On Tuesday April 8, 2025 Smith County Owls hosted Monterey in the first District match between the two teams. The Owls were coming off of a District win vs York the week before and were looking to start a streak of wins. The first goal of this game came with 14 minutes left in the first half. Aldrin Jimenez scored the opener with an assist from Adyn Elliott. A few minutes later Elliott would score with the assist from Bradley Pickett. The score of 2-0 would stand into the half time break.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Adyn Elliott would again score this time with an assist from Jarrain Smith. With 29 minutes on the clock Smith County would be awarded a penalty kick that was taken by Elliott and netted him a hat trick for the night. Jarrain Smith came back to add a Goal to his assist bringing the score to 5-0 and 12 minutes left in the game. There were several more attempts but then, with less than a minute remaining, Gavin Kemp scored with an assist to Bradley Pickett. Kemp had been sidelined with an injury for a month so scoring on his return was quite the lift for him. So with 6-0 win and a clean sheet for Keeper James Bunn in the books and the second District win, the Owls had a great evening on the pitch.
Thursday April 10 Smith County traveled to Jackson County for another District match. This one would go a bit differently. The Owls would have 30 shots to Jackson County’s 10. The Blue Devils would strike first scoring with 16 minutes left in the first half. Adyn Elliott assisted by Eli Spain would bring it level with only 8 seconds in the half. The second half opened in the first minute with another Jackson County Goal bringing it to 2-1. At the 26 minute mark Zane Felice would net a beautiful goal with a cross from Gavin Kemp, once again bringing it level. Jackson County would go on to score twice more on the Owls ending the game with an Owl loss of 4-2. This is the first time the Blue Devils have won against Smith County.
The Jackson County game was a set back but the Owls are resilient and growing. The two teams will meet again on April 22nd at Smith County, this will also be the Owls Senior Night. On Tuesday April 15 Smith County will travel to Macon County for a non District match up. Thursday there is no game due to Cannon’s withdrawal. photos and article submitted by Vivian Schaffers
