The Clarke Central High School boys varsity soccer team competes against Shiloh High School on Feb. 6. The CCHS team has a 10-1 record and head varsity boys soccer coach Chris Aiken is pleased with the performance of the team during the 2019 season. “I knew we had a strong sophomore class that we were just waiting for to get a little older, and a lot of really good returning juniors,” Aiken said. “So, with all the returning pieces we had, plus the new ones who have stepped up, we’ve done exactly what I thought we’d do up to this point.” Photo by Colin Frick
On March 29, the Clarke Central High School boys varsity soccer team will face Johnson High School.
The Clarke Central High School boys varsity soccer team will play Johnson High School, the defending state champions, on March 29 at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be played at CCHS, and both teams will enter the game with a 10-1 record.
“Historically, Johnson is more of a rival than (Cedar Shoals High School) when it comes to soccer. Since they’re in our region, they usually determine how we do in the playoffs,” goalkeeper Cassius Tunis, a CCHS sophomore, said. “On paper, it looks like we have the edge against Johnson, but it comes down to how hard we work in the game and the skill difference.”
Head CCHS boys varsity soccer coach Chris Aiken believes offensive talent will lead the CCHS team to success.
“I think a big strength of this team is we are well-rounded offensively. If you go back and look at our past five games, I think in each of the past games we’ve had five or more different people score — which is really good because it’s hard for other teams to know how to defend you if there are five different people scoring each game,” Aiken said.
The winner of the Friday game will be named the region champion and proceed to the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the bracket.
“Obviously, we want to win it. But if you don’t win it, the Cedar Shoals game becomes really important,” Aiken said. “If we beat Cedar Shoals we still get a playoff game as the two seed, but if we lose to Johnson and lose to Cedar, we fall all the way to three seed and have to play an away playoff game.”
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