Kelton Keene’s header inside the box and under the two-minute mark of the first half was just the building block. The positive momentum created by the senior paved the way for two second-half goals as West Jones took a clean sweep of South Jones Friday night in Ellisville with a 3-0 win the boys soccer match.
Earlier in the night, the Lady Mustangs shut out their Region 5-5A and county rivals, 2-0.
“Any time you get a goal right before the end of the half, it gives you momentum [for the second-half], said West Jones boys head coach Josh Sullivan. “Those two [Keene and Luis Ramirez] have been doing it together now since they were both in the eight-grade. They work great together.
“You could feel the energy pick up a bit. It had fallen some in the game previously.”
Ramirez set up Keene's goal on a well-struck corner kick from the left side. The senior midfielder/striker added to West Jones' 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute on a kick from atop the box.
"I told our guys coming into the game that we're 0-0," said Sullivan. "What we did prior does not mean a thing. If you go 0-1 tonight, then you're in last place in the district, fighting from the ground up.
"I feel like our guys are hungry. We've been there. We've been close. And we want to finish what we started years ago. Tonight was a great start. Our guys played their hearts out."
West Jones closed the night out with a goal from freshman Jasiel Bernal on an assist from sophomore forward Isaac Munoz. Like their first goal, which came under the two-minute mark of the first half, the last materialized in under the two-minute mark of the final half.
"One of our strongest emphasizes on this team is defense," said Sullivan. "If you can keep a clean sheet and limit the number of shots by the opposing team, then you'll probably come out on top victorious, or at least you won't lose a game because they didn't score. That's what we preach all the time in practice. Our defense works their tail off, and offensively we have some strong players, which helps our defense out and makes them that much better."
West Jones improves to 7-3-2 overall, and 1-0 in Region 5-5A. South Jones falls to 4-6-1 and 0-1 in the region.
The two meet again on January 17th in Soso.
