Port St. Joe soccer dominates all-District teams

The Port St. Joe High School soccer program has made huge strides in the five years Coach Gary Hindley has been at the school.

Playoff berths for both boys and girls have become an annual rite of the postseason – the boys twice making it to the region finals before falling to Mayo Lafayette, which earned that trip this season.

The rise of the program is on full display this week as the District 1-1A all district teams were announced.

The Tiger Sharks, who finished 15-3-1, placed four players on the first team and three more were honorable mention.

The Lady Tiger Sharks, 9-5-2 this season before losing in the district semifinals, placed three players on the district’s first team and one was named honorable mention.

The boys making the first team were defender Daniel May, midfielder LaGrand McLemore, midfielder Drew Lacour and forward Marcel Duarte, a freshman.

May and McLemore are seniors, Lacour a sophomore. Duarte led the team in scoring this season.

Earning honorable mention honors for the Tiger Sharks were Javarri Beachum, a junior forward, Witt Shoaf, a junior midfielder and Blaine Bush, a senior defender.

Only Franklin County placed the same number of players, four, on the first team and no other school had more than two players on the honorable mention squad.

On the distaff side, the Lady Tiger Sharks had Rachel Jones, a midfielder and the lone senior on the squad, be joined by forward Christian Laine – all-district first team as a freshman goalkeeper last year – and forward Allie Stripling, also a sophomore, on the first team.

Only regular-season top-seeded Rocky Bayou had more players on the first team.

Goalkeeper Shannon Pridgeon, a freshman who took over full-time duties in net midway through the season, earned honorable mention honors.