LEAD SPORTS PHOTO: SoBoCo’s Brett Brookshire controls the ball during the Eagles win over Battle on Monday.


LEAD SPORTS STORY: Eagles get winning shot in OT

SoBoCo soccer knew it was going to be tested in St. Louis, but the outcome proved it deserved the state-ranking.

After the announcement that the Eagles were ranked No. 5 in Class 2 in the state on September 13, they traveled to a St. Louis tournament on Friday and Saturday. Head coach Chris Miller said the tournament has consistently been the point in the year where the team finds out what it is made of.

They would figure it out very quickly in their first game of the weekend against John Burroughs. Burroughs, a perennial powerhouse ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 2, scored early the way to a 4-1 win. Despite the four goals allowed, Nick Grabner made nine saves. The lone goal came from Rajesh Bennett on an assist by Tyler Delaney.

And Burroughs wasn’t the only state ranked team Southern Boone faced. In a doubleheader Friday, the Eagles took on the number one team in Class 1, Barstow, and the Class 1 No. 7 in Maplewood-Richmond Heights. Both were close games, but the Eagles scoring threats and a defense that is slowly forming into a strong force allowed them to pull away with two wins, 3-2 each.

Junior Rece Gilmore scored a hat trick against Barstow and had two assists and goal in the Maplewood game. Bennett had two assists and a goal, Ricky Weisner had one assist and a goal and Grant Hoehne had one assist.

~ There’s more Eagles Soccer news in today’s Journal ~

By Briley Eilers