RAYMOND — The Starkville Academy boys soccer team did everything it could think of to try to earn an advantage Saturday, but Central Hinds Academy proved too much in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Division III championship game.
Tanner Leggett scored two goals and the Cougars scored three goals in the first half in a 5-0 victory against Starkville Academy in a physical match at Bobby Barrett Field.
Central Hinds (15-0-0) kept their four season winning streak alive, stretching it to 60 games, and claimed their fourth-straight title. The Cougars have lost only one game in the past five seasons.
“We fought until the final whistle. There was not a moment in the game where we gave up,” Starkville Academy coach Matt Sykes said. “We kept pressing throughout and attacking. We got unlucky a good bit today. Going up against a team that has 60-straight wins, you have to have some luck.”
Central Hinds scored off two corner kicks in the first half. Gunner Roberson netted the first on a header in the eighth minute. Seven minutes later, Kyle White bodied his way to the ball for the second. Leggett assisted on both.
Leggett scored a minute prior to halftime when he broke loose on a counter attack, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and slipped the ball into the net.
“We had to stay focused,” Central Hinds coach Dave Riley said. “With an attempt at a fourth-straight title game and a 60th-straight win, I had no doubt our guys were going to take this title. We practiced corner kicks a lot, and it paid off for us today.”
Leggett also scored in the 44th minute and had his third assist 22 minutes later. The senior forward used a throw-in to Davis McDade, who headed the ball in for the final score.
The Volunteers played the second half with only 10 men after Torin Hamilton received a red card before halftime.
Starkville Academy loses seniors Logan Dowell, Tyler Tranum, Porter Miles, Dalton Dempsey, Dillon Carrell, Sam Cox, and Hamilton to graduation. Sykes said he was proud of his squad and looks forward to see the next stop for his seniors. Cox celebrated the season and said the Volunteers didn’t expect to reach the title game.
“I am surprised,” Cox said. “We came together and through a lot of adversity. We had a lot teamwork. Nobody on this team could do it by themselves. Everybody used their strengths and we started winning games.”
Although the Volunteers fell short, the postseason run was another pleasant surprise in a school year that saw the school’s girls soccer team beat Hartfield Academy 2-1 to win that program’s first championship.
Sykes, who is in his first season as head coach of both teams, led the Volunteers (11-6-1) to their first appearance in the championship round in recent memory. Starkville Academy defeated Heritage Academy 2-0 in the semifinals.
“It is always good when you have the boys and the girls playing in the state championship game,” Sykes said. “Our goal is to make the final game of the year at the beginning of each season. I wish we would have came out on top like we did in the girls, but we are ready to learn from this loss.”
Cox praised Sykes for his efforts and knows the success will continue next season.
“I am proud of the entire program, girls and boys,” Cox said. “The program has a bright future. Coach Sykes kept us together. He’s made practices fun, and he has made us better the entire time.”
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