There’s a special season taking place at Lexington High School.

The boys’ lacrosse team is enjoying 1 of the best seasons in school history. Sporting a 10-1 overall record and 3-0 in Region 5-5A, the Wildcats have clinched both the region and District 4 titles.

With 1 game remaining on April 14 against Chapin, Lexington is already a top seed in the Class 5A Lower State playoffs. For head coach Mike Piepoli, the team has exceeded all expectations coming off a year when it graduated 5 starters from what he referred to as a “lost season”.

“With so much uncertainty headed in about when we would play, how many games we would be allowed, travel restrictions, and new protocols to keep our players safe and on the field, we really didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “Our players bought in to the concept of no tomorrow and making sure every time they left the field it was their best effort. We continue to push that mindset since they know all to well that it can be taken away in an instant, just like last season.”

BECAUSE OF THE uncertainty due to covid-19, Piepoli acknowledged his team has a high level of urgency. It’s especially true for his juniors and seniors who remember the pain of having their promising season shut down by the SC High School League due to the pandemic. Taking part in fall/winter recreation league play and working diligently in the off-season has helped propel Lexington into this season, Piepoli said.

It also helps to still have a senior-laden team who make up 10 of the 12 starters.

“Those guys have been playing together for a long time, some of them since middle school when they started on our junior varsity. It really shows on the field, their communication is seamless and at times they look like a very well oiled machine.

PIEPOLI DESCRIBES HIS team as “so wellbalanced” led by senior captain Ellis Barger who’s amassed 51 points in just 11 games. Senior attack man and Pfeiffer University commit Chase Dadabo is 2nd with 41 points, followed by sophomore Thomas

Walker at 39 points.

Lexington’s midfielders consist of seniors Dalton Pearce and Logan Phillips and juniors Chase Cannon and Tino Cortes. Pearce is described by Piepoli as his “do it all” midfielder who excels on offense and defense and Phillips as a “strong contributor” who does a lot of work away from the ball.

CORTES HAS SCORED 7 goals the past 3 games, including 2 against Dutch Fork, and Cannon leads the midfielders in scoring with 22. Experience is also found with goalkeeper Jonah Brown, who’s allowed an average of 6 goals a game and has a 60 percent save percentage. Other leaders on defense are seniors Josh Davies (94 ground balls, 36 take aways), captain Nick Carson, considered the team’s most vocal leader and cerebral defender, and Riley Bowden, argubly the team’s most physical defender. Juniors Tanner Bouknight and Dean Miller, along with sophomore Thomas Carpenter allow Lexington to athletically match up and take away offensive threats against every opponent, according to Piepoli.

Senior Noah Hutchinson is the team’s top face off man with 159 wins and a 70% win percentage.

“We do have some good young talent but with only 2 sophomores and 3 juniors in our starting rotation we have to take advantage of our experienced guys and make the most of our opportunities in April,” Piepoli said.

The Wildcats’ road to a title game could potentially feature rematches against region teams in the 1st 2 rounds with a chance to play host to the Lower State final.

“WE HAVE HAD an amazing season thus far and currently have the 2nd most wins in a single season behind our 2019 team who finished with 12 wins,” Piepoli said. “That team played a full 15-game schedule and didn’t have to deal with any of the current restrictions or protocols. So while I will always be proud of those players and what they accomplished, the resilience that this 2021 group has shown amidst a pandemic and constant uncertainty is unmatched by any team we have ever had.

“They truly do play as a team and only care about the stat in the left hand column at the end of the game.”