Divine intervention can be the only explanation.
The ebb and flow of Saturday's game inevitably brought Christ School varsity lacrosse to a sacred number (12), the same number which was retired at halftime.
RJ Fox ’25 had to be smiling down as one of his senior classmates, Caden Paradine ’25, collected the ball near midfield with less than a minute to go and the score tied at 11-11. Caden shrugged off the nearest defender and shot for his career-best sixth goal of the afternoon.
Final score: Greenies 12, McCallie School 11 in a home game dedicated to the memory of RJ, one in which Christ School never led until the fourth quarter. Twelve goals are the same total the Greenies scored on April 13, 2024 (a 12-5 home win over Greater Atlanta Christian), which was their first game after RJ passed.
Seniors Xander Ring ’25 and Nolan Miller ’25 carried RJ’s No. 12 jersey down to the field before Saturday's pregame warm-up – as the Greenies symbolically did last season – and his parents, Bert and Sarah P’25, were presented with a framed jersey and green jacket at halftime by Head of School Dr. Sean Jenkins. The No. 12 will never be worn again by a Christ School lacrosse player.
Other goal scorers on Saturday were Thomas Flores ‘27 (three), Palo Miles ‘27 (two), and Liam Burnett ‘28. The biggest piece of Thomas’ hat trick came with 9:13 to go, the goal that gave the Greenies their first lead of the game at 10-9. Thomas also gave out a team-high three assists, followed by Caden, Parker Abernethy ‘28, and Wells Edwards ‘25 with one each.
Starting goalkeeper Noah Wood ’25 (three) and Jameson Dow ‘27 (eight) combined for 11 saves.
Caden’s first goal, at the 9:22 mark of the second quarter, was shot with such force that it ripped a hole in the top of the net. It was initially waved off by the officials, but in a commendable act of sportsmanship, the McCallie head coach helped argue that the goal was good.
Christ School (5-3) gave up the first four goals of the game to McCallie (5-5), an all-boys school based out of Chattanooga, Tenn. The Greenies are back home Tuesday for games against Charlotte Catholic (JV at 4:30 p.m., varsity at 6:30).