March 18, 2022 the high school Men’s soccer team travelled to Gatlinburg, making the annual trek to play in the Smoky Mountain Cup. This year Varsity won all three of their games and they came home as Smokey Mounty Cup, Mount Collins DivisionChampions.
The Varsity’s played Concord Christian for their first game and won 3-1. The Smith County goals came from Tanner Pierson scoring on a penalty kick, then Christian Santiago scored on a beautiful, hard fought shot, and Pierson would come back to score the third with an assist to Mo Abou Rahma. Concord Christian would only manage to get one goal against the Owl defense.
Next the Varsity faced Campbell County. The Owls won 2-0. The first goal was Mo Abou Rahma assisted by Tanner Pierson. The second goal was Christian Santiago assisted by Rylan Bates. The Smith County Varsity faced Kingston for the final tournament game. The Owls seemed at ease, knowing they just had to play this game like every game, together. They were correct, winning 2-0. Both goals scored by Tanner Pierson. The first one being assisted by Freshman Lolo Ortiz.
The JV team had 2 losses and one draw but gained vital experience for the Freshman ladened side of the team. JV first faced McMinn County and lost 3-2. The goal scorers in this game for Smith County were Sophomore Eric Richel and Freshman Terence Davis with an assist to Will Vance. JV took on Stone Memorial in a 4-1 loss. The lone goal scored by Smith County came from Senior Will Vance. Finally, JV faced Dekalb county. This one would end in a draw of 1-1. However the game ended on a foul in the box that should have led to Smith County getting a penalty kick. The refs chose to forego the penalty and end the game. The goal scored for the Owls was by Blake Baird with the assist going to Adam Allmon.
On Thursday March 24th, after returning from the mountains, Smith County traveled to Friendship Christian for a varsity game, winning 4-0. They goals were scored by Colby Boyce and Tanner Pierson, two each. This team is fun to watch, they are generous with one another, have great leadership and seem to have a genuine love for the game and for team. There is a break in the action for Spring Break and then back with a two home game stand to begin District play on April 5th and 7th. 
