By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – A team can only give a talented opponent so many chances before that talent finally breaks through.
That was the case for the Petal boys against Oak Grove Friday night in a Region 6-6A soccer showdown. For 60 minutes, the Panthers hung in the game, keeping the more experienced Warriors at bay in a scoreless draw.
But just past the halfway point of the second half, Oak Grove finally cashed in an opportunity, scoring a goal and opening the floodgates for a 5-0 Warrior triumph on Senior Night at Warrior Field.
Oak Grove improved to 8-2 overall and 2-1 in region; Petal dropped to 5-6-2 and 0-3.
“I think we were in a little bit in too much of a hurry to finish it,” said Warrior head coach Julio Martinez. “We were in front of the net a lot, but we were rushing shots.
“We had five shots that were 20-25 yards out, where we could have taken the ball a few yards closer to the goal.”
Oak Grove set the tone for the game in the first five minutes of play. The Warriors would attack, and the Panthers would defend.
Less than a minute into the game, Oak Grove senior Luke Dickson made a nifty move to get open 20 yards from the goal and rifled a shot that Panther goalkeeper Christopher Gonzales was able to save.
Two minutes later, Dickson almost exactly duplicated the play, with the same result. In all, the Warriors got six shots, five on goal, in the first 15 minutes of play.
“We started the game strong,” said Dickson. “I moved the ball around, hit it and he made a good save on it left, then I hit one off of him, but he got up and got to it before I could reach the rebound.
“There were a lot of defenders in the back, and the goalie wasn’t bad, but we just didn’t finish the ball today like we should have.”
Dickson got another shot on goal off a free kick in the 18th minute, but that shot was also saved, and that was the last shot the Warriors would get at the goal the remainder of the first half.
“We’re young and they’re not,” said Petal coach John Dick. “They’re a good, experienced team, and they were patient. I think once they got a couple of goals in, it increased their confidence.
“But I was proud of my boys. I don’t think the 5-0 score says how this game was played. Chris played a great game, but I felt like we could have done a better job of clearing some of those balls off.”
The Panthers were able to get some counterattacking going in the second half, getting their only real chance in the 55 minutes on a shot by junior Dylan Dixon that Warrior senior keeper Josh Goodwin was in position to make an easy save.
Petal is in a rebuilding mode this season, with only one senior starter and a field full of freshmen and sophomores, including the keeper.
By contrast, Oak Grove is senior-heavy, and it showed at critical moments in the game.
“The key word is experience,” said Martinez. “You can have the strength, you can have the speed, but experience is something you don’t buy.
“Talent, if you don’t work it a certain way, you’re not going to go anywhere.”
The most critical moment of the game came in the 62nd minute, when junior Jason Guerrero got a clean shot at the net. Gonzales was there again, but this time Dickson was in position to stick the ball in the back of the net.
Two minutes later, Guerrero scorched a free kick inside the right post from 25 yards out that Gonzales had no chance to save, and the rout was on.
“It wasn’t so much frustration as having the patience and trust that we’re going to do what we set out to do as the game develops,” said Guerrero. “We just had to stick to our game plan and trust the process.
“Cade (Ortego) was the striker, and he came inside to check in on the ball, and I took his spot in the rotation. He ended up giving to me. I got a touch and a shot, and luckily Luke was there to score on the rebound.”
The Warriors closed the game with three goals in the final three minutes of play. Senior Julio Martinez scored on a pass from senior Cade Ortego, senior Garrett Stevens smashed in a free kick from 10 yards out and Ortego got a late unassisted goal in stoppage time.
“We weren’t showing a lot of patience on offense,” said Coach Martinez. “But the last 20 minutes were brilliant. The way we were moving the ball, it was building all the way from the back.”
Oak Grove returned the heart of its team that reached the Class 6A South State finals last season, and the first-year coach of the Warriors is cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances of advancing further this year.
“I think the kids are understanding what the coaches are trying to implement on the field,” said Martinez. “Plus, the experience they have, we could be a dangerous team.”
The two teams will meet again on January 7 at Petal, the first action for both teams after the holiday break.
Photos courtesy of Jesse Johnson
