On the chilly night under the lights at Decatur High School’s stadium the North Atlanta varsity boys lacrosse team battled hard with hopes of pulling out a victory against the Decatur Bulldogs.

Though they didn’t snatch a win on March 5, the Warriors fought vigorously the entire game and never lost hope in their abilities but took home a commendable 5-8 loss in the end. Going into the game, many of the players were excited but anxious. In recent matches the powerful Bulldog team had easily routed the Warriors. Enthusiasm ran high, then, at halftime when North Atlanta was up with a 4-3 lead. “I was extremely impressed with the energy and amount of tenacity the guys came out with in the first half that night,” said Coach Guy Brown.

At the start of the second half, the Warriors lost grip and let a few shots slip through their goal. This setback lit competitive fires and drove the team to earn the shots back. The whole game was very intense and North Atlanta did a great job of being strong on both offense and defense.

In the third quarter there was a serious development. Players knew something was amiss when they heard Brown began yelling “He’s hurt! He’s hurt!” Team leader Matt Snellings, a junior, was hobbling off the field. As he reached the sidelines, he fell to his knees in front of his concerned teammates. They helped him to the bench and Decatur’s trainer assisted him in walking off the field on crutches. “He went to the doctor and they diagnosed him with a fractured ankle,” said Brown. “Overall, I was really impressed with how the guys played because we nearly defeated an opponent that has demolished us in the past few years, so that was a big accomplishment and we definitely held our own.”