The weather had an impact on the first scheduled district game which was rescheduled to May 2nd. The second game was on Thursday, April 14th at Watertown. The day was beautiful, it did get a bit chilly by the end of the night but the Owls flew home warm with both Varsity and JV wins.
The first meeting between these two varsity teams ended with Smith County winning 5-0. This time Watertown would have home field advantage, However, Smith County travels well. The Owls often show up with more fans than the home team. On that note, the Seniors, speaking for the team, had this to say about the fans. “All of us truly appreciate the fans watching us and coming to all our games. They may not know this, but because of them we are fired up each and every game. It pushes each and every one of us to do better every single time. We love our fans just as much as we love the game. We would like to thank them all for the endless support. Thank you!”
It was obvious in this game how fired up and focused Smith County was. Nine minutes into the game Tanner Pierson found himself in the corner when he made the most beautiful pass across the front of the net to connect with Mo Abou Rahma. Mo took the shot, beating the goalie and opening the door to a string of goals. A minute later Colby Boyce would take a free kick sending the ball to the box where Tanner Pierson was set up to take a direct shot past the keeper for score number two. Three minutes off the clock watched Boyce pass the ball up through four defenders and Abou Rahma coming from the outside to make another goal scoring connection, his second, team third.
Watertown tried to enter Smith County territory but was immediately shut down by Ro Ortiz and then Bolt Ortiz finished sending it back down field. After some back and forth Boyce took a shot from the side, the keep jumped, missed it flew over him to meet with Rylan Bates who finished it to score the Owls fourth goal. With three minutes left in the half Gavin Huddleston took a corner kick, Christian Santiago tried to head it in, but a defender deflected it where Mo Abou Rahma was waiting to send it solidly into the corner of the net. This gave Mo a hat trick and set the score at 5-0. Oh but it only took thirty seconds for the ball to end up on the foot of Lolo Ortiz who sent it from half pitch to Colby Boyce. Boyce took it to the net facing the keeper with three defenders surrounding him and easily ended the half with a score of 6-0.
The second half started with the closest Watertown would get to scoring but between quick actions of the defenders and SC Keeper Kory Debord the goal attempt was thwarted. Nine minutes in Colby Boyce sent the ball up from the half mark to Mo Abou Rahma. Mid box he fired a shot that left the keeper in a pile while the ball secured the goal. Twelve minutes on the clock Blake Baird earned a penalty kick which he landed dead center in the back of the net. One more goal would end the game. This would come with a minute left when Mo Abou Rahma would battle two defenders and manage to shoot through them, past another defender and the keeper to secure a 9-0 win for Smith County.
The last meeting of the JV saw Watertown win but this time Smith County was to be the victor. Smith County won 2-0, both goals coming from Blake Baird, the first being assisted by Eric Richel. Next the Owls will play Stone Memorial at home on Monday April 18th and then Thursday April 21 they will host Jackson County for the Owls Senior Night. Head Coach Kit Jenkins said, “Thank you for all the support. It means so much to us to see so many fans at our games to cheer the boys on.” So let’s pack the park and show them SCP Love and Pride! (Photos and article submitted by Vivian Schaffers)