The bid was denied Tuesday night by Long Beach. West Jones, who reached the MHSAA Class 5A South State Championship for the second straight year in boys soccer was denied the opportunity to also appear in its second 5A title game in as many years.
Long Beach shutout West Jones 3-0 on the pitch Tuesday night in Soso.
West Jones head coach Josh Sullivan told his team to remember the seasons’ accomplishments indeed of forcing on the night’s defeat.
“We had high expectations coming into the season,” said Sullivan. “I felt like our guys played great for most of the year. It’s sad to tell them bye, but it just wasn’t our night.”
After finishing the regular season 13-7-1 and Region 5-5A champs for the first time since the 2012-2013 season, West Jones knocked off West Harrison, 2-1, in a thriller, and Forest Hill, 3-1, to appear in its second straight 5A South State Championship game.
Tuesday night’s loss was marred by missed opportunities, including an early miss on a PK attempt by senior Luis Ramirez in the first half.
Long Beach scored two goals in the second half to seal the 3-0 win over West Jones.
“You get in this kind of games where the ball takes a funny bounce, and crazy things happen,” Sullivan said. “A crazy thing happened tonight. We get a PK opportunity, and a guy that has never missed one in his life hits the crossbar. Right then you felt like things were going against you.
Having to play this game less than 24 hours after our second-round game last night wasn’t easy either. And we’re not trying to make excuses, but its just hard and you hate it for the seniors. But what they’ve left behind will set a great foundation [for the future]. These guys were not just good soccer players; they were great young men.”
High school soccer has long been dominated by the girls’ in Jones County over the past decade. Back-to-back appearances in the Class 5A South State Championship game for West Jones has raised the bar for boys soccer in Jones County.
“Our girl’s program is still strong, and they’re highly competitive,” said Sullivan. “Now we can compete with that. When I and Coach Winship decided we were going to do this together, we wanted it to be a soccer family, not just seeing it as a girls and boys team separately. When it’s not a family, you will see the girls leave after their game and not stay for the boys. When I first came that happened a few games here, but the girls started buying in [to the family mentality], and now they stay for the boys game. Our guys appreciate that. In turn that makes our guys what to play harder and gives them motivation. We have come a long way [over the years].”
West Jones ends the season 15-8-1 overall.
