Calhoun County soccer
- Updated: April 8, 2025
Oxford boys reach 24 goals in two mercy-rule victories, and White Plains’ boys make history. Donoho, Jacksonville girls punch tickets for rematch of 2024 classic final.
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 11, Saks 1
White Plains 4, Jacksonville 3
THURSDAY, April 10
Championship
Oxford vs. White Plains, 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 9, White Plains 0
Jacksonville 3, Oxford 1
THURSDAY, April 10
Championship
Donoho vs. Jacksonville, 5 p.m.
Girls’ matches
DONOHO 9, WHITE PLAINS 0: White Plains dedicated personnel to the defensive side of the field, but Anna Kate Wallace put in four goals and two assists, and Samantha Wakefield had three goals and two assists to propel Donoho into Thursday’s final against Jacksonville.
The Falcons also got a goal apiece from Brooke Vandiber and Katelyn McMorris. Chloe Melton and Morgan Perry added an assist apiece.
Donoho (15-0) increased its season goals differential to 127-6.
White Plains’ strategy succeeded in slowing Donoho for a half. The Falcons led 3-0 at the break.
“We call it parking the bus,” Donoho coach Tim Melton said. “They put everybody inside, so we have to change our strategy dramatically. We have to shoot from deep and do a lot of switching the ball back and forth, kind of like basketball around the 3-point line until you get an open shot and take it.”
Wallace called the match “really intense.”
“White Plains has gotten better on their defense, for sure,” she said. “I feel like we really brought it because we really want to do this again.”
— Joe Medley
JACKSONVILLE 3, OXFORD 1: Jacksonville broke through after a scoreless first half, getting two goals from Emmerson Weaver and one penalty-kick goal from Sarah Sloughy.
Sloughy and Sophia Snyder each had an assist.
The Golden Eagles advanced to Thursday’s championship match against Donoho in a rematch of last year’s classic, which Donoho won after a penalty-kick shootout.
Getting back to the final “is a great honor. We’ve worked really hard,” Jacksonville coach Kim Darby said. “The team has been working hard on moving and communicating, so it’s a great honor.
“The Calhoun County Tournament is something special because it brings together the county teams. We don’t get to play a lot of teams during the season because of the way the areas fall out, so the Calhoun County Tournament is a special kind of bringing of all of the teams together.”
Skylar Brooks got Oxford’s goal, with 3:49 to play.
— Joe Medley
Boys’ matches
OXFORD 11, SAKS 1: Top seed Oxford is two mercy-rule matches and 24 goals into the Calhoun County Tournament.
Yandel Amador led the way with five goals, and Oxford finished off Saks at the 36:05 mark of the second half. The Yellow Jackets finished off Anniston 13-0 in a half in Monday’s first round.
Oxford has played two halves of soccer plus another 3:55 in this tournament and has outscored its opponents 24-1.
“I still think we started kind of slow. We started kind of sluggish,” Oxford coach Haili Vinson said. “We’ve got to figure out how to start Oxford to minute one to minute however many we play.
“But I’m very proud of them. That’s awesome … 24-1 in two halves.”
Oxford’s Alan Merlo added three goals, Kevin Martinez two and Isaac Hernandez one.
“I think we’re doing great,” said midfielder Aldo Gutierrez, MVP of the 2024 county tournament. “We’re working as team.”
Saks got its goal from Manny Martinez.
“Oxford has a very good team,” Saks coach Malachi Beverly said. “We knew that going into it. They’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of experience and a lot of discipline, and it shows.”
— Joe Medley
WHITE PLAINS 4, JACKSONVILLE 3: White Plains got two goals apiece from Jose Ramirez and Anthony Orsoto and built a 3-0 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats led 4-1 when Jacksonville mounted a rally in the final eight minutes. The Golden Eagles got goals from Judah Jennings, Dion Harris and Elijah Stinson.
The Wildcats held on and achieved history. A program that started in 2019 will make its first appearance in the county finals after close calls in previous years. They lost to Weaver on penalty kicks in the 2021 semifinals.
“We’ve had a goal for a long time, coming into the county tournament and not being able to get it done in the past,” said Chase Cotton, White Plains’ coach since the school’s soccer program started. “We’ve gotten close several times, lost in a few semifinals.
“I’m just so proud of these guys. I’m not sure that they had high expectations of themselves after the group that we lost last year, and they have been such a fun group to coach. They do the things that we ask, and it’s showing up.”
Jacksonville suffered a heartbreaking loss after beating Donoho on penalty kicks in the first round. Struggling through the team’s first season in Class 5A, the Golden Eagles rallied from behind in both county matches.
“That’s been the story of our life, every game,” Jacksonville coach Chris Terrell said. “We get behind behind, give up goals we shouldn’t have. We take a few minutes where we just aren’t focused, and then we dig ourselves out of a hole and we fight until the last second every single game.
“We just can’t get over the hump. It’s been an unfortunate season for us.”
— Joe Medley
You must be logged in to post a comment Login