Bob Jones headed to final four
Bob Jones’ Sebastian Hitzke (in white) and James Clemens’ Matthew Clemens battle for the ball in the second round of the state playoffs. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)
By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer
MADISON – The Bob Jones boys soccer team didn’t have to travel very far to play into the final four of the state playoffs, and fortunately for the Patriots, the semifinals against Oak Mountain May 8 will be in Huntsville.
The Patriots pushed their way out of the quarterfinals against cross-town rival James Clemens, which pulled off an upset of the Huntsville Panthers April 28 in the first round to earn a rematch of No. 1 Bob Jones.
Played at the Madison City Stadium May 1, the Patriots took a slim 1-0 lead heading into the locker room for halftime but outpaced the Jets into a 5-0 defeat.
Eduvie Ikoba, striker for the Patriots who signed with Dartmouth, got the scoring going with a goal after 12 minutes of play. Sebastian Hitzke had the assist.
Bob Jones roared out of halftime with two quick goals. Cole Johnson scored one with 38:07 to go in the game to make it 2-0 Bob Jones. Ikoba had a breakaway shot attempt a few minutes later that was blocked by Jet goalie Scott Nation, but Wes Toutanji was there on the other side of the net to boot it in with 32:07 to go.
“I really think that we have a deep bench, and they don’t and they just got tired down the stretch,” Bob Jones coach Uwe Spiller said.
Johnson scored his second goal of the night with 14:11 to go, and Dominik McCauley scored with 40 seconds left to end the game’s offense.
“The team is definitely peaking right now,” Spiller said. “The last four games they have really been coming together.”
A pivotal save came with four minutes to go until halftime. Kai Pham lined up a penalty kick to try to tie the game, but Bob Jones keeper Quentin Boric blocked the attempt and shepherded in the ball to go back out the play. Boric, a senior, signed with Tennseee Wesleyan College the same day Ikoba signed with Dartmouth.
The Patriots played Oak Mountain March 7 and came back to win the game 4-2.
The Bob Jones girls also earned a trip to the state semifinals after upsetting Sparkman 3-1. The Patriot girls will face Oak Mountain as well on May 8.
