Not even the frigid air could keep one oblivious of the tense atmosphere on the field tonight between the RBHS Bruins and the Jefferson City Jays when Bruins won the sectional tournament 1-0. With several fouls called on each side, it was hard to to pick which team wanted the sectionals title more. Even though the Bruins had beaten the Jays once before 1-0, Oct. 16, they weren’t going to let the past victory get to their heads and the aggressive behavior was almost equal between the two teams.
“Our thoughts were that it was a whole new game,” senior Ryan Stanowski said. “We both were missing key players when we played and previous results don’t mean anything in the post season.”
Even with both ends of the field being played almost equally throughout the game, each team still found it hard to get the ball into the net. However, after a scoreless first half, with 32 minutes left in the second half, senior Eli Sherman headed the ball into the goal from a corner kick, courtesy of his teammate, senior Tyler Bales.
Immediately after this goal, the Jays attempted their own shot on goal, but thanks to the efforts of the RBHS goalie, junior Greg Kelly, their attempt – as well as many others – was unsuccessful. Sherman attributed this victory to the Bruins displaying more effort than their opponents.
“Our strengths were just that we wanted it more tonight,” Sherman said. “We showed the most heart. There wasn’t a real weakness that we had tonight. We played well, not our best, but combined with our work ethic this game, we proved ourselves.”
By Stazi Prost
Quarterfinals is this Saturday, Nov. 10 against Kickapoo at RBHS. Game time TBA.