In the Fall at Lutheran South Academy is when football, volleyball and Cross Country hi the ground running. VYPE takes a look back at the fall season to see who the "The Headliners" were for the Pioneers.
FOOTBALL
The Pioneers posted a 3-5 overall record and went 2-3 is district play to secure a playoff spot in 2020. In the postseason, Lutheran South Academy fell in the opening round to St. Joseph Academy, bringing an end to their year.
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In 2020, the Pioneers registered wins over St. John XXIII (34-14), St. Joseph (49-12) and Frassati Catholic (63-12).
At season's end, Joel Hutchins earned first-team, all-state honors at receiver, while Cade Goldstraw and Luke Harrison were honorable-mention picks for all-state defense. Harrison quarterbacked the Pioneers offense, for which he was a first-team, all-district pick, and passed for 1,612 yards and 21 touchdowns, while rushing for another 821 yards and 10 scores. Hutchins was his top target with 47 receptions for 989 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Defensively, Michael Purdom – a first-team, all-district pick – led the group with 42 tackles, followed by Luke LeBlanc and Goldstraw's 31. Tyler Helpenstill had 30, Bert Jennings registered 29, Josh Gomez had 24 and Tyler Ehlinger totaled 22 on the year. LeBlanc, Cade and brother Reid Goldstraw each also had an interception apiece.
VOLLEYBALL
It was a successful season for the ladies of LSA on the volleyball court, reaching the Regional Round in 2020 under Geoff Stresman.
After finishing second in District 7-5A, the Pioneers rolled into the playoffs and defeated Austin Regents (3-1) in the opening round and then Brentwood Christian (3-0) in the Area Round to reach the third round. There, LSA fell short to St. Joseph High School-Victoria in a five-set showdown, falling 3-2.
Two Pioneers earned all-state honors led by Alexa Fernandez, who was named to the first team, and Lily Psencik was named second-team, all-state as a junior.
Fernandez led the team in kills with 266, Kiersten Lin was the team leader in digs with 330 and Psencik led the squad in assists with 436 for the season.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
It is well known that siblings always have been and always will be competitive, no matter what the competition.
The Gaitan brothers – Marcus and Matthew – both freshmen at Lutheran South Academy took that competitive spirit to the TAPPS State Cross Country Meet in November.
Marcus finished 11th overall with a time of 16:55.8, while twin brother Matthew took 14th overall with a time of 17:16.3. The duo were the top two finishers for Lutheran South Academy, which took fifth overall as a team with a score of 201 points.
Senior William Spencer placed 33rd overall (18:09.4), sophomore Nathan Mendoza took 68th (19:30.7), sophomore Jett Strack came in 83rd (20:23.5), junior Luke Anderson came across at 98th (20:45.3) and Lucas Wells took 113th (21:30.1) to round out the group.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
The freshman phenom trend continued with the LSA girls cross country team as Lydia Ward posted the best finish at the TAPPS State Cross Country Meet.
Ward posted a time of 13:31.3 to finished 26th overall. Fellow freshman, Mia Vasquez, posted a time of 14:44.5 and came in 69th.
Junior Catherine Hergenrader came in 85th (15:03.7), freshman Bianca Barba crossed at 89th (15:09.8) and junior Audrey Pfeiffer came in at 120th (16:06.3).
Overall, Lutheran South Academy finished 12th as a team but what's invaluable is the experience that this young team of Pioneers gained in 2020. That should pay off dividends for years to come.
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