Calhoun County soccer
- Updated: April 7, 2025
Jacksonville’s, Oxford’s, White Plains’ boys and girls get through to semifinals. Saks’ boys, also get through to Tuesday’s action.
Boys’ pairings
MONDAY, April 7
No. 1 Oxford 13, No. 8 Anniston 0
No. 4 Saks 6, No. 5 Weaver 4
No. 6 Jacksonville 4, No. 3 Donoho 3 (PK)
No. 2 White Plains 12, No. 7 Faith Christian 2
TUESDAY, April 8
Semifinals
Oxford vs. Saks, 6:30 p.m.
White Plains vs. Jacksonville, 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, April 10
Championship, 7 p.m.
Girls’ pairings
MONDAY, April 7
No. 4 White Plains 6, No. 5 Weaver 0
No. 6 Oxford 3, No. 3 Saks 1
No. 2 Jacksonville 10, No. 7 Faith Christian 0
TUESDAY, April 8
Semifinals
No. 1 Donoho vs. White Plains, 4:30 p.m.
Oxford vs. Jacksonville, 4:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, April 10
Championship, 5 p.m.
Girls’ matches
OXFORD 3, SAKS 1: Trailing 1-0 at half, Oxford (4-9-1) got a goal from Rachel Garcia to tie, and Sadie Robertson’s goal with 7:07 to play gave the Yellow Jackets the lead.
Tia Nichols added a goal to provide the final margin and cap off a strong second half for No. 6 seed Oxford in its upset of No. 3 Saks..
“We had to start strong, gain some momentum,” Oxford coach Haili Vinson said. “Once we did, we got the flow and started going. We took a ton of shots, but then they started going. We just took control when we needed to.”
Heidi Campos scored Saks’ goal.
WHITE PLAINS 6, WEAVER 0: Lorali McKenzie led the way for No. 4 White Plains with four goals and one assist.
Nathaly Rosas added one goal and one assist, and Selma Pascual scored a goal. Dayanny Perez had three assists, an Savannah DeLoach one. Goalkeeper Brooksly Thielker had one save.
“This is my first year coaching soccer at all, at White Plains, and it’s good to see the growth that they’ve made,” said White Plains coach Jamie Clendenin, who played soccer for Jacksonville High but has made his coaching fame in volleyball. “Obviously, moving on is a big plus, but the things that make me more proud is seeing how the girls are growing as far as making quick passes and making great decisions and not trying to take the world on by themselves and play more team ball.”
JACKSONVILLE 10, FAITH CHRISTIAN 0: Emerson Weaver and Emma Easterling scored two goals apiece, and No. 2 Jacksonville advanced to face No. 6 Oxford on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Jacksonville got a goal apiece from Kylie Terrell, Willa Kate Walker, Sarah Sloughy, Joeh Kim, Carly Hamm and Mya Swain.
Walker and Sloughy had had two assists apiece, and Claire Fuller had one.
“It’s exciting to move on,” Jacksonville coach Kim Darby said. “The county tournament is important to your team, so we worked hard and gave it our best today, and we played a team that gave it their best, too.”
Boys’ matches
JACKSONVILLE 4, DONOHO 3 (PKs): Edgar Santillan delivered the decisive penalty kick, and No. 6 Jacksonville prevailed 3-2 in the shootout to advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals against White Plians.
So ended match that saw three red-card ejections and two yellow cards. Donoho’s Bruce Downey and Jacksonville’s Elijah Stinson were ejected after their altercation with 2.4 seconds left in the second five-minute overtime period.
Jacksonville’s regulation-time coals Santillan, Judah Jennings and Miles Sawyer. Downey scored two regulation goals for Donoho, and the Falcons scored on an own goal.
“Honestly, we played one of the best games we’ve played all season,” Jacksonville coach Chris Terrell said. “We controlled the ball. We had probably 30 shots on goal there. A lot of credit to their goal keeper. He came to play, and he saved a lot in these nasty conditions. He held the ball and didn’t drop it, so we didn’t get a lot of ricochets.
“I was proud of our guys’ resolve. We got own 1-0 and came back. We got down 2-1, and we came back. We got down 3-2, and we came back, and that’s sort of been our story the whole season.”
WHITE PLAINS 12, FAITH CHRISTIAN 2: White Plains’ Anthony Orsoto scored five goals, and the Wildcats finished it off by mercy rule with 12 minutes left in regulation.
White Plains’ other goal scorers included eighth-grader Bentley Hightower, who scored his first varsity goal.
The Wildcats advanced to the semifinals to face Jacksonville, hoping to reach the county finals for the first time in program history.
“Just having another opportunity to play for a shot at being in the final, that’s something that the teams that we’ve had, that’s one thing we haven’t done yet,” White Plains coach Chase Cotton said. “All of the teams that I’ve had that have gone to the state quarterfinals in the past, all boys they idolize … going to the county finals is something they never did.
“They’re hungry to make that happen for the first time in our program history.”
Davis Morley scored both of Faith’s goals.
SAKS 6, WEAVER 4: Carlos Martinez led the way with four goals, had Saks advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals to face top seed Oxford.
Jesus Morales and Helmer Martinez added a goal apiece.
Saks got out to a quick 3-0 lead. With a goal apiece from Caleb Hotaling, Carsyn Pippin, Gianluca Torres and Uli Lazcan, Weaver rallied to within 5-4.
Saks held the Bearcats off.
“I’m super proud of them” Saks coach Malachi Beverly said. “Last year, we got beat 9-0 in the first round of the county tournament and had 11 or 12 kids. This year, I’ve got 24 in total, between two teams.
“The growth from last year to this year is unreal.”
OXFORD 13, ANNISTON 0: Top seed Oxford scored 13 first-half goals, and the match ended by mercy rule at halftime.
The Yellow Jackets got two goals apiece from Kevin Martinez, Yandel Amador, Jacoby Pope and goalie Eduardo Benitez, and one apiece from Cristian Lopez, Russell Sanchez, Isaac Hernandez, Joseph Bartolon and Yair Gutierrrez.
“We still have some things we need to work on,” Oxford coach Haili Vinson said. “We’ve got to finish, and there were some shots we definitely shouldn’t have missed, but overall they played their game still, played with composure and did everything right.
“I’m proud of them. We just have to keep this momentum the rest of the tournament and season.”
Oxford will play Saks in Tuesday’s semifinals.
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