Healthy Spartans take down Greenwood for region crown

Published 10:25 am Tuesday, May 13, 2025

By Micheal Compton

The South Warren boys’ lacrosse team finally got a chance to show what it could look like at full strength – the result was a resounding 20-3 win over Greenwood in the Region 1 championship on Monday at Bowling Green Junior High.

South Warren (6-5) had a balanced attack, with a trio of players scoring five goals and a suffocating defense to cruise to the win. The Spartans previously competed as a club team but now are in the record books as the program’s first ever KHSAA region title winner.

“It means a lot for this program,” South Warren coach Dale Bird said. “These kids have worked hard starting from middle school now into high school. We’ve been club for seven years and now finally having this opportunity, it feels great.

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“They really worked through adversity this year. They battled through injuries. It was a difficult season trying to fit guys into places they typically don’t play. I think that made us stronger and better as a team.”

Haydon Bird, who had five goals in the win, was one of the players finally back on the field.

“This is our first game where everybody that was on the roster at the start is in the game,” Haydon Bird said. “I broke my collarbone right before the start of the season, then we just got the injury bug. All that time over the two months we just healed up and got ready for this.”

South Warren, which beat Greenwood 7-2 and 9-5 in the regular season, set the tone with a strong first quarter – and built from there.

Greenwood (8-5) took a 1-0 lead 61 seconds in on a goal from Hunter Herman, before South Warren took control. The Spartans scored four times in an 84-second span – including a pair of goals from Mason Black – to surge in front 4-1 less than two minutes in.

Kerrick Hanlon’s goal with 6:35 left in the first quarter trimmed the deficit to 4-2, but South Warren closed the first with three goals – two from Bird – to push the margin to 7-2.

Bird opened the scoring less than a minute into the second, his fourth of the day, as the Spartans continued to pull away – building a 13-2 halftime lead.

The run continued in the second half, with South Warren adding six more goals in the third. Meyer Gable’s goal in the fourth completed a 16-0 run by the Spartans, with Greenwood’s Jacob Gray capping the scoring.

Bird, Black and Sid Stewart finished with five goals each for South Warren.

“When there are pieces missing to the puzzle that are valuable to the team, I think people underestimate what that actually makes your team,” Dale Bird said. “We showed that today.”

Both teams advance to the state tournament on Wednesday.

Greenwood will play at DuPont Manual, while South Warren will host DeSales.

“The big talking point this week was to ensure that we get to play at home,” Dale Bird said. “Last year with district we didn’t get to due to some field conditions and that was unfortunate. This year to be able to play on our home field is an awesome advantage that we hope to utilize.”

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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