Calhoun teams open playoffs on the road
The GHSA 5A state soccer playoffs begin this week and the Calhoun boys and girls teams are both in their respective 32-team fields with each starting out on the road.
The boys have had an excellent season under head coach Tino Hernandez, standing 10-5-3 on the season against a brutal schedule and they will begin what they hope is a long journey 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night at Centennial High School after the Yellow Jackets placed third this past season in Region 7-5A and the Knights were second in the 6-5A.
The girls, who were fourth in the 7-5A with a 2-3 league mark, began Tuesday night at Cambridge, which is the top seed out of Region 6-5A. (Details of that game were not available at press time).
Both teams enter the playoffs looking to be at their best, although neither has played for over a week with school out for spring break last week and no games scheduled.
In fact, for the Calhoun boys team, Wednesday’s contest against Centennial will end nearly a two-week layoff with the Yellow Jackets having not played since Thursday, April 4 wen their previously-rescheduled match at Sonoraville was finally played with the Jackets taking a 4-1 win over the Phoenix.
CALHOUN BOYS
The Yellow Jackets are back in the postseason after failing to make it last year and now they are looking for more.
The team definitely showed improvement as the year went along and were especially hot over the last month of play with seven wins in their last nine games. Their only loss during that run was a 4-1 setback to Region champ Cass, which begins the postseason Wednesday night at home.
At one point, after a 3-0 start to the year, they had a six-game winless skid that included a trio of ties and were 3-4-2 before things really began to click with a 4-1 home win over Gilmer starting the streak of success that they ended the season with. And during that 7-1-1 streak in their last nine games, they outscored the opposition, 37-11 as most of their wins were by two goals at more.
The team has been very explosive offensively with 50 goals on the year and defensively, they have been stingy,
a strikeout and a groundout ended the chance to tie it up.
Dalton would plate the final two runs of the game in the fourth inning.
Ethan Long led off the frame with a home run over the left field wall, making it 3-1.
The next Dalton hitter delivered a single to right field and stole second
base. The Catamounts’ third hit of the inning then drove him in for their final run of the game.
Calhoun did get the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, but couldn’t put a dent in the deficit.
With one out, Crawley singled to left field and quickly stole second base. Reeves hit a shot deep to left field that fell to put Calhoun runners on the corners. Freshman Cam Steward then laid down a great bunt that rolled foul in front of first base bag and Crawley had to go back to third base
when he would have scored.
But a minute later, the courtesy runner for Reeves at first base was thrown out trying to steal and a pop out behind third base and ended the inning and Calhoun’s last big threat.
Peek went four innings on the mound for the Yellow Jackets before he was relieved by Reeves, who worked the final three frames.
Dalton improved to 7-17 overall on the year.
Calhoun saw its record fall to 8-18 on the season.