SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Questions about the State Championship

Good questions! My replies:

Why didn’t DiBenedetto make clash??? Or North/South? Who knows, but he's a worker on the field

Does Coach Wilcox get tired of winning State Championships? Probably not

Who is Batesburg-Leesville? A team that has been steadily progressing the last 5-6 years. They are not a one-season wonder. They've been building and in fact, were probably a better team last year. At any rate, they exemplified what 2A soccer SHOULD be. Not bashing BE, but they just should not be at this level. This should be for the B-Ls, Walhallas, Emeralds, Gilberts, Waccamaws, Hanahans, and Barnwells of the world. They've all had good quality teams, but run into the BE juggernaut every year. It was refreshing! As one elder B-L fan said coming out of the restroom yesterday clad in purple, "Dey can't write no storybook any better dan dat." About summed up a perfect day for the Purp Squad.

When is the last time neither of the Bishops (boys/girls) went home without a State Championship? I don't know, but it would be nice to see this more often.

WWMS…What Will Marta Say? I think she just replied and that's all anyone could really say. Yes, BE controlled the match and all, but B-L made their shot count. #10 is a good player for the Panthers.

What was the South Aiken defense doing on the first JL Mann goal? There is a Western swing band known as "Asleep at the Wheel" that would aptly explain what happened. I think there was some confusion on a pending substitution, but the center official did not recognize it and the Mann player took advantage of it. There is an old saying, "play to the whistle." At any rate, #21 for Mann slammed it home with an exclamation point at the end though.

Why did the South Aiken keeper decide to take a nap (lay on the field for 3 minutes) during the game? He was tired

How fast is Ryan Hurst? If that is #21, pretty fast for a white boy!"

Did anyone have a “normal haircut” on JL Mann? No

Why were there two 4A state championships? Huh?

What did Dom Wren have on? Looked like he was attending Irmo's dynasty funeral."

What referee would ever tell the Irmo coaching staff to stay in their box? A good one. I can't believe the way Irmo's 50 people stand on the field (or try to). That official kept pinning them in their little box. hehe

Why didn’t Dennis Moore make all-state? politics, politics, politics

Who allowed the wide receiver gloves to be worn by Padula? bad move, I think he threw 2-3 out of play. Probably should have just left the gloves in his winter closet.

Why weren’t cards issued to Irmo’s Padula and Lunceford for getting in the face of Ricky Garbanzo? there should have been several cards in the 4A final, period. Also, could you believe the 'vocabulary' of some of the high school students in attendance? I heard more f-bombs and p words than an Andrew Dice Clay routine.

Who thinks Alex Martinez is over-rated? underrated maybe, not overrated. He played midfield by himself vs. Irmo.

Does Garbanzo always score “highlight” goals? yes

Why would Irmo’s fans show bad sportsmanship by throwing bottles and trash at the Northwestern players?? at least it wasn't the players throwing medals this year

Why would you leave another school to play at Irmo when you don't win a State Championship? they've been doing this for years, but most came away with a gold medal, but those days are more distant now.

Will Manchester post all the goals for the highlight video or just Irmo’s? I'm looking forward to the pregame warmup and the goalkeeper watching balls go by and not make an attempt, a la the four the Trojans rocked them with last night.

UP THE TROJANS!!! THE NEW DYNASTY

I have a question....and before I get demonized, I'll let you know I was hoping for Batesburg-Leesville to win.

Why was the winning kick not called a high kick (dangerous play)?

I didn't see the goal or the sub. I'm NOT saying the goal shouldn't of counted, but why didn't the 5 refs on the field come together and talk it over?

Why would you leave another school to play at Irmo when you don't win a State Championship?

How about bringing in foriegn kids to win state championships? i don't think these kids just come to NW because of its great academics...

Atleast IRMO for the most part is homegrown talent. I think enough trash has been talked but i'm sure more of it will just fuel the fire for next years team so keep it up.

hey funny fact. doesnt dom wren coach a lot of those kids on the academy team? or does he coach a different team?

Why weren’t cards issued to Irmo’s Padula and Lunceford for getting in the face of Ricky Garbanzo?

Lunceford and Garbanzo play on the same club team, and are extremely good friends. Which is why he held his face as he said something to him, so he didn't say it just like he was yelling at him, but saying it in a friendly way.

I was seated in the stands directly behind the JL Mann player who took the throw in. I didn't see the attempted substitution, the injury or anything going on over on the other side of the field, but I did hear a couple of loud noises from that direction that sounded like they might have been whistles. Looking at the referee it didn't look like he had blown his whistle, though, and they didn't quite sound like whistles. Everyone on South Aiken near me was focused on the other side of the field, even moving away from their goal. CERTAINLY not in a defensive posture, like they were about to defend a throw. I assumed they had heard the same "whistles" I had, but I guess they were focused on the injury/ subbing situation.

What I did have a perfect view of - the two JL Mann players, who were right in front of me, realized that the ref (who I don't think was watching the throw either) really hadn't actually stopped the play, and so the thrower sends a quick ball in to his player who is standing well behind the South Aiken defense. The thrower might have moved the ball forward a bit, but that didn't make an impression on me - again, what was weird was how everyone on South Aiken was moving forward, away from their goal, and not watching the ball, including the goalie. If the thrower did advance the ball too much I don't think that mattered - South Aiken was not watching at all, and he could have done the same throw ten yards back and still had tons of time. South Aiken players were moving the wrong direction! The whole set-up was oddly similar to that video of the first Irmo goal against Wando, where everyone on Wando appears to think the ref is moving the wall back, but he apparently hasn't actually stopped play.

