Sectional

Hornets upset Mavs in semis

Brown's 3 goals lead to win; Hot Dogs lose to Jeff

By Phil Friend

LAFAYETTE - What happened to Rossville Saturday afternoon was nothing short of dramatic.

The Hornets recorded what was undoubtedly the biggest victory in the program's 5-year history, coming from behind to upset McCutcheon, 3-2, in the Lafayette Jeff Sectional semifinals.

"I've got to hand it to these guys, they didn't let up the full 80 minutes," Rossville head coach Joel Wilson said. "It was truly a team effort and that's what pulled us back."

Frankfort lost to Lafayette Jeff, 5-2 in the other semifinal.

It was how Rossville did it that was most impressive in winning its first-ever postseason match.

The Hornets (4-12) withstood a flurry of McCutcheon (4-11) shots in the final 20 minutes with the Mavericks desperate for the game-tying goal.

They nearly got it with six minutes to go. After a Rossville player was called for a penalty in the box, McCutcheon received a penalty kick. However, Cameron Childers' shot sailed too high above the crossbar.

"When it went over, it was one of my happiest moments," RHS goalkeeper Eli Wilson said. "I was a little nervous, but I was ready for (the finish) because I wanted this one real bad. I was counting on my defense to get back, knowing we'd play as a team."

The star of the game for the Hornets was senior Ian Brown, who scored all three goals for the Hornets.

To earn an upset, the underdog has to throw the first punch. And that's exactly what Rossville did in the second minute of the game when Brown scored to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.

The early goal appeared to rattle the Mavericks, but they regrouped. A tying goal in the in 34 th minute by Justin Kaminski was waived off due to an offsides. Rossville took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

But the Mavericks scored back-to-back goals to grab a 2-1 lead. In the 50 th minute, Kaminski tied things up and a minute later, Bartley Malicoat received a long pass on the right side and shot it past Eli Wilson for the 2-1 lead.

Then it was the Hornets' turn to regroup. In the 56 th minute, a free kick from Chris Yoder found its way in front of the goal. Brown battled two defenders for the ball and put in the back of the net to tie it.

"That was the most hectic goal I've ever had," Brown said. "I didn't know what was happening. I thought the keeper had it, I poked it away and as soon as I got past the keeper, I knew I could punch it in. The ball just bouncing around there, I was having a heart attack."

And seven mintues later, the Hornets scored on another set piece. On a free kick from 30 yards out, Brown rifled a shot past the wall and to the right post, getting past the goalkeeper for the 3-2 lead.

"I saw a hole and hit it in that general direction," Brown said. "It was just so exciting to get ahead."

McCutcheon is a Class 5A school in football and 4A in basketball.

"I wasn't worried, but I wondered how we'd react after falling behind," Wilson said. "When we got the lead, we just had to play through any pain and come out with the win."