A crowd of eager Boyd-Buchanan supporters anxiously awaited the end of the postgame prayer for the Buccaneers and Merrol Hyde soccer teams.
At the conclusion, Boyd-Buchanan athletic director Joe Pope made a waving motion and students and fans sprinted onto the field to celebrate the Bucs' 1-0 win that gave the program its first trip to the A/AA state tournament since winning the 2010 title.
But senior forward Liam Lynskey had other ideas. As people ran onto the field, Lynskey ran to his mom, Kim, who was with other family members standing on a hill. The two embraced for a minute, then embraced again.
"She was just the first person that came to my head," Lynskey said afterward. "I've been playing soccer all my life, and she's been the one to take me to practice and pick me up. She'd wait after practice if I wanted to work longer.
"She's the most important thing in my life. I have a huge family and I love my family, and she just came to my mind first. She'd always supported me in everything. If I didn't play or if I wasn't starting, she didn't care.
"If I wanted to stop playing, she would have supported me, but she didn't let me quit or anything even in hard times. She definitely was the biggest motivator throughout my life in everything I do, especially soccer."
Boyd-Buchanan coach Dustin Walker admitted that Lynskey wasn't initially in the team's personnel plans for the 2017 season, but the senior's offseason work put him in a position where the coaching staff could not deny him a spot.
He has eight goals and 13 assists this season, including two goals when the Bucs defeated Hixson 3-1 in the Region 3-A/AA semifinals. He hopes to add to those totals when the fifth-ranked Bucs (16-5-1) take on top-ranked Christian Academy of Knoxville (15-5-2) at 5:30 p.m. EDT today in the state quarterfinals at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.
"I will tell future teams about him," Walker said of Lynskey. "Just his drive and his determination."
In Class AAA, third-ranked Cleveland (21-0-2) will face fourth-ranked Science Hill (21-1-1) at 8 this evening. In Division II-AA, second-ranked McCallie (12-1-4) will meet fourth-ranked Christian Brothers on Wednesday at 5:30.
After the meeting with his mom, Lynskey ran onto the field, where he again collapsed in a wave of emotions, the bitter disappointments of late-game losses in sectional matches throughout his career coming to mind. Fellow students and other supporters came by to congratulate him, not having had the chance to do so initially.
"This game is an incredible emotion for this team," Lynskey said. "We've been through so many times in the same situation, and it hasn't fallen our way until this year. We've got all the momentum going this year, and it would have taken a very special team to stop us today.
"To finally take that next step, it's amazing after so much work to get there. Our ultimate goal is to win it all, and I think we can get there."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.