Morgan County is rolling its way into the Elite Eight after defeating both Crisp County and Stephens County in the first two rounds of the Class 3A state playoffs.
The No. 1-seed Lady Dogs bested the No. 4-seed Lady Cougars 2-0 last Wednesday in the first round.
It was tight first half as both teams were feeling each other out.
The game broke open in the 32nd minute when Sidda Outlaw sunk a shot into the back of the net. Her effort gave Morgan County a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Lady Dogs were able to control possession for most of the second period as Crisp County wasn’t able to get many shots on goal.
Rylee Bernad then added a goal in the 63rd minute to give the Lady Dogs a 2-0 lead. Her goal was the nail in the coffin as the Lady Cougars could never recover.
“The Crisp (County) win was exciting,” MCHS head coach Anne Stamps said. “We did a great job of possessing the ball throughout the game but struggled with finishing our shots. We had the opportunity to work in a couple of different formations that we knew we would need in later rounds of the playoffs.”
That momentum carried the Lady Dogs into Monday’s contest against Stephens County. Despite their uneven record, the No. 3-seed Lady Indians upset No. 2-seed Ringgold last week 5-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
It was another low-scoring affair as neither team scored in the opening period.
In the 45th minute, Morgan County took a 1-0 lead as Outlaw scored on a header off a corner kick from Lofton Cathey.
The Lady Dogs held that lead until under 10 minutes left when a Stephens County player scored to tie it up.
The match ended up going to penalty kicks after two scoreless overtime periods.
Morgan County keeper McKinsey Williams performed well under a lot of pressure.
She stopped three of four shots as Bernard, Jaden Young and Camp Stamps all scored.
Finally, a Lady Indians’ miss off the top of the crossbar secured the victory for the Lady Dogs.
“Last season we were put out of the playoffs when we lost to Pike County in PKs,” Stamps said. “We knew we never wanted that to happen again, so we have practiced PKs all season long. We were ready. The girls were confident & they did it.”
Morgan County moves on to the Elite Eight and will face Cherokee Bluff next week (April 25).