The West Forsyth Wolverines boys lacrosse team extended its excellent play, winning a ninth straight game to begin the season by beating South Forsyth, 11-4, Thursday at home.

"I was impressed with our team," said Wolverines junior Will Zylstra, who scored four times. "We're getting better every year. We've beaten teams that had beaten us in the past, and this is the year we're coming to win state."

The first quarter of the Area 4-7A matchup was a low-scoring affair. War Eagles junior Maverick Schippmann drew first blood in the game, although neither team could find the back of the net for the remainder of the quarter.

The second quarter was a different story.

West Forsyth controlled the opening minutes. The Wolverines — who came into the game as the highest-scoring offense in Forsyth County — were eager to score as they had four shot attempts.

Braden Halloran finally got the Wolverines on the board from a pass by James Davidson. It wasn’t long until the Wolverines scored again. After winning the faceoff, Greyson Brockman lasered a shot past the South Forsyth goalie.

However, Andrew Adams responded back for the War Eagles to even the game at 2-2.

South Forsyth's Brendan Lightsey was playing aggressive defensive on Zylstra, but he hit Lightsey with a spin move and converted a low shot to retake the lead. West Forsyth's Henry Delp added the final goal of the half for a 4-2 lead.

The Wolverines were running a 1-4-1 offense due to the War Eagle switching to a zone defense, and that indeed helped their case, adding two more goals to their lead with the help of Davidson and Zylstra.

The Wolverines were running away with the game, and South Forsyth’s defense couldn’t slow the hosts. The Wolverines were riding the momentum by winning faceoffs and scoring goals at a high rate.

Zylstra was on fire and refused to be denied, as he launched two more goals for a 7-2 lead.

After Halloran collected his second goal of the night, South Forsyth finally got its offense the ball to try to cut into the deficit. They did so, with Grayson Knight scoring in the midst of a double team.

In the final 35 seconds of the third period, the Wolverines demonstrated their ability to score quickly.

The War Eagles were following the ball and putting tons of pressure on the ball handlers. When Brockman got the ball, he was instantly double team, but the Mercer signee was able to split the defense right down the middle without losing the ball and score his second goal.

Down 9-3 to start the final period, the War Eagles knew they had to muster up some goals to make the game a competitive one. Adams got his second goal to go in, but the War Eagles defense had a tough time getting the ball back to the offense.

A great defensive effort by the Wolverines led to freshman Jack Schenkemeyer accelerating down the middle of the field and pushing West Forsyth's total goals scored to double-digits.

With the big lead, West Forsyth didn’t shy away from applying pressure to keep South Forsyth's defense on their toes, with Halloran scoring again for a hat trick.

Up next on West Forsyth's schedule will be a game March 14 at area foe North Gwinnett. South Forsyth will host a non-area matchup March 11 against Starr's Mill.