DALTON, Ga. — Jamison Griffin was worried that pregame distractions would prove costly for his Southeast Whitfield soccer team as the Raiders prepared to play Druid Hills in the second round of the Georgia Class AAA playoffs Tuesday.
The coach, it turns out, worried for nothing. The Raiders scored in the first five minutes, controlled play most of the game and moved on with a tightly played 2-1 win. It was a relieved Griffin who gathered his team afterward.
“Tonight’s victory was not only about overcoming a great soccer program in Druid Hills, it was about overcoming adversity,” Griffin said. “Before the game we didn’t have three of our players. There was some miscommunication and there was some pretty heated discussion prior to the game. For the kids to keep their heads was good to see.
“And getting first blood, that’s what we want every game.”
The quick goal came on a set play off a corner kick. Junior Mickey Guerrero came in clean, took a shot and quickly knocked in the rebound. The score seemed to settle the Raiders and at the same time frustrate the visitors.
The Raiders controlled the ball at midfield, allowing only four Druid Hills shots — just two on goal — in the opening half. That might have been a good thing since Raiders keeper Cesar Maldonado cut his head on the crossbar in pregame warmups. The cut, according to Griffin, likely will need stitches and Maldonado was so woozy during the game that he had to come out for a few minutes in the first half.
“That just shows how hard we go out there,” Maldonado said with a laugh. “I practice as hard as I play, I guess. I got a little dizzy, but you’ve just got to fight through all that. I didn’t want to let my team down.”
Southeast made it 2-0 at the 17:04 mark when Zeke Nunez shocked two defenders by going over them off a long free kick to secure the ball and score.
“The corner was just gorgeous,” Griffin said of the first goal. “Mickey was able to come off that and crush it hard, and Zeke just went up and over two 6-foot-2 guys and got it. He just creates and makes things happen. He’s a real firecracker.”
Even with a 2-0 lead heading into the second half, the Raiders were still aggressive, outshooting the Red Devils 7-4. However, the visitors got within a goal with 10:41 remaning on Horacio Huerta’s score off a loose ball. The Devils had other late opportunities, including two corner kicks and a free kick from right of the box, but Maldonado and his defenders were up to the challenge.
“It started from the beginning of the game with our intensity that we were going to shut them down,” Guerrero said. “They had some real good players, and we knew we had to stop their counterattacks.”
The Raiders (16-4) either will visit Columbus or host Westover in a quarterfinal game Friday.