Taking the field after the Lady Marshals earned the 2nd District title, the Marshals followed suit in a 2-0 shut out over Calloway County to win the program’s 21st district championship, the first for second-year Head Coach Donnie Heath and the first district title in four years.
“Happy…not just for the program, but happy for the boys”, Heath said. “I’m happy for them individually, I’m happy for them as a team, I’m happy for us as a program. In a way we needed this district championship very much…just to show them that if we do things the right way…success is going to come. When they can all buy in and they can see the fruits of their labor, it only makes them come together even more.”
Heath said the team will enjoy this win for a little bit, but they aren’t done. They will play Paducah Tilghman on Tuesday in the first round of the 1st Region Tournament to be held at Marshall County. Heath said, “If we’re fortunate enough to win that match, we could very well meet Calloway again.”
Both of the Marshals goals came in the first half with under eight minutes left, the first by Austin Stockdale and the second by Ben Samson on a long foul kick that rolled in for a 2-0 lead at halftime.
The great defensive effort by the Marshals shut down Calloway County’s Jacob Smith, one of the best strikers in the region, who had a hat trick in their 6-0 semi-final win over Graves County.
Though not done yet, the Marshals 18 wins so far is the most since the 2003 team under Coach Don Walker that finished 20-2-3 after losing in the second round of the state tournament.
All 2nd District Tournament Team: Nick Bokeno (Murray), Ricardo Morales (Graves), Jacob Smith (Calloway), Austin Rainey (Mayfield), Austin Stockdale (Marshall), Daniel Gardner (Marshall), Alex Arrellano (Graves), Ben Samson (Marshall), Ty Gamble (Calloway), Zak Mathis (Murray), Seth Janiec (Marshall), Will Benson (Calloway), Diego Juarez (Mayfield), Bryson Penn (Marshall), Lee Gamble (Calloway), John Carillo (Graves)