JL Mann player receives the ball and dribbles into the middle of the field - still no one watching him. Finally the goalie realizes he's about to get shot on, but it's too late and he hasn't cut off the angle at all. That's what I saw.

What a wonderful day yesterday at Memorial Stadium in the backyard of my Rosewood home. Great crowds, weather, and the facility looked super! The games were outstanding as I saw all but one-half of the games and I believe all four boys games were scoreless at halftime yet 12 goals were scored in the matches. Unfortunately, I didn't make it over on Friday for the girls contests but appreciate the information from this site as there was no coverage in the local paper. Here are some thoughts about each match:

1A
Christ Church (Episcopalian) continues to roll in this event and it's almost not even fair. Both Upper State finalists are private christian-affiliated schools and I understand that St. Joseph's (Catholic) is joining this class from the independent schools next year. I guess the rich will get richer in that regard as the likes of Dixie, 96, etc., just don't stand a chance against these clubbers. Academic Magnet was back once again, but albeit a weakened team compared to the last couple of seasons. The 3-0 scoreline seemed perfectly just to me as CC controlled most of the match and I thought #16 for the Cavs was the best player on the field. Also impressed with #4 in the back.

2A
Wow! Great job by Batesburg-Leesville! #10 is quite a player and the outside girl defender #12 was super! I thought #8 and #13 for B-L did well, too, because they were under siege from the outset. The big goalkeeper turned in a nice performance. It appeared that Bishop England thought they were going to just roll the ball out there and win the game like they usually do in Columbia in May and there is no doubt that BE was the better team 1-11 (and subs) but could not get anything as a result. #8 controlled the midfield and #2 was a stalwart in the back, but BE just seemed off-kilter all day and the longer it went scoreless the more tight and frustrated the green team became. What a sensational goal by #10 in overtime and the celebration was something to behold - exactly what high school athletics should be about. In all my club years and witnessing of championships, I've never seen the celebrations take place like they did yesterday after the AA, AAA, and AAAA finals. Kudos to the B-L community, too, as the only thing that must have been left in western Lexington County was Shealy's BBQ!

3A
Kind of a mundane game after the 2A final and I really expected somewhat of a romp by JL Mann. This team exudes the club persona as each player kind of marches to the beat of his own drum. And the hairstyles - or lack there of - whoa! Talk about displaying your own traits! #21 for JL Mann was clearly the best on the field in my estimation and #9 who seemed to be all over the place at times was a hard worker as well. #21 is extremely fast and the second goal he scored was an absolute bomb! South Aiken's #4 worked tirelessly but was ball chasing most of the game as JL Mann really controlled the tempo after the first 20 minutes. In fact, had it not been for some good reactions by the SA back line then it could have been 3-0 or 4-0. Their goalkeeper looked a little uneasy at times and I don't know what happened on the first goal but that play was as unorthodox as I have seen, including the display by the GK after it crossed the line. He literally laid down on the field for 2-3 minutes while things were trying to be sorted out by the coaches and referees. No qualms, though, the better team won.

4A
What a doozy! Being in Columbia the past 25 years I have had the privilege of watching Irmo a great deal. As much as you have to respect that program there is something about that squad that makes you pull against them. After becoming familiar the past 4-5 years with Northwestern they have become somewhat my second favorite team (well, behind Dreher of course). Their style is brash, but it's more of a confidence and a delivery of the game itself instead of cockiness or a boorish attitude. All things being equal, I just cannot root for a team that bleaches their hair every spring for the playoffs. Some say tradition, I say yuck! The first 40 minutes I felt Irmo had the play and momentum but though there were a lot of shots, none really possessed the punch necessary to get past the NHS backs. This isn't the best Northwestern team I've seen, but it might be just as explosive as #7, #9, #10, #14 are all capable of taking a game over. In fact, #10 seemed to be in the middle of everything the entire time. Throw in the hard work of #4, #12, and #19 and there aren't a lot of spots left. I thought little #22 was good outside with some tough assignments and the goalkeeper held Irmo at bay for almost 70 minutes. Irmo's #4 might have been the best player on the field. #8 in the back is a beast but the gloves seemed to effect his long throw-ins. I expected a lot more from #7 and #10 but they were inept in the final third. One question I do have is who was the Irmo goalkeeper or did they platoon? Whatever, the second half was a nightmare for the Irmo defense as the few opportunities that Northwestern had they cashed in and did so in style! Those four goals the Trojans scored were sensational and the last one was icing on the cake for a superb game plan by NHS. For all the Irmo offensive prowess they have IHS really only mustered a floating ball from 40 yards out and an own goal late (I think everyone familiar with these teams knew it would take more than that to defeat Northwestern).

Again, it was a super Saturday and the weather cooperated. Does anyone know the attendance figures? All of the games were well attended but I don't think I ever heard a figure announced. I'll be sure to check the Time Warner On Demand schedule to see when I can DVR the second half of that 4A game because those goals were incredible. Thanks for a fun day and congratulations to the winners - there are no losers when you make it this far!