OAKWOOD, Ga. — No. 1-ranked Johnson jumped on Central-Carroll quickly and never looked back in taking a 9-0 rout in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at The Dungeon on Friday.
The Knights (18-0) scored in the opening two minutes on a beautiful cross from Ramon Aguilar to Jalil Chavez. That opened the floodgates as Johnson would run out to a 5-0 lead at halftime.
The defense and the keeper combo of Michael Perez and Gabriel Olguín did the rest, completing their 13th shutout of the season. The Knights have allowed just four goals all season and just one over their past 14 matches.
Johnson coach Frank Zamora was more than pleased with the opening-round win.
"We came out quick, motivated, and ready to play," Zamora said. "We scored early, and it gave us momentum. We had multiple guys on the score sheet and another clean sheet. I'm very proud of the whole team."
Chavez and Juliann Pimentel both netted a pair of goals to lead the Knights' attack. Aguilar, Daniel Trujillo, Jordy Acosta, Junior Castillo, and Edgar Vazquez all had one goal each for Johnson.
Aguilar dished out two assists, while Vazquez, Christian Robles, David Arteaga, and Andres Galicia all had one assist.
Johnson will play host to Holy Innocents' in the second round next week.
EAST HALL 2,
CEDARTOWN 1 (9-8 PKs)
The Vikings won an epic battle in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at East Hall Stadium Friday night.
It looked like the Vikings (13-3) would make quick work of the Bulldogs (7-8-1) when Jonathan Torres scored 30 seconds into the game for a fast 1-0 lead. But East Hall would hit the post three times with chances to add to its lead.
And it would be another 75 minutes before either team would find the net. Cedartown tied it up in the 76th minute by punching a loose ball in the box.
From there, both teams would go the final 14 minutes without scoring to send it to penalty kicks.
In the PK phase, both teams converted their first eight kicks. East Hall keeper Kenny Barrera-Paz made a stop on the Bulldogs' 9th attempt. Torres then stepped up to seal the win, converting the Vikings' 9th kick.
Amado Valladarez, Yerli Mejia, Ainor Romero-Turcios, Oscar Barcenas, Kenny Barrera-Paz, Eden Castrejon, Jairo Aldaco, Aeron Camacho, and Torres all converted in the PK phase for East Hall.
The Vikings next play host to Clarkston on Thursday in the Sweet 16.
SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 3,
CHESTATEE 2
The Class 4A eighth-ranked War Eagles took the two-time defending Class 4A state champions down to the wire. But it was a pair of late second-half goals by the Raiders that were the difference.
The game was tied 1-1 when Southeast scored twice, including a penalty kick, to grab a 3-1 lead. Chestatee battled back to within a goal when Iori Vasquez converted a free kick.
Chestatee had a golden opportunity to perhaps sent it to overtime but missed an open-net shot.
Despite the three goals, David Diaz had a stellar game in goal with nine saves.
Javi Rebollar scored Chestatee's goal in the first half.
