‘We were there for each other’: Savannah gun club defends 6-year Championship title through tragedy

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - When you google “best sports dynasties,” chances are a local group of high schoolers won’t pop up in the search results.

When you know what they’ve accomplished and the surrounding circumstances though, we think you’ll probably agree with us that they should.

As the dark metal gates to one of the oldest continuously operated gun clubs in America swing open, the revving of a truck engine fades and the sound of a sports dynasty propelled by youth shoots to the forefront.

The Forest City Juniors are six time defending National Champions.

Starting in 2020 and every year since, they’ve gone to the Scholastic Clay Target Program National Championship and not just taken a picture with the trophy, but brought it home as the nation’s best.

“It’s something pretty remarkable,” remarked the team’s head coach Zac Guerrettaz.

The sport is incredibly specific, requiring an acute attention to detail and fierce focus.

Chaz Palmer has been on the team for the past three National Championships. He explained, “You can’t let anything else bother you while you’re shooting because say your angry or you’re thinking about something - you’re not going to be focused on the bird and you’re more than likely going to miss.”

It’s a concentration that’s tough to keep under Championship pressure, but this season these shooters were up against an adversary harder to overcome than their competitors.

“It was horrible... awful,” said Guerrettaz.

As suddenly as clay targets break, the hearts of everyone around the team shattered the same. A parent described as the juniors’ biggest cheerleader - Scot Ritchie - died of a heart attack.

The head coach described the moment he found out.

“When I got the phone call my 10-year-old son was in the backseat and he’s like what do you, what now?”

Through the impossible questions, the Forest City Juniors found answers together, both the parents and their teenage athletes.

“We’re all there for each other. It’s not just like a shooting club, like I said earlier it’s like a big family,” said team captain Mils Hollis.

The group used that unity to get through their grief, but brought it with them on the course too as inspiration. Their motto for last season - Six for Scot.

Bailey Stokes has been on the team since 2021. She said there was a clear difference with their sixth national title.

“This year I felt like it was different in the aspect of doing this for him and doing this for the people that can’t show up.”

Unfortunately the folks she’s talking about there extend beyond Scot. Stokes just finished her last season on the team.

She’s going off to college now with hopes of continuing to shoot at the next level. Bailey though, has been battling complicated emotions of her own for a few years.

“My mom two years ago she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.”

She credits the team - her bigger family - with helping her through the tough times with her immediate one.

“I owe so much to them too because like driving me to shoots... my mom would be sick and they would come and take me to Cedar Point. It’s special.”

It’s this kind of dedication to each other - not to the sport - everyone we talked with says is the standout reason behind their success, especially this past season.

“I think a lot of it has to do with how the loss of a loved one brought us a lot closer together this year,” said Guerrettaz.

The team’s coach tells me they faced their grief head on, opening the box of questions that came with that along with the shotgun shells they’d use as ammunition to fight back.

The coach detailed how they all supported one another.

“We were there for each other and parents talked to their kids and there’s nothing better than knowing who he was and what he did and trying to fill those shoes because really and truthfully that’s what it was about.”

In the process, the Forest City Juniors won their sixth straight National Championship - picking up the pieces of what was broken beyond the field and displaying their dynastic dominance on it.