By Jim Steele steele@mckenziebanner.com

As the school year started, there was some speculation that McKenzie High School would not field a soccer team.

Last Friday, this fledgling soccer side captured a 2-1 victory at Adamsville and, in turn, won its first district soccer match in school history.

The Rebels played at University School of Jackson Monday in the second round of the tournament.

MHS head coach George Ognibene said his club has made great strides through the course of the season.

"At the start of the season, I didn't think this was possible," Ognibene. "But I knew as we got going that the potential was there; I saw how things unfolded and I saw that the kids were getting more comfortable with what we were doing."

Now the Rebels have a chance to make a run. And if it ends with USJ, they still have reached a milestone.

"I told the kids that you start from scratch," the coach said. "I think we will be challenged; everybody is 0-0 at this point."

At Adamsville, Jose Becerra and Lee Barham led the Rebels back from a deficit to defeat the host Cardinals. Barham scored on a direct kick and Becerra's shot found the back of the net on a breakaway.

"The kids battled back," said Ognibene. "We're starting to learn how not to drop our heads when we get behind. We keep fighting and when we do, good things happen."

Against Madison Magnet School, the Rebels fought back from a 2-1 deficit to tie the Mustangs. Becerra scored both goals on breakaways.

Tuesday, the Rebels lost at Lexington 3-1. Caleb Owen scored the lone MHS goal in that contest.

"The kids are playing better and we've made some adjustments and the kids have a better idea of what's going on," Ognibene said. "There's nothing else to do but kick the ball and see what happens."

MHS is 2-8-1 on the season.

Becerra on both goals, a direct free kick and a score during a breakaway.

Bethel Sports

For the first time in its history, the Bethel College baseball team will be playing in the NAIA Region XII tournament. This past week, the 'Cats took 3rd place in the KIAC Tournament held in Owensboro, Ky. to earn the berth.

The Wildcats, the No. 2 seed in the tourney, drew a very tough first round opponent, host Brescia University. Bethel hurler Josh Langley dominated the Bearcats in the opening round, allowing four hits and one run in 6.2 innings of action. Oakey Gaskill, senior from Lewisburg, was the hero from the plate, going 2-for-5 with a homerun, double, three RBIs and a run scored. Justin Stafford, Shaine Thurman, Jamie Burgess and Jared Searcy all had two hits for the Wildcats, who pounded out 12 hits total on the night.

In round two, the Wildcats advanced to play their archrival Indiana University Southeast. The 'Cats struggled defensively, committing seven costly errors in the game. IUS jumped on BC quickly, scoring 12 runs in the first three innings en route to the 20-7 win. Aaron Johnson took the loss for Bethel, pitching 1.1 innings, allowing three hits, five runs (three earned). The Wildcats managed just eight hits on the night, led by Stafford and Thurman's two hits each. Gaskill drove in three runs for 'Cats and scored two.

With the loss, Bethel fell into the loser's bracket. Their re-match with Brescia had a lot of emphasis. A win would secure Bethel at least a third place finish and a berth to the NAIA Region XII tournament. This game was full of excitement. Bethel built what seemed to be a commanding 8-1 lead heading to the 8th inning, but Brescia came fighting back. The Bearcats scored five in the eighth and three more in the ninth to take a 9-8 lead. With no outs in the bottom half of the ninth inning, the Wildcats loaded the bases. Thurman tied the game with a sacrifice fly, scoring Johnson. Brescia intentionally walked Burgess to load the bases again. Bethel Senior Jamie Cregar stepped to the plate with the opportunity to be the hero, giving BC a win and a berth to regionals. Cregar surprised most laying down a perfect bunt that plated Wade Maddox with the game-winning run.

Bethel had to turn right back around and play IUS in the finals of the loser's bracket. A physically and mentally exhausted Wildcat team, playing their fourth nine inning game in two days, just ran out of gas against IUS. Bethel didn't give up though. They scored five runs in the first inning and led 7-6 in the fourth inning, but IUS three in the fourth and three more over the next four innings to take the 13-7 win. Bethel had many opportunities, leaving 14 runners on base. Dan Hall was 2-for-4 from the plate with a double, three RBIs and a run scored. Phillip Roberts also had two hits for Bethel. Kyle Rogers took the loss pitching 2.1 innings, allowing nine hits and six runs.

Bethel pushes its record to 28-22-2 on the season and advances to NAIA Regional play for the first time. The Wildcats will play the Appalachian Athletic Conference Champion Tennessee Wesleyan College on Wednesday in Louisville, Ky. Times for the tournament have not been announced.

By Jim Steele steele@mckenziebanner.com

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