Exchange student lifts Great Bridge to win with field goal

Pit Eitz has been playing football for three weeks.

On Monday night, the foreign exchange student from Germany got Great Bridge High’s football season off on the right foot — figuratively and literally.

Eitz kicked a 20-yard field goal with 4:32 left, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 victory over Western Branch in both teams’ Southeastern District opener Monday at Western Branch.

The field at Western Branch was a muddy mess, making it difficult for either offense to move the ball.

With the game scoreless in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (1-0, 1-0) forced a turnover and moved the ball to the 13, where the drive stalled. But back-to-back penalties on the Bruins moved the Wildcats to the 3-yard line to set up the field goal.

Western Branch (0-1, 0-1) had one final opportunity and was helped by pass interference and a personal foul on the Wildcats.

The Bruins moved down to the 19-yard line and took four shots at the end zone, but failed to score.

Oscar Smith-Hickory postponed: The Oscar Smith-Hickory game was postponed until Tuesday because of poor field conditions.

After Monday afternoon’s rain showers, the field had standing water on it and the game was called off.

The game was tentatively rescheduled for 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Albert Pujols’ wife apparently disclosed that the Angels slugger intends to retire after the upcoming season, although she later amended her social media post to be less definitive. The 41-year-old Pujols, a three-time MVP and 10-time All-Star, reported to spring training with the Angels on Monday. In a post on her Instagram account later in the day, Deidre Pujols wrote: “Today is the first day of the last season of one of the most remarkable careers in sports!” Shortly afterward, she amended the statement with a parenthetical “based on his contract.” Pujols’ 10-year, $240 million contract with the Angels ends after this season, his 21st in the majors. But the fifth-leading home run hitter in major league history has repeatedly declined to say whether this season will be his last, and he repeated his uncertainty earlier this month in an interview with ESPN Deportes. Pujols is the oldest player in the majors, and he’s a decade removed from his heyday with the Cardinals. He won three NL MVP awards and two World Series titles with the Cardinals from 200111 but hasn’t come close to those feats with the Angels.