- April 24, 2024
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Matanzas seniors (clockwise from top left) Luke Doner, Thomas Reilly, Jon Young, Jimmy Kelly, Bryson Williams and Brett Furey celebrate a win on senior night in their final home game. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas seniors, front row: Brett Furey (4), Bryson Williams (8), Jimmy Kelly (99), Jon Young (16). Back row: Luke Doner (10), Thomas Reilly (9). Photo by Brent Woronoff
Zach Furey (5) and Bryson Williams (8) of Matanzas go for a ground ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Thomas Reilly (9) passes to a teammate in front of Father Lopez's Jackson Calvo. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Zach Furey (5) tries to pick up a ground ball against Father Lopez defenders as Bryson Williams (8) looks on. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas players surround coach Adam Frys before the fourth quarter of their game against Father Lopez on April 5. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas senior lacrosse player Jimmy Kelly was emotionally drained by the end of the night.
The Pirates had just defeated Father Lopez 4-0 on senior night, Wednesday, April 5.
"It was our last game on our home field. It was very emotional," Kelly said.
Kelly had a goal and an assist against the Green Wave. With the win, Matanzas finished the regular season with a 6-8 record. The Pirates' six wins are the most they have had in Kelly's four years with the program.
Matanzas' district quarterfinal at Flagler Palm Coast on Monday night was postponed because of soggy field conditions.
Fellow senior Bryson Williams, who will play lacrosse for Webber International University next year, also scored a goal against Lopez. He said the defensive battle was a perfect ending to a night that started with the Pirates' six seniors honored on the field with their families.
"It kept it fun," Williams said. "It was back and forth the whole game, high intensity. Everyone stays on their toes."
Williams and fellow seniors Thomas Reilly, Brett Furey, Jon Young and Luke Doner weren't sure they would have a team last year until Adam Frys stepped in as the new coach.
Frys and assistant coach Tim Sandersfield filled up the roster with players who were unfamiliar with the game. Still, the Pirates won three games last year.
"We've been improving since Day 1," Kelly said.
Next year, a new group of seniors will take over.
Matanzas girls wrestling coach Mike Fries, who led the Pirates to the state championship this season, was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year on Monday, April 10.
Fries, the former wrestling coach at Seabreeze, joined the Pirates before the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach for the boys and girls teams. He was named the head girls coach after John White stepped down following the season.
The Pirates has had an individual state champ in each of the first two seasons that girls wrestling has been sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association. Fries' daughter, Tiana Fries, won a championship in 2022 when Matanzas placed third as a team, and Kendall Bibla won a title this year.
Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas each qualified four lifters for the state boys weightlifting championships April 14-15 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
FPC's Nick Lilavois is the Class 3A top seed at 129 pounds in the Olympic competition (snatch and clean and jerk). Lilavois won the Region 1 championship with a 415-pound total. The senior is also tied for the third seed in the traditional competition (clean and jerk and bench press) with a 445-pound total.
Lilavois helped the Bulldogs win the 3A state championship last year by winning the 119-pound snatch championship and finishing second in traditional lifts. The Bulldogs' other state qualifiers are Nick Groth (169), Charley Perry (238) and Kobe Murphy (unlimited). All four qualified in both competitions.
Matanzas junior Cole Hash finished third in the 183-pound traditional competition at the Class 2A state tournament last season. This year, he is seeded second at 199 pounds after winning the Region 2 title with a 630-pound total. Hash will also compete in the Olympic competition.
The Pirates' other state qualifiers are Maison Leonard (119) in traditional, Jaden Sao (129) in Olympic, Aiden Schissler (139) in both competitions and Sho'Marion Gaines (169) in traditional.
The Florida East Coast Senior All-Star Soccer Classic will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at the Daytona State College Soccer Stadium in Daytona Beach.
Seniors from Seabreeze, Matanzas, Flagler Palm Coast and Mainland will participate along with senior soccer players from 10 other area schools. Admission to the game is $5.
FPC pitcher Alexis Laura tossed a six-inning no-hitter in the Bulldogs' 10-0 softball victory against Mainland on April 4. FPC (13-2) hosts Deltona (12-2) at noon on Saturday, April 15.
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