Congratulations to Dreher on their Class 3A Lower State Championship!

Dreher has a great team and one that could finally deliver a state title to the Lower State. I wish the Blue Devils the best of luck, not only as region members, local kids, and rivals, but because their kids displayed great sportsmanship (as did our boys) in a high-spirited and hotly-contested match.

Even as a group of Dreher students ran onto the field after the match to taunt the Brookland-Cayce team, supporters, etc. several Dreher players (they know who they are) exhibited top class in telling their classmates to turn around and that there would be "none of that".

The B-C/Dreher games have been 'wars' the last four years with Dreher certainly holding the upper hand, but kudos to Coach Richard Rowell and his staff as well his players for showing good sportsmanship and discipline!

As for my boys, I could not be more proud of a group of guys that came in after our 2001 and 2002 Lower State Championship seasons only to have the "supposed upperclassmen" dismissed for not following team/program rules heading into their freshman season of 2003. These kids (10 of them) were then thrown to the fire as 14-year olds and eight of them had to start and live up to a decade-long reputation of top soccer at BCHS.

Quite simply as freshmen and sophomores, our kids battled but weren't ready to take on the type of schedule and expectations that were thrust upon them. However, the last two years, these guys have battled the best teams that we could possibly schedule and have ALWAYS left their best effort on the pitch. That was never more true than tonight before a great high school soccer crowd at Memorial Stadium! Our young men played with their hearts on their sleeves and left it on the field. The hurt that these young men feel tonight should subside in time and allow them to look back on their prep careers with pride and knowing that they gave everything that they had.

My kudos to Dreher! My players at B-C (especially my seniors that have brought the program back to where WE want it to be), and our tremendous Bearcat Soccer Family that showed up in great force tonight in Columbia! Let's get out and bring that same great energy and effort to our girls team at Stone Stadium on Friday at 5:00 p.m. as our B-C girls quest for the back-to-back state championships begins!

Senior Boys -- I could not be more proud of you for your effort, commitment, and passion for our program than what you left on the field tonight! Be proud of your senior season and the great run that you've made and the fact that you've put B-C Bearcat Soccer back where we want it -- playing the last week! [Smile]