Warhawks defeat Bears in county rivalry game

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The Veterans Warhawks (7-0, 1-0 Region 1-6A) claimed victory over the Houston County Bears (4-2, 0-2 Region) on Tuesday in a 3-1 final on Freedom Field.

“Follow the plan, stick to the plan, trust the plan,” was the mentality that head coach Matt Roth drilled into his player’s heads.

10 minutes into the first half, Camren Laris ended up on Bear Boulevard and took his shot at the goal, but it was blocked by the Bears’ freshman goalie Mitch Lesho.

The Warhawks pushed back on the Bears’ defense, as senior team captain Ahmed Ibrahim took his shot with 20 minutes left in the half.

HoCo junior Jaheem Wright drew goalie Brayden Black out of the box to give the Bears a wide open net, but senior Xander Davis stepped up to cover the box and cleared the ball out of the danger zone.

Both teams went into halftime without a goal on the board, but Roth knew what he and his Warhawks needed to do in the second half.

“We knew what was needed, and we were still trying to develop the game plan, and it just takes time to get used to it,” Roth said.

Junior Brady Bourke assisted a goal by senior Carter Morningstar 6:30 into the second half to break the stalemate and put the Warhawks up 1-0.

Only three minutes later, Morningstar was assisted again, but this time by Joey Maloney, to give him two goals on the board.

With 12 minutes left in the second half, Morningstar secured a hat trick and a 3-0 lead for Veterans.

With two minutes left in the game, junior Harrison Bird scored the first goal allowed by the Warhawks this season, marking the final score 3-1.

Lady Warhawks 2, Lady Bears 1

The Veterans Lady Warhawks (2-1-3, 1-0 Region 1-6A) got the best of the Houston County Lady Bears (4-3, 0-2 Region) in a thrilling match that went to extra time on Tuesday.

Both teams were aggressive getting into enemy territory and traded shots as the first half ticked down.

Ultimately neither team could get the ball into the net, and the first half ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

According to head coach Christina Maloney, one thing that perpetuated the stalemate was a change in formation.

“We decided to change up our formation yesterday, and throughout the game the girls started getting used to their new formation and started playing their game, and didn’t give in.” Maloney said.

The Lady Warhawks came out strong in the second half as senior Lily Maddox rose against the defense and got two shots off, but HoCo stood strong as both were blocked by the Lady Bears’ goalie Mia Eader.

Senior Kamryn McCauley finally broke the stalemate as she converted a free kick from 30 yards out to give the Lady Warhawks the first goal of the game with 26 minutes left in the half.

The Lady Bears answered quickly with a counter-offense that saw sophomore Emma Shealy tie the game up again at 1-1.

Both clubs played good offense, but better defense as regulation came to a close.

The Lady Bears wasted no time in overtime, and 30 seconds in junior Mary Wade Payne got a shot off but it was just wide of the goal.

With 4:52 left in overtime, Veterans gave up a handball in the danger zone, and the Lady Bears took advantage. But, as Shealy attempted the shot, junior goalie Lakeyn Wilson blocked it.

With that, the first overtime period came to an end, and double overtime began.

The Lady Warhawks got the ball to senior Zoriyah Menefee, who was able to convert the drive into a goal after a blocked shot by Eader, and a rebound in the box to win the game 2-1.

UP NEXT

The Warhawks will play again on Friday, Feb. 21 against Tift County at 5:30 p.m.

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