BUNN – The number-six seeded Bunn Wildcats defeated the 27th-seeded West Bladen Knights for a 10-1 victory in the first round of the 2A NCHSAA State Playoffs last Friday evening. Bunn advances to the second round on Tuesday after the huge victory and they’ll host the eleventh-seeded Washington Pam Pack. The Knights season concludes with an overall record of 7-10-1 and Friday’s first round appearance marked the end of an eight year postseason drought.
West Bladen junior forward Jonah Bryan led the Knights with 8 goals and he finished the year with six assists as well. Sophomore winger Alejandro Lopez Sandoval was the second leading scorer for the Knights, while also finishing third in assist leaders for the Knights with four. Junior keeper Dylan Hernandez finished the year in goal with 124 saves and he was credited with three shutout victories this season.
The West Bladen attack these last few seasons has been powered by senior midfielder Kevyn De La Cruz Labra and he finished his final season with 16 points. Senior Christopher Ramirez Labra was utilized as defender for the Knights but his ability to carry the ball forward made him a unique weapon in attack. Ramirez Labra led the defense with 102 steals and he finished his senior season with six goals.
The Knights scored 42 goals and conceded 84 goals during their 2024 campaign for a slight improvement from the year prior. They started the season 6-1 before a four game hiccup disrupted their rhythm in the season. They finished fourth in the SAC 6 with a record of 1-6-1 in conference action. The Clinton Darkhorses(23-2, 8-0) earned their fourth straight conference title after clearing out their SAC 6 rivals in a dominant regular-season.
Clinton’s dominant year earned them the number-one seed in the 2A East Region and they clashed with the 22nd-seeded Princeton Bulldogs on Saturday. The Darkhorses defended their home turf with a 6-nil victory as they booked their ticket to the next round. Saturday’s victory was the Darkhorses’ 16th game they went without conceding a goal.
The 17th-seeded NCSSM Unicorns will travel to Clinton on Tuesday for the second round clash. The rest of the SAC 6 didn’t perform very well during Saturday’s postseason matchups as Clinton was the only Southeastern Conference representative to advance to the next round. Midway(15-5-1, 6-2) lost a heartbreaker at home against the 23rd-seeded North Lenoir Hawks in a 4-3 defeat. The 14th-seeded East Duplin Panthers defeated the 19th seeded St. Pauls Bulldogs for a 6-2 victory at home to keep their postseason dream alive.
Soccer Schedule:
North Brunswick 4, West Bladen 2
West Bladen 3, Heide Trask 2
West Bladen 8, Whiteville 0
West Bladen 1, North Brunswick 0
West Bladen 9, Whiteville 1
West Bladen 2, East Columbus 0
West Bladen 3, South Columbus 2
Lumberton 6, West Bladen 0
St. Pauls 8, West Bladen 1
Clinton 9, West Bladen 0
Midway 6, West Bladen 0
West Bladen 4, Red Springs 2
St. Pauls 9, West Bladen 1
Clinton 4, West Bladen 1
Midway 7, West Bladen 1
West Bladen 4, Red Springs 4
at Wallace-Rose Hill (Nov. 4th)
2024 ROSTER:
Aiden Russ(SR)
Jonah Bryan(JR)
Bryan Ortiz-Aguilar(SR)
Jonathan Ortiz-Hernandez(JR)
Kevyn De La Cruz Labra(SR)
Luis Garcia-Sanchez(SR)
Christopher Ramirez Labra(SR)
Kevin Rojas-Rojas(JR)
James Vasquez-Garcia(JR)
Irving Mentado-Ortiz(SR)
Alejandro Lopez Sandoval(SO)
Jason Martinez-Sanchez(JR)
Kevin Sebastian(JR)
Gerson Verdugo-Roblero(JR)
Enrique Rodriguez-Gonzalez(JR)
Carlos Gonzalez Flores(SR)
Shandell Gonzalez(SR)
John Randy Reyes-Garcia(SR)
Dylan Hernandez(JR)