SBLive weekly boys soccer wrap (Nov. 14): Caleb Davis comes up huge for Madison Central
Each week, the team at Scorebook Live Mississippi will take an in-depth look at the past week’s high school soccer action, as well as a look ahead to the action to come in the following week.
Here’s a look at the weekly soccer wrap for the week of Nov. 7 to Nov. 13.
Games of the Week
Madison Central 6, West Lauderdale 0
The West Lauderdale Knights (1-2-0) entered the matchup on a bit of a skid following two losses to West Jones and Brandon.
The Knights’ season was cut short last year following a tough 0-1 loss to New Albany in the opening round of the 4A State playoffs. They were in for a tall task, facing the reining 6A State Champions — a team lead by Cecil Hinds that’s tied Brandon 2-2 in its first game.
But they Jags showed early why they were the defending champs, attacking the Knights goal from the opening minute.
Madison Central connected passes well and distributed the ball to wide areas, setting up several early crosses for their wingers. Caleb Davis took advantage of this pressure early, scoring the opening goal in the 14th minute by blasting a shot through the Knights goalkeeper’s legs after being played wide by fellow Jags teammate Regal Perry.
Davis continued to cause trouble for West Lauderdale, sending a cross across the box to teammate Dillan Smith in the 16th minute that Smith finished home to give the Jags a 2-0 lead.
The Jags continued the scoring in the 30th minute. Forward Regal Perry found himself on the touch line, where he then turned his defender, got in on goal, and smashed a curling finish off the inside of the right post to give the Jags a 3-0 lead.
The Jags got a fourth goal after Caleb Davis’ saved shot fell to John Hrivnak, who blasted it home in the 34th minute.
West Lauderdale generated a bit more offense in the second half, including a nicely floated free kick from Cooper Cornett that found the head of a Knights teammate but sailed just over the bar.
The Knights defense played stronger in the second half as well, led by their defensive back line and goalkeeper Evan Smith, who made several nice saves. But as the final whistle blew, the Madison Central Jags found themselves as 6-0 winners following a very impressive performance.
Goals: Caleb Davis (14’), Dillan Smith (16’), Regal Perry (30’), John Hrivnak (34’), Seth Capel (48’), Drew Cook (71’).
Assists: Regal Perry (14’), Caleb Davis (16’), Caleb Davis (30’), Caleb Davis (34’)
Up next:
Madison Central will be back in action on Thursday night, as they host Terry High School before heading to Laurel to face Desoto Central High School in the Laurel Soccer Showcase this weekend.
West Lauderdale will welcome Oak Grove High School on Thursday, before playing Lamar and Neshoba Central High Schools next week.
Brandon 1, Florence 1
On the boy’s side, the reigning 6A South State Champion Brandon Bulldogs (1-1-2) came into the match up looking to build on a win over West Lauderdale against a confident, undefeated Florence (3-0-1) team.
Brandon came out on the front foot early, attempting to control possession and generate chances through their midfield.
This led to several chances for the Bulldogs in the first 15 minutes, including a great cross from Tyler Eldridge that found the feet of Bulldog forward Jeison Ramos, who put the shot attempt just over the bar.
Ramos remained dangerous early, having several near chances. The Bulldogs Nygel Jobe was also able to get several shots on goal early that required saves from the Eagles’ keeper Holden Helms.
The Eagles defense proved to be a tall test. The Eagles center-back pairing of Colby Bethany and Devin Quick played strong and made life difficult for the Bulldogs attackers. Bethany in particular made several key defensive clearances that prevented Bulldog scoring chances.
Florence also generated offense in the first half, with midfielder Korey Reeves taking some dangerous shots in the 23rd and 27th minute. The half came to an end at 0-0 as both teams proved to be strong defensively.
Florence came out strong in the second half, gaining more possession and chances.
The breakthrough seemed certain in the 47th minute, when Eagle midfielder Wesley Dauffenbach hit a beautiful curling shot from 20 yards out on the right side that was saved in outstanding fashion by Bulldog goalkeeper Cameron Kent.
The two teams traded chances, with their backlines ultimately holding strong. As the game progressed into the later stages, it felt like a special moment would be needed to separate the teams.
Cue Eagles midfielder Korey Reeves: he found himself with space in the middle of the field roughly 20 yards away from goal when he hit a scorcher on the ground that snuck just inside the left side post to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 75th minute.
As well as both teams had played defensively it seemed this would surely be the game winner. But Brandon showed great resolve in the final minute, when Bulldog forward Jeison Ramos laid a beautiful pass to teammate Tyler Smith, who finished the shot in the back of the net to bring the game level 1-1.
The center ref blew his whistle shortly after, ending a great game between two really competitive teams.
Goals: Korey Reeves (75’, Florence), Tyler Smith (80’, Brandon)
Assists: Jeison Ramos (80’, Brandon)
Up next:
Brandon’s next game will be on the road at Terry Monday night before they finish up next week’s action by welcoming Starkville on Thursday.
Florence will prepare to face Northwest Rankin High School next Tuesday night before welcoming Gautier High School on Saturday.
Other top results across the State this week:
Tuesday, Nov. 9:
Brandon 2 Northwest Rankin 3
Ocean Springs 1 Biloxi 3
Sumrall 1 Oak Grove 5
Richland 0 Germantown 2
Thursday, Nov. 11:
Starkville 1 Clinton 1
West Jones 1 Clarkdale 2
Friday, Nov. 12:
East Central 0 St. Andrews 4
Saturday, Nov. 13
Germantown 3 George County 1
Northwest Rankin 1 Biloxi 1
A look ahead
Games of the Week
Tuesday, Nov. 16
Starkville at Madison Central
Saturday, Nov. 20
Oak Grove at Northwest Rankin
Other Games to watch
More: Full boys soccer schedule
Monday, Nov. 15
Sumrall at Germantown
Southaven at Center Hill
Tuesday, Nov. 16
Oak Grove at Clinton
Florence at Northwest Rankin
Oxford at Desoto Central
New Hope at Tupelo
St. Andrews at Clarkdale
D’Iberville at Biloxi
Thursday, Nov. 18
Northwest Rankin at Sumrall
St. Martin at Biloxi
Warren Central at Ridgeland
Germantown at Pearl
Starkville at Brandon
Friday, Nov. 19
Oxford at Center Hill
Lewisburg at Southaven
Clinton at Gulfport
Saturday, Nov. 20
West Lauderdale at Clarkdale
