Horn nets four in win

When the ball goes in the net for the Patriots, just assume Brad Horn is the one who put it there. Most of the time that is the case.

The Jay County High School senior turned in his second four-goal game of the season Saturday as he broke his own school record for goals in a season in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Anderson Highland Scots.

"He's a scoring machine," said JCHS coach Alan Bailey of Horn, whose 29 goals this season surpass the 27 he scored last year. "He plays so smart and intelligent ... if he can get an advantage, he's got it."

It took less than six minutes for Horn to begin torturing the Highland defense Saturday. Justin Blackwell was his first victim, as Horn worked around him on the left side and shot high over goal Trent Stephens for a 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later Colton Bartlett got Horn started, sending him a perfect pass from midfield past Evan Oyler and Wesley Gustin. Horn took the ball, tapped a few dribbles and shot high again for his record-tying 27th goal.

"That was a beautiful pass," said Bailey. "We knew that we could push up with these guys. Bartlett plays very intelligent ... He's been playing out of his mind. That (pass) shows that he's seeing the whole field."

Five minutes into the second half Horn took a pass from Ben Brandt and pushed the lead to 3-0 for Jay County.

His final goal was perhaps the most impressive as he worked on the right side. Horn dribbled toward the right post inside the 18-yard box before stopping, pulling back, working towards the center and slamming a shot to the left corner. Aaron Franklin, T.J. Scott and Oyler all tried to stop him on the play, and all failed.

"He just played phenomenal," said Scots' coach Chris Spolyar, adding that Horn looked like an all-state player. "Brad ... we just didn't have an answer for him. Every time he had the ball on his foot we back-pedaled. ... He just took it to us."

Horn is one of the state's leading scorers as his 25 goals heading into the game put him behind only Speedway's Kevin Eggert (27) and Morristown's Brian Jarvis (26). He has scored 66 percent of Jay County's goals this year.

In addition to his single-season goals record, which was set at 20 by Trent Bailey in 2004 before Horn broke it, the senior also owns the career goals and career points records as well as the single-season points record.

Highland got its only goal after the Patriots cleared their bench.

Starting with a boot from goalie Cyle Carlson, the Scots pushed the ball all the way to the opposite end of the field. Scott got behind the JCHS defense and as able to score to the left corner.

Alex Dunn assisted on one of the Horn goals for the Patriots along with the passes from Brandt and Bartlett. Adam Daniels tallied a pair of saves.

The victory was the second in the Olympic Athletic Conference for the Patriots, and they can lock up the conference title today when they host Muncie Southside. Highland, which is 2-8-1, defeated the Rebels 3-1.

"If the kids come out and play the way that they did today ... they're a good team," said Bailey, complimenting his group's passing and communication. "If we could play like this all the time, who knows what could happen. We played as a team."

Jay County dropped the junior varsity game 1-0. Chris Stephens finished with six saves.[[In-content Ad]]