NEWTON GROVE – The number-two seeded Hobbton Wildcats defeated the 15th-seeded East Bladen Eagles for a 5-1 victory in the second round of the 1A NCHSAA State Playoffs last Tuesday. The Wildcats scored three unanswered in the first half and added two more goals to their tally in the final half of play on Tuesday to advance to the next round. East Bladen finished their Fall 24 campaign with an 11-7-2 overall record and they finished third in the Waccamaw 1A/2A Conference with a 8-2-2 record in conference action.
The Eagles parted ways with six seniors after Tuesday’s game–midfielder Gabril Algozy, forward Chace Butler, midfielder Lukas Johnson, defender Colin King, forward Joseph Perez, and forward Marco Ventura. East Bladen scored 64 goals and conceded only 37 goals during the season. They were led upfront by freshmen playmaker Ishaq Algozy this season with more than 12 goals to his name this season. The Eagle defense held six shutout victories during the year: the goal was shared by goalkeepers Colton Daly and Fox Sutton throughout the season.
The number-three seeded Pender Patriots were able to continue their playoff journey with a second round victory over the 14th-seeded Henderson Collegiate Pride(12-12-2, 4-7-1). They dropped four more goals over their opponents in the third round last Thursday as they marched on towards a meeting with the number-two seeded Hobbton Wildcats. The Wildcats rolled over 10th-seeded Vance Charter(15-8, 8-4) in a 10-1 victory at home to set-up a Saturday clash with the Waccamaw Conference title holders.
Pender was able to keep things tight with a 2-1 performance in the first half but they failed to slow their opponents down in front of the net as they conceded three in the second half for a 5-1 result. Pender ended their season with an overall record of 21-6-1 and they finished first in the Waccamaw Conference with a 11-0-1 record. Hobbton(22-5-1, 10-0) will play in the 1A East Regional final against the ninth-seeded Voyager Academy Vikings(18-2-2, 10-1-1) this Monday. The 1A West Regional Final will be between the 13th-seeded Mount Airy Granite Bears(22-3, 11-1) and the number-two seeded Bradford Prep Bears(20-3, 13-1).
The ninth-seeded Heide Trask Titans failed to advance past the second round after losing to the 25th-seeded Roanoke Rapids Hornets(11-11, 6-6) in a 1-nil defeat in the 2A East Region. Roanoke Rapids faced the SAC 6 title holders and number-one seeded Clinton in their third round match-up. Clinton handled business on Thursday with a 5-nil victory as they advanced to the fourth round last Saturday.
They welcomed the 13th-seeded James Kenan Tigers(17-5-1, 10-2) into their stadium over the weekend and were met with some resistance in a 2-1 victory. The Clinton Darkhorses(26-2, 8-0) advanced to the 2A East Regional Final for the second time in three seasons and they’ll take on the number-three seeded Greene Central Rams(21-5, 12-0) this Monday evening.
The 2A West Regional Final will also be contested by the number-one seeded Southwestern Randolph Cougars(24-2, 11-1) and the 14th-seeded Lincolnton Wolves(20-5-1, 12-2) on the other half of the bracket.
BOYS SOCCER:
Hoke 3, East Bladen 0
East Bladen 5, Union 2
East Duplin 3, East Bladen 1
East Bladen 3, Union 0
Clinton 8, East Bladen 0
Hobbton 5, East Bladen 4
East Bladen 1, South Columbus 0
East Bladen 3, Whiteville 2
East Bladen 3, Heide Trask 2
East Bladen 9, West Columbus 0
East Bladen 1, East Columbus 1
East Bladen 3, South Columbus 0
East Bladen 5, East Columbus 1
Pender 2, East Bladen 1
Heide Trask 2, East Bladen 1
East Bladen 10, West Columbus 0
East Bladen 10, Whiteville 0
East Bladen 1, Pender 1
#15 East Bladen 8, #18 Muttamuskeet 0
#1 Hobbton 5, #15 East Bladen
2024 Roster:
Ishaq Algozy(fr)
Andrio Garcia(Fr.)
Victor Alonzo(Fr.)
Connor Hill(Fr.)
Trey Wilson(Fr.)
Tyler Griffin(Fr.)
Kyran Mckoy(So.)
Landyn Scott(So.)
Treydon Scott(Jr.)
Geo Reyes(Jr.)
Fernando Rebollar(Sr.)
Colton Daly (Jr.)
Fox Sutton(Fr.)
Colin King(Sr)
Chace Butler (Sr.)
Marco Ventura(Sr.)
Tevin McClean (Jr.)
Tyler Eason (So.)
Easton Bostic(Jr.)
Davion Lewis(Jr.)
Gabril Algozy(Sr.)
Damian Alonzo-Sanchez(So)
Ethan Metz(So)
Jayce Hatcher(So)
JD McArthur(So)
Joesph Perez(Sr.)