Borders sparks Bucs past Hixson, 3-1

Boyd Buchanan's Hayes Wood (2) advances upfield while Hixson's Spencer Graves (1) defends. The Hixson Wildcats visited the Boyd-Buchanan Buccaneers in the championship match of Region 3-A/AA soccer Thursday, May 14, 2015.
Boyd Buchanan's Hayes Wood (2) advances upfield while Hixson's Spencer Graves (1) defends. The Hixson Wildcats visited the Boyd-Buchanan Buccaneers in the championship match of Region 3-A/AA soccer Thursday, May 14, 2015.

Jeremy Borders has done a great job creating for the Boyd-Buchanan soccer team throughout the 2015 season despite not always being able to finish his opportunities.

Thursday in the Region 3-A/AA championship match, he took advantage when he had the chances.

Borders scored two goals and the Buccaneers earned their second consecutive region title with a 3-1 win over Hixson.

The Bucs (13-3-1) will host Central Magnet, which lost 1-0 to Chattanooga Christian in the 4-A/AA final, Saturday in a sectional match for a spot in the state tournament. The Chargers (13-4-1) will host Hixson.

Central Magnet defeated the Bucs 3-1 in overtime in a 2014 Class A/AA sectional.

Borders put Boyd-Buchanan on the board in the 10th minute with a goal and provided a two-goal margin on a breakaway in the final 10 minutes of the match.

"It's just great to get out there with my brothers. I couldn't have done it without them," Borders said later. "I just play for them."

His goal was all the scoring in the first half, but the Wildcats (17-4) drew even when Spencer Groves netted a penalty kick after a foul in the box in the 63rd minute.

The match took a turn in the 70th minute when Hixson goalkeeper Jake Powell was issued a red card for striking Will Boynton in the back of the head on a cross into the box.

"The match was chippy at times, but we remained calm and played our game," Boyd-Buchanan co-head coach Jason Owens said.

The Bucs were awarded a penalty kick on the play, which Hunter Bradford netted for a 2-1 advantage. Borders' breakaway sealed the win.

"Earlier in the season, we would have freaked out by the physical nature of the match," said Dustin Walker, the other co-head coach. "But as the season went on, the guys have grown up, and they showed that by staying composed."

Hixson coach Jeff Dean's message to his team? The season isn't over.

"We still have Saturday. We can't keep this in the back of our mind," he said. "We lost, it's over and done, so we move on."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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