first half. St. Stephen's never backed down, pressing on offense at every opportunity.

In the second half, St. Stephen's rallied to score 2 more goals and holding the explosive St. Mark's attack for 4 goals.

St. Stephen’s players with 1 goal each were sophomore middie Alex Edwards, sophomore attackman Adam Wallace, senior attackman Russell Debes, and senior attackman Taylor Nelson. Middies Devin Daneshjou contributed 2 assists and Jason Watt had 1 assist. Goalie Travis Fox recorded 19 saves.

“I felt overall we played really well this weekend, I would have liked to have seen our offense control the ball more and slow down the pace of the game, and the defense throw a few more checks, said Coach Christopher Figueroa. “I think the guys were a little worn out from last night’s game but we never gave up. Travis had a great game; he saw a lot of shots today and came up big for us. He made saves that normal goalies don’t make; he’s definitely going to be a game changer for us. This team has a lot heart and I’m looking forward to see how we can bounce back from this weekend for our district game against Cedar Park on Wednesday.”

In the first District game of the season, the Spartans boy’s lacrosse team played a spirited and well-executed game, defeating McNeil High School 14-6. On offense, the passes were crisp; the play was aggressive. Defense was solid throughout the game.

Senior attackman Ryle Edwards scored a game-high six goals in the win over McNeil in the Central District Division I game Wednesday night at St. Stephen’s.

Senior attackman Russell Debes had four points on three goals and an assist, sophomore middie Adam Wallace added three points on two goals and an assist, and senior attackman Taylor Nelson gave three assists.

Junior middie Jason Watt contributed two points on a goal and an assist, and senior middie Devin Daneshjou and sophomore middie Alex Edwards each had a goal.

Junior goalie, Travis Fox, saved 14 shots.

St. Stephen’s led from the opening buzzer to the end: 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, 6-3 at half-time, and 12-5 going in to the fourth quarter.

St. Stephen’s District record is (1-0) and follows an impressive scrimmage victory with a score of 10-2 on February 19th over Texas Military Institute in San Antonio.

Coach Figueroa returns to the Spartan. He is a 2002 graduate of Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Journalism/Public Relations and a minor in Business Administration. While playing defense for Texas A&M, the team went undefeated in conference play and made four straight USLIA National Championship tournament appearances, finishing in the top ten nationally three times.