Season ends for JCHS

HARTFORD CITY — Lightning delayed the start of Wednesday’s soccer action.
And then overtime and a penalty-kick shootout made the Patriots wait even longer.
But the Jay County High School boys soccer team was unable to extend its season any longer, falling 2-0 to the Pendleton Heights Arabians in the regional semifinal round of the tournament at Blackford.
The Patriots, who finish at 7-11, took just two shots on goal in the game and were shut out for the sixth time this season.
“The kids left it on the field. I’m proud of them,” said JCHS coach Alan Bailey, whose team lost its first six games and finished 4-11 in the regular season before rallying to win its third straight sectional championship. “They all, front to back, all of them played their hearts out. Ten games ago we would have gotten beaten 10-0 by this team.”
Pendleton Heights (8-11) got the only goal it would need 25 minutes into the opening half when the Patriots failed to step in front of Aaron McCrocklin. The senior launched a high shot from about 25 yards out on the left side, and the ball just got over goalie Dillon Ainsworth’s hands, skipped off the cross and went into the net.
Pendleton Heights coach Robert Holden said the long shot was part of the Arabians’ strategy.
“We got told a little bit that they play high and they play back,” he said of what he learned in scouting the Patriots this week. “And they played way back. … And we just said, ‘The midfield is open.’ It’s open the whole time. They’re up and they’re back. There’s no midfield for them. And we took advantage of it.”
The Arabians bombarded Ainsworth, who finished with 10 saves, with long shots in the first 30 minutes, but McCrocklin’s was the only one to sneak through.
The score remained 1-0 until the 32:50 mark of the second half when Nathan Petry got free on a breakaway toward the right post. He got past Patriot defenders Trey Teagle and Garrett Krieg and hit a perfect grounder shot just inside the left post.
“It was just a great shot,” said Holden. “He put it low like we asked him to … and made the keeper get dirty. And he put it in the corner. There was nothing else that keeper could have done to save it.”
It was just the fourth goal of the season for Petry, and McCrocklin’s score was only his third of the year.
Pendleton Heights advances to play Yorktown in Saturday’s regional championship game at Blackford. Yorktown won a penalty-kick shoot in Wednesday’s first regional semifinal game to defeat Norwell 3-2.
Jay County’s best chance at finding the net came 16 minutes into the game when Alex Dunn fired a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box. Goalie Tyler Eby knocked the shot away but could not corral the ball and Colton McCombs had an opportunity to put the ball away. But he was unable to get a shot off before Eby fell on the ball to end the threat.
“There at the beginning of the game, we had a chance to score and didn’t get a good touch on that one,” said Bailey. “We could have been up 1-0, and who knows what could have happened from there.
“Those opportunities don’t come very much at this level. … When you get those chances you’ve got to finish it.”
Jay County played the final 22 minutes of the game a man short after sophomore Adam Abbott was given a red card.
A Pendleton Heights player and Abbott got tangled up chasing the ball and both went to the ground. As they got up, Abbott shoved one of the Arabians and several players from both teams rushed over to get involved.
Abbott was given the red card, which meant ejection from the game with the Patriots not allowed to replace him. The play came less than 30 seconds after teammate Brandon Poore received a yellow card.
Jay County’s shots on goal in the defeat came from Dunn and McCombs.
Bailey said he was proud of the way his team improved throughout the season.
“It’s just amazing the level that we’ve reached, winning our third sectional in a row,” he said. “Everybody’s level (of play) picked up 100 percent. They wanted it.
“My seniors, I can’t say enough. They just left it on the field. I’m just proud of the boys.”[[In-content Ad]]