The Black Knights keep marching on as Chuckey-Doak defeated Eagleton Academy 5-1 on Tuesday night to earn a spot in the Region 1-1A Championship game and extended their season into Saturday.
“It’s a beautiful result. Everybody contributed and we got some freshmen playing in it too, so it was an awesome experience for them. Overall, it was a very good result,” Chuckey-Doak Head Coach Steven Neesen explained.
Tuesday’s contest seemed like a breeze for the Black Knights. They never trailed and led wire-to-wire in the Region 1-1A semifinals. A quick goal in the second minute and relentless offensive pressure made the night an easy one. Not to mention another rock-solid performance from the defensive line that was nearly impenetrable.
The win earns Chuckey-Doak at least two more games and extends the season. The Knights will play in Thursday’s Region 1-1A Championship in a rematch with Gatlinburg-Pittman from last Thursday’s District 1-1A Championship. The Black Knights are 0-2 vs. GP this season so far.
It also sends Chuckey-Doak back to the sectional round with a chance to play for a spot in the Class 1A State Tournament on Saturday.
“I told them when they hired me on, I said this is my goal and I’d like to get there and last year we had some opportunities, but unfortunately that wasn’t there. We’d like to be there this year, so it’s what we’d like to do,” Neesen explained.
Ayen Hollifield was Chuckey-Doak’s lead goal scorer with two goals and got the game started quickly in the second minute. The Knights held an early 1-0 lead and continued to build on it in the first half.
Jesus Rojas was next to strike and pinned a ball to the back of the net and lifted the score to 2-0 in the 17th minute.
“That’s just very important. It gives you all the momentum and gives you a little more confidence in all of these plays and you know that you can do it,” Coach Neesen stated.
The scoring didn’t stop there. Another ball was sent past the defense and Ryland Grindstaff dribbled past the keeper and gently rolled the ball across the goal line for the third goal of the half at the 22-minute mark.
Chuckey-Doak led 3-0 going into the halftime break.
If you thought they started fast in the first half, the second half started even faster. Hollifield scored his second goal of the contest in the 42nd minute and Miquel Benitez followed right behind him with a strike in the 43rd minute. The Knights held a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Royals avoided a shutout with a goal in the 53rd minute to make it 5-1.
Chuckey-Doak never let up on the offensive attack, but couldn’t find the back of the net again for the remainder of the game. The Black Knights were more than happy to settle with a 5-1 victory once the whistle blew the game final in the 80th minute.
The Black Knights will meet with Gatlinburg-Pittman again on Thursday night for the Region 1-1A Championship.
“We haven’t been this far in a while so we’d like to keep going with that. We know we have a game on Thursday and we’ll play on Saturday. We’ll just keep on plugging along,” Coach Neesen stated.
