Cougars capture West Region title, play for state title this weekend

ASHEBORO — After a 3-0 win over Lincolnton Tuesday night that propelled Southwestern Randolph to a spot in the 2-A state championship game this weekend, Cougar coach Jimmy Walker was struggling for words.

A season dedicated to Pedro Ortiz, a 16-year-old Cougar player who tragically lost his life in a shooting in May, this team full of juniors had ridden that wave of emotion and determination to the pinnacle, a state title game.

“It is an emotional win,” Walker said, unable to fight back tears. “We’ve come a long way. You set goals at the beginning of the season but deep down, could you really do it? With everything that’s gone on, it’s been an emotional roller coaster. Start to finish. 

“What a great group of kids I’ve got. That wasn’t our prettiest game ever, but we did what was required. We made it count at the right time. They deserve everything for not just for the players they are but for the human beings they are. They deserve a night like tonight. Now the goal is to get one more and finish it off.”

The Cougars, No. 1 seed in the West, will play either Friday or Saturday at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, near Charlotte. The opponent will be 27-2 Clinton, the No. 1 seed in the East. The date and time will be determined on Wednesday.

The Cougars worked through a slow start, finally getting their first shot on goal at the 23:49 mark. But that first shot — from Yael Ortiz on an assist from Aaron Avila — gave SWR a 1-0 lead.

Toward the end of the half, that lead was doubled by Avila on an assist from Jonathan Lopez, a 2-0 lead the Cougars rode into halftime.

“We were dangerous on the attack and in transition,” Walker said. “They came out on a sweeper which surprised us at the beginning. So we changed it up real quick. Our special players deserve special moments and all those guys took their moment and made it count.”

Another of those special players is the team’s leading scorer Fernando Hernandez, He joined the fray with 27:53 remaining after driving through the defense solo to send a difficult-angle, left-footed grounder sizzling past the keeper.

Before and especially after, yet another of those special players, Cougar keeper Jonathan Perez, played a game to remember. He was constantly in the right place from the get-go, from in-close headers to diving to stop shots on both ends of the field. Up 3-0, he was at his best as the Wolves put the pressure on to try to get back in the game. He faced down one shooter unobstructed with hands wide and deflected the shot wide of the goal with his right hand. He poked a header that might have gone in just over the crossbar. He read crosses and snuffed out rebound shots and battled and took control of a ball pin-balling in a crowd feet away from paydirt.

It was the type of performance worthy of remembering a fallen teammate, whose grave the team had visited earlier in the day and a framed poster-size photo of whom the team held up for the crowd to see as it accepted the Regional Championship trophy.

One more game to go. Whatever happens in it, it will be a season to remember.