Bucs win to earn spot in soccer state tourney

Occasionally, Hayes Wood needs to go off script on the soccer field.

Sunday afternoon was one of those times, and because of that, Boyd-Buchanan is going back to Murfreesboro.

Wood broke through the Merrol Hyde defense during the first half and crossed the ball into Seth Highfield, who punched in the only goal of a 1-0 sectional win for the fifth-ranked Bucs, who are headed back to the Class A/ AA state tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2010.

Boyd-Buchanan (16-5-1) will face top-ranked Christian

Academy of Knoxville (15-5-2) in the quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.

Merrol Hyde (8-9-1) decided to pack in its defense tightly and look for counterattacks Sunday, meaning it was going to take something outside the box for the Bucs to penetrate. It came from Wood, a sophomore Bucs coaches have been imploring to be more aggressive.

“I saw some space on the left, beat the first guy, got some momentum to beat the second, then the third,” Wood said. “I crossed it in, and Seth put it in there.

“We feel so relieved to get to go finally, but it’s not the last step. We want to win; that’s where we want to get.”

The Bucs continued to pound their way into the teeth of the Hawks’ defense, working the ball to midfielders Jeremy Borders and Ayden Otero for runs down the sidelines and crossing it in for good opportunities, but they were unable to put another goal in.

The Hawks had a couple of chances, none better than a first-half shot that glanced off a post.

Sunday’s victory provided a bit of vindication for the Bucs, whose past two seasons ended with a sectional loss.

“We’re just so thankful to God for the gift he’s given us,” Boyd-Buchanan coach Dustin Walker said. “We’ve been with these guys since they were little kids, and now that they’re seniors, we wanted nothing more for them than this experience of getting to go to state.

“We’re just so thankful they get to do it and we get to share it with them.”