Red Raiders roll to Fling with dominant home win
Baylor center back Jake Kellerhals read the play perfectly, sneaking up the right sideline to set off a spectacular sequence in the second half of Saturday’s Division II-AA state quarterfinal against Memphis University School.
Kellerhals stole a pass amid heavy foot traffic and scooted downfield to strike a beautiful curling pass to the far left side of the box, where wide-open Jon Ryan Godbehere converted for one of the Red Raiders’ goals in a 5-0 home win that sends them to the TSSAA Spring Fling.
Just a few minutes after his assist, Kellerhals made a clean slide tackle on the defensive end to take away a dangerous opportunity for MUS (7-5-3).
“We have a lot of great players on our team. There is no question about that,” Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. “Jake is such an outstanding player. His ability to read the game is off the charts. He sees things three or four steps ahead of others. He can pick things off and connect the ball so well. That’s why he is our captain. He is a special talent.”
Baylor (16-1-1) is headed to Murfreesboro for Wednesday’s semifinals at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex, where Kellerhalls and his teammates will continue their bid for the sixth state championship in program history and first since 2018. Blair’s squad has outscored its competition 58-16 this season and is ranked seventh in the country by MaxPreps.com.
In Saturday’s first half, junior Phelipe Spielmann sparked the Red Raiders’ attack.
His left-footed cross to Gui Gragnano was headed off the top crossbar, with Gragnano hustling back to clean up the rebound for the first score in the 18th minute. Nine minutes later, Spielmann broke through the middle of the defense to find Mohammed Wumpini on the back right side, where he made a nice move and scored with his left foot.
Wumpini was excellent off the bench as he made strong runs and also delivered a linedrive shot in the second half, but the MUS keeper made a nice save. Anthony Weekley made his presence felt in the 33rd minute as the senior sent a perfect cross from the right corner to classmate Riley Shankle for Baylor’s third goal.
“Last season Anthony didn’t play a ton of minutes for us, but with David Danquah going down, he has stepped right in and started ever since,” Blair said.
With keeper Zachary Ubamadu and Kellerhals leading the way for the clean sheet, the Red Raiders stand two wins away from raising a state championship trophy. They will face McCallie (8-5-2) at 3 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday — the rivals tied 2-2 in the regular season — with Christian Brothers (12-2-3) and Father Ryan (8-4-5) meeting in the other DII-AA semifinal at the same time and the title game set for Thursday evening.
“This is a really special group,” said Kellerhals, who has been offered a soccer scholarship from East Tennessee State University. “We have been working nonstop to get better and better so we can be at our best at this point of the season. I really do think we can go all the way.”
› McCallie 3, CPA 0: Sophomore Dylan Capazario had a hat trick, scoring his final goal in the 57th minute, and senior Henry Lewis registered the shutout in goal for the Blue Tornado, who are seeking their fourth state title and first since 2019.
› Boyd Buchanan 3, Lausanne 2: Junior Mills Wood completed his hat trick with 1:45 left in extra time to advance Boyd Buchanan to the Spring Fling. The Buccaneers (17-2) will face University School of Nashville in the DII-A state semifinals Wednesday.
› Red Bank 6, Scott 1: The Lions (16-5-2) advanced to their second straight Class AA state tournament with an impressive home win.
› Soddy-Daisy 3, Cumberland County 2 (OT): The Trojans (18-3-1) scored the winner with less than 10 seconds left in the second extra period to advance to the Class AA state tournament.
› Oakland 3, Ooltewah 0: The Owls (14-6) fell in Saturday’s Class AAA sectional.
› Merrol Hyde 1, Arts & Sciences 0: The Patriots (127-2) lost in a Class A sectional.
SOFTBALL
› Community 1, Bledsoe County 0: Despite outhitting Community 4-2, the Lady Warriors’ impressive season ended in the Class 2A sectional round. Macy Holland had two of Bledsoe’s hits and Ella Baker went seven strong innings, striking out eight batters, but allowed the eventual winning run in the sixth on a base hit by Abigal Murrill.
› Gordonsville 7, Whitwell 1: Gordonsville scored in each of the first five innings, outhitting host Whitwell 11-3 to advance to the Class 1A state tournament. Sierra Newton and Kali Underwood each had two RBIs, while Mallory O’Neal drove in Whitwell’s run.
LACROSSE
Boyd Buchanan, McCallie and Soddy-Daisy all won TSLA state championships.
Soddy-Daisy defeated Hillsboro 8-6 on Friday as senior Paul Schofield scored three goals, while classmates Kennedy Moore and Sam Schofield scored three points apiece. Keeper Jameson Koch had 24 saves for the Trojans (14-4).
McCallie dominated its title bout with a 17-9 victory over MUS on Saturday. Sophomore Zach Chari led the Blue Tornado (15-4), who outscored opponents 252-122 this season.
Boyd Buchanan won 9-6 victory over Evangelical Christian on Saturday.