MORGAN COUNTY
Last week, the Morgan County girls soccer team did something in its lopsided Region 4-AAA win over Cross Creek that longtime head coach Anne Stamps had “never seen before.”
The Lady ‘Dogs won 14-0 over the Lady Razorbacks, with 13 different players scoring a goal.
“I was like ‘wow.’ I had never seen that before,” Stamps said. “I’d be surprised if I ever saw it again.”
Morgan County was clearly the superior squad and it showed as the match only lasted 20 minutes. The Lady Dogs scored early and often en route to their eleventh win of the year.
“That Monday at practice, we talked about playing ‘your game.’ That’s kind of a cliche thing coaches say,” Stamps added. “What we mean by that is, we may play opponents that aren’t as good as us, and we’re going to play some opponents that may be better than us. Right? And we said from here forward, we aren’t going to make it about the other team, good or bad. We’re going to make it about what we do, and do it to the best our ability.”
It’s evident the message from Stamps and the rest of the Morgan County coaching staff was well received by their players.
They netted a season-high in goals against Cross Creek.
“It turned out to what could have been a boring game into the most fun game we’ve played all year,” Stamps said. “It’s because our girls did exactly what we talked about the day before.”
The Lady Dogs then banked off that momentum with a win over non-region opponent Apalachee on Thursday. They defeated the Class AAAAAA Lady Wildcats 3-0 on the road.
“On Thursday, we played Apalachee. Apalachee is a much better opponent that Cross Creek,” Stamps said. “We went out and did the same thing, but didn’t score as many points.”
Morgan County controlled the time of possession and took quality shots on goal against Apalachee. The Lady Dogs also played stingy defense, spearheaded by senior Stephanie Lopez. Junior goalkeeper McKinsey Williams also pitched her ninth shutout of the season.
“When we had the opportunities, we took good shots,” Stamps said. “So, if you look at the score, could we have ripped and ran, and boomed-balled and scored more goals? Yes, possibly, but that’s not our game. It’s not what we wanted to look like. We want to pass the ball, move it, possess it more and take quality shots. I was very pleased with both games last week.”
Morgan County heads into the week with a 12-0 overall record and a 9-0 mark in Region 4-AAA play. The Lady Dogs have already secured the top spot in the region standings going into the state playoffs. They only have one league match left against Harlem on Thursday.
Regardless of the result against Harlem, Morgan County has won its third straight Region 4-AAA title. The Lady Dogs faced non-region opponent Eastside on Tuesday for Senior Night. They also have two more non-league games against Clarke Central and Ola next week at home.
“We’ve never been beaten in this region. It’s fantastic,” Stamps said of her team’s achievement. “When your region isn’t super tough, sometimes you take wins and even a region championship for granted. But you look back on these, and region championships for most teams, are few and far between. So, I hope we’re very thankful and can look back and say not many people have won a region championship. Let alone two years or even three years in a row. Not many people can say that. So, it’s humbling, exciting and encouraging.”