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McIntosh teams split in state championship games

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Tears were shed at McIntosh High School on Friday night for a number of different reasons. Some members of the girls soccer team cried upon realizing they had reached the end of an era, while the boys had tears of frustration and exhaustion, falling short of winning it all before a home crowd.

Thousands of fans took to the stands, filling up the seats more and more as the night went along. McIntosh students painted their faces and bodies, wore green and waved signs back and forth in support of their teams.

The Lady Chiefs played first. They hosted St. Pius and took an early lead as Katie Schulz scored less than four minutes in to the game. The Lady Lions would hold McIntosh scoreless for almost 24 minutes, but the Lady Chiefs would score three more times before the half, putting the game out of St. Pius’ reach. Kellie Myles scored McIntosh’s second goal with Schulz getting the assist. With just over two and a half minutes remaining, Jesse Lenze scored after the St. Pius goalkeeper bobbled the ball in front of the net. Myles scored her second goal of the game with under a minute to play on an assist from Kelsey Quinn.

Leading 4-0, the second half began like the first half did with McIntosh scoring early. Lenze scored her second goal of the game on an assist from Monica Hogan. The Lady Chiefs wouldn’t score again, although they had all the momentum and put a ton of pressure on the St. Pius defense. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, students clambered down to the gates and hopped the fence when it was over, celebrating the girls’ second state championship in a row.

When asked to compare this year’s title to last year’s title, coach Marcia Clark answered that while it was a “different year it feels just as good.”

Hogan was among the seniors who wanted to make sure that they ended their high school careers on the field.

“It’s been amazing,” she said of the four year run that she shared with her teammates. “There has been a lot of hard work but a lot of fun too.”

For the 13 seniors on the McIntosh squad who leave with two state titles under their belt and a number one ranking in AAAA, it is the end of one era and the beginning of another.

The McIntosh boys knew they would have a tough task in their championship game. Their opponent was their region rival, Woodward Academy, a team they had defeated twice this season, 1-0. The Chiefs were confident, knowing that they would have home field advantage and a ton of fan support, but some in the stands worried that perhaps the third time would be the charm for Woodward Academy.

It was.

The War Eagles’s Zach Crain scored on an assist from Shaun Caesar less than 10 minutes in to the first half. Though McIntosh would play better towards the end of the half and put all the pressure on the Woodward defense in the seond half, they could not convert their chances. McIntosh’s best chance came on a penalty kick with a little over 20 minutes remaining in the game. Bilal Duckett’s shot hit the top of the cross bar and the shot off the rebound also missed. There were dozens more close calls and near misses as the game progressed and in the end the Chiefs fell 1-0.

“We had lots of good chances and they just wouldn’t go in,” said Coach Bunky Colvin. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

The Chiefs finish the season ranked second in AAAA.