The brand new soccer programs at Bacon County High School are only in their second season of play. The boys won two matches in their inaugural season last year, and the girls are coming into this season looking for their first win.
“This year I would like to see our boys team have a few more wins at the end of the season,” boys coach Cliff Hutto said.
Bacon County does not have an organized recreational soccer program, so many people in the Alma area have never been exposed to the game. For many of the players, this is their first time playing together on a team.
“With that in mind, we are already starting out behind the 8-ball,” Hutto said. “This year we focused on conditioning our student-athletes so that they would be ready for the rigorous demands that the sport of soccer puts on the body.”
On the other end of the practice field is the girls team. The ladies could not break into the win column last season, so they came into the spring still seeking their elusive first win, which came March 8 against Montgomery County 5-2.
“Before the game, I showed the girls what the ‘streak’ was up to, which was 21 straight losses,” girls soccer coach Ryan Morgan said. “I challenged them to change the streak to ‘W-1.’ They responded well to that challenge.”
The Lady Raiders did not take long to jump ahead. Just 30 seconds into the match, sophomore exchange student Laetitia Schwarz scored her first goal and then went on to score three more, making her the all-time leading scorer in Bacon County girls soccer history.
“She has been an amazing surprise,” Morgan said. “She’s one of our captains and one of our play makers.”
Senior Tana Bennett added another score. The defense and midfielders played well, and the Lady Raiders were up 4-0 at the half.
“I made a lot of subs in the second half,” Morgan said. “Every girl on the team played at least 20 minutes, and I believe they will benefit greatly from that.”
Morgan knows that the first goal was to win that first game.
“My hopes for this year are that we can make some noise in region play and play into the second day of our region tournament,” he said.
Region 2-AA is made up of Vidalia and Toombs County, who are always strong along with St. Vincent’s of Savannah, Bryan County, Metter, Jeff Davis County, and Swainsboro.
On the boys side, the Raiders came together as a team and are improving every day. Hutto’s team has a few starters returning from last year, each of whom will have an impact on play.
“At offense we are returning Roberto Fernandez, Dylan Kelley, Ronaldo Juarez, Pablo Bocanegra, and Michael Rich,” Hutto said. “On defense we have Jorge Lopez, Richard Pitti, J.R. Smith, and Ron Woodall that are returning.”
Of the nine returning starters, only three are seniors.
“As a coach of a new program, this is what makes our future promising: having a young team that will continue to progress together through their high school years,” Hutto said.
One missing piece from last year was the loss of a senior goalkeeper. A freshman, Ramon Gonzalez, stepped into the position for the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders ladies team returns impact players Cheyenne Taylor, Moriah Holton, Keely Ingram, and Yaritzi Flores.
“Moriah has made the move from goalkeeper to midfielder,” Morgan said. “Taylor Tomberlin has stepped in at goalkeeper and has done a fantastic job.”
Playing in such a tough region, the Raiders scheduled difficult non-region opponents to help them prepare for Region 2-AA. Larger schools such as Coffee and Ware put Bacon County’s soccer teams to the test.
“Our hope is that we can continue to play schools with established programs in order to strengthen our program,” Hutto said. “I am very proud of the group of young men that I have.”
SE-SF-0417-Bacon
By Rob Asbell
Photography by Debra Tanner
Fledgling Soccer Programs Taking Off
