FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Cherokee Bluff ended Morgan County’s season on Monday in the quarterfinal round of the GHSA Class AAA state playoffs.
The Lady Bears defeated the Lady Dogs in a lopsided 7-1 victory.
Per MaxPreps.com, Cherokee Bluff is the No. 3-ranked team in Class AAA and it showed against Morgan County.
The Lady Bears got on the board twice in the opening 15 minutes of regulation, showcasing a fierce display of speed and physicality in the process.
The first score came on an accidental selfgoal from a Lady Dogs’ defender past keeper McKinsey Williams in the second minute. However, Cherokee Bluff’s potent offensive attack took no time off as they kept trying after going up 1-0.
A few minutes later, Lady Bears’ senior Paige West sent a missile from outside the box into the back of the net past Williams. That gave Cherokee Bluff a quick 2-0 lead.
After giving up two early goals, the Lady Dogs’ keeper held her own for the rest of the half. Williams made several saves on goal as the Lady Bears never let up.
“That first goal was unfortunate,” Morgan County head coach Anne Stamps said. “It was an own-goal. That was tough, but if you’re a defender and have played soccer for a long time, then that’s probably happened before. It was just bad timing. The second goal was legitimate. Their player took a fantastic shot and breached the keeper. That scored proved to be costly for us.”
The Lady Bears’ relentless offensive effort carried over into the second period. They added two more goals in the first 1:21 of play to take a 4-0 advantage.
However, Cherokee Bluff’s second-half scoring frenzy wasn’t over just quite yet. The Lady Bears would tack on three more goals before the Lady Dogs even got on the board.
Trailing 7-0 with three minutes remaining, striker Sidda Outlaw knocked one into the back of the net for Morgan County’s only goal of the entire match.
“She deserved the goal,” Stamps said. “She forced that girl to get the corner kick. I was very excited for her to get that goal. It ended the season on a positive note.”
Despite the result, Morgan County reached new heights in 2022. The Lady Dogs’ quarterfinals appearance on Monday was the first one in program history. They also were crowned region champions for a second straight season.
MCHS hopes to repeat its success next year as it only loses two seniors in the offseason. The Lady Dogs’ minimal roster turnover sets them up nicely for 2023.
“We have a lot of juniors and sophomores, except for a few, that have a lot of starting experience,” Stamps said. “So, we knew coming in we had an exciting year ahead of us. It was just a matter of not knowing how far we would get.”
Leading up to the Elite Eight matchup against Cherokee Bluff, former Morgan County boys’ soccer standout Trace Blanton came and practiced with the Lady Dogs.
Stamps said he wanted to help the girls prepare for their big matchup.
“After practice, he was talking to me and an assistant coach, and asked how many seniors we have,” Stamps said. “He was amazed that we only had two. Trace told us that we needed to stay excited because the future is bright for us.”
Stamps agreed with Blanton’s sentiment.
“Hopefully, big things are going to happen for us,” Stamps said. “We are thrilled. In a program, there are going to be highs and lows, but it’s all about the journey. I think right now that our journey is something to be excited about.”