OAKWOOD, Ga. — All East Hall boys soccer coach Chris Henry could muster was a smile and shrug his shoulders after witnessing his Class 4A fourth-ranked Vikings get dismantled 4-0 by No. 1 Johnson on Friday night in a Region 8-4A title showdown at The Dungeon.
“They’re ranked where they are for a reason and their success speaks for itself,” the former Johnson assistant said. “We’re just another one of however many teams in a row that have fallen to them. They played very, very well.”
It was the 22nd consecutive victory for the Knights (16-0, 10-0 Region 8-4A) and ninth straight region title. For East Hall (12-3, 8-2 Region 8-4A) the loss snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Both teams will play host to first round games when the Class 4A playoffs begin on April 14. Johnson will take on Central-Carroll while East Hall will get Cedartown.
Johnson coach Frank Zamora said Friday’s win may have been their most complete of the season.
“That’s definitely one of the most complete games we’ve played from minute 1 to minute 80. We were patient, we just did our thing. Very. very pleased with how our guys played,” he said.
While Johnson over the years has been known for its offensive firepower, the 2023 squad is showing they know how to play defense. It was their 12th shutout win and they have allowed just four total goals on the season, no more than one in any match so far.
However, there was more than enough offense Friday night, though most of the action ran through Edgar Vazquez, who was picking up the slack with the injured Ramon Aguilar unavailable, instead of senior Jorge Sandoval. The junior had a goal and two assists and bullied his way around the East Hall defense most of the night.
“Edgar has been solid for us and has really stepped up since Ramon went down,” Zamora said. “He gives us another option on offense, which should make us even more lethal once Ramon gets back.”
Vazquez said he’s just trying to do what he can to help the Knights repeat as state champions.
“I feel like my game has gotten better this year. I lost some weight and that has helped,” Vazquez said. “I feel like we’re playing well and can make it all the way again.”
Despite the lopsided score, it was tight in the early going. The first 10 minutes was a back-and-forth battle as both teams looked to counter off turnovers in the midfield. It wasn’t until the 8th minute that either team managed a shot when Johnson’s Juliann Pimentel had a 15-yard blast that East Hall keeper Kenny Barrera was able to gather.
But three minutes later the Knights got the first break when Vazquez was taken down in the box after a solid run. He converted to give Johnson a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.
The Vikings nearly tied the game two minutes later when Yerli Mejia gathered in a loose ball after an East Hall counter inside 15 yards. But Johnson’s Kristian Hernandez was able to get a piece of his blast and keep it a one goal lead.
After a series of counters, Johnson struck again when Vazquez found Pimentel down the left side, who blasted a low left-footed shot past a diving Barerra for a 2-0 lead with 16:02 left in the half.
It stayed that way as both teams had one more scoring chance each before the half but could not convert.
In the second half, Johnson continued to put pressure on the Vikings defense. Sandoval made it 3-0 in the 47th minute blasting a shot past the East Hall keeper off a pass from Vazquez.
Sophomore Daniel Trujillo finished the scoring with the Knights’ second PK goal in the 60th minute.
Johnson outshot East Hall 10-4 for the game and had four corners to the Vikings’ one.
