Red Raiders win physical battle for Cup title

LOWELL — South Point’s 12 seniors were JV freshmen the last time the Red Raiders won the Gazette Cup. They’ve wanted their own taste of the championship ever since.

The Red Raiders granted their own wish Saturday, defeating Ashbrook 3-2 in an intense Cup title game at Poston Park.

“We came out here with a lot of emotion,” South Point senior Stuart Turner said. “We wanted to win this game. We knew we could beat them.”

South Point, which won the first six Gazette Cup titles, secured its eighth championship overall, tying Forestview for most in the tournament’s 18-year history.

“This was the most I’ve ever seen them want a game,” South Point coach Gil Aguirre said.

The desire was obvious from the beginning. Rarely is a meeting between these bitter rivals not physical, but Saturday’s match could be considered rough even by their standards.

Officials handed out three red cards and five yellow cards. Ashbrook came out on the wrong end on both varieties, drawing two reds and three yellow. A double-red five minutes into the second half made it a 10-on-10 game.

In the final six minutes alone, officials dealt out two yellow cards (one on each team) and one red (on Ashbrook) as the Green Wave tried to mount a furious rally.

Juan Villa had given Ashbrook new life in the 70th minute, finding the right corner on a penalty kick to close the gap to 3-2. In a desperation move with time running out, Ashbrook brought everybody up and threatened several times. During one two-minute span, the Green Wave had three near-misses.

“Let’s just say I turned pale a second or two,” South Point senior Ben Propst said. “I was just hoping they didn’t bend one in or something.”

But goalkeeper Drew Dove (10 saves for the game) and the South Point defense held strong, closing out a 3-0 run through the tournament.

A quick start by South Point forced Ashbrook to play catch-up most of the game. The Red Raiders struck in the eighth minute on a long free kick by Turner. The high-arcing ball dropped just below the crossbar, making it a difficult save for the goalkeeper.

In the 17th minute, South Point went ahead 2-0 on an unassisted goal by Ben Dodson. The lead held until Casey Frey converted a penalty kick five minutes later to put Ashbrook on the board.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Zack Ray reclaimed South Point’s two-goal lead, and the Red Raiders appeared well on their way — until the frantic final minutes.

The intense game could be a preview of what’s in store during the Big South 3A Conference season. These two will meet twice in league play, with the first one scheduled for Sept. 20 at Ashbrook.

Ashbrook fell to 2-13 in Gazette Cup championship games, having reached the final round more than any other team.

“I expected more from our team, really,” Frey said. “I feel like we fought hard. We had a lot of heart in it. It just came out in red cards, I guess.”

Ben Propst was named defensive MVP of the tournament. Frey received the offensive MVP award after scoring six goals and assisting three. Gaston Day’s Grant Boloyan took home the John Braxton Award.

Third place: Forestview 8, East Gaston 2 — East Gaston led 2-1 early but a red card on Forestview lit a fire under the Jaguars and sent them on their way to a lopsided victory. The red card came about 15 minutes into the game and led to a go-ahead penalty kick for East Gaston. Twenty-five minutes later, Forestview had a 6-2 halftime lead.

David Gibbons and Cody Bridges netted two goals each for Forestview, which completed an undefeated run through the tournament but was omitted from the championship game after losing the goal differential tiebreaker to Ashbrook and South Point.

Price Martin, Josh Lane, Colden Beert and Hunter Ballard also scored for Forestview. Allen Salazar tallied three assists and Justin Henry assisted one goal. Cole Poole saved three shots in goal.

For East Gaston, Josh O’Meara scored one goal and assisted another while Tanner Hawkins scored the other. Starting goalkeeper Brandon Greene saved three shots before Justin White came in relief, finishing with 10 saves.

Fifth place: Hunter Huss 4, Highland Tech 3 — Hunter Huss sprinted to a 3-0 halftime lead and survived a spirited Highland Tech rally to wrap up fifth place for the second straight year.

Cody Jones and Noah Sale each scored a goal and assisted another to lead the Huskies. Reyes Cruz and Mario Aguilar added the other goals and Tyler Mosk assisted two.

For Highland Tech, Andrew Harris scored one goal and assisted another. Logan Wyont and J.C. Escobar accounted for the Rams’ other goals, with Escobar connecting on a penalty kick. Aaron Marlowe assisted two goals for Highland Tech.

Seventh place: Gaston Day 4, North Gaston 0 — Will Oksen, Kyle Bonesteel, Alex Lim and Stewart Hansen scored the goals while Grant Boloyan logged the shutout in goal for the Spartans (3-3). Gaston Day will play Tuesday against Calvary Baptist of Winston-Salem.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.

All-tournament team

Ben Propst, South Point

Drew Dove, South Point

Zack Ray, South Point

Josh Cloyd, Ashbrook

Juan Villa, Ashbrook

Casey Frey, Ashbrook

Justin Henry, Forestview

Josh Lane, Forestview

Josh O’Meara, East Gaston

Christian Ocasio, East Gaston

Mario Aguilar, Hunter Huss

Cody Jones, hunter Huss

Matt Farmer, Highland Tech

David May, Highland Tech

Al Hall, Gaston Day

Kyle Bonesteel, Gaston Day

Jonathan Cabe, North Gaston

Leon Hurtado, North Gaston

MVP Offense — Casey Frey, Ashbrook

MVP Defense — Ben Propst, South Point

John Braxton Award — Grant Boloyan, Gaston Day

Gazette Cup championship results

1993: South Point 4, Ashbrook 2

1994: South Point 1, Ashbrook 0

1995: South Point 4, Ashbrook 3

1996: South Point 3, Ashbrook 1

1997: South Point 2, Ashbrook 1

1998: South Point 4, Forestview 1

1999: Ashbrook 4, Forestview 3 (Ashbrook 4-3 on PKs)

2000: Forestview 3, Ashbrook 0

2001: Forestview 3, Hunter Huss 1

2002: Forestview 2, Ashbrook 1

2003: Forestview 5, Ashbrook 1

2004: Forestview 2, Ashbrook 0

2005: Forestview 2, Ashbrook 0

2006: Forestview 3, Ashbrook 0

2007: South Point 1, Forestview 0

2008: Ashbrook 1, South Point 0

2009: Forestview 2, Ashbrook 0

2010: South Point 3, Ashbrook 2