Rebs looking to take next step

By KEVIN WEAKS
Messenger Sports
With Westview finally conquered, Obion Central can look to climb even greater heights.
Like advancing beyond the regional tournament.
The Rebels (13-1) scored three goals in the second half to break a 1-all tie and knock out the Chargers with a 4-1 verdict in the quarterfinals of the Region 7A-AA Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Troy.
The win puts OC in the semifinals while also sending the Chargers home at the earliest juncture of the postseason in nearly two decades.
Central claimed its first-ever win over Westview during the regular season with a 3-0 win.
To end Westview’s postseason run, the Rebels constantly attacked the net in the opening minutes of the second half, firing wide a couple of times and then missing a great scoring opportunity in front of the net before finally breaking the tie.
Overpowering the Chargers at the net, Central scored at 30:24 of the second when Alex Terrell pushed one across the line.
That seemed to energize the Rebels as the team stayed on the attack for most of the second half.
“We always want that,” OC head coach Daniel Johnston. “Part of the reason we have so few shots against us and our defense is better than in recent years is because our offense is so good. So, I guess you could say that our offense is our best defense. When we can turn it on a team and have them scramble to keep up with our offense, our defense can take a break.”
The Rebels added to their lead when Jose Camacho took a pass from Mario Ramirez on a well-executed break and fired a long shot past Westview goalkeeper Conner Blanchard for a 3-1 lead.
Central capped off its scoring with under two minutes to play when Ian Miller found the net on a header from a corner kick by Alejandro Ramirez.
“We got some breaks in the second half and snuck a couple of goals past them,” Johnston said. “And, that was a great corner kick goal at the end with Ian scoring.”
After being denied several times by Blanchard, OC struck first at 18:20 of the first half when Eric Torres took a pass from Alejandro Ramirez and blooped a shot over the Westview keeper for a 1-0 lead.
The Chargers came right back, though, and knotted the score when Ashton Meyer won a battle in front of the goal to score with 11:45 to play in the first half.
“Westview is not going to lay down,” Johnston said. “They never will. Sometimes, a goal against a team like that gives them the spark to fire back up. They definitely stepped it up after our first goal.”
OC nearly broke the tie about two minutes later but was denied at the goal line.
The Rebels had 13 shots on goal, including six by Torres, while Alberto Acevedo had eight keeper saves for OC.

Published in The Messenger 5.8.13