Gray Collegiate, Chapin boys soccer win thrillers to punch tickets to title games
Back in February, Kevin Heise was as frustrated as he could be with a team in his 30-plus years of coaching.
Fast-forward to a few months later, and the Gray Collegiate boys soccer coach was in the middle of a celebration as the War Eagles defeated Bishop England, 4-1 in penalty kicks, to win the Class 4A Lower State championship on Saturday.
With the win, Gray advances to the state championship match against Southside on Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. It is Gray’s fourth championship appearance, but first in Class 4A. The others have come in 2A.
This is Gray’s last season in 4A as it will be moving up to Class 5A next season.
“We had a rough, rough February, but starting in the first or second week of March they started to believe,” Heise said. “We had the pieces and they weren’t fitting right. I have a 9-month-old, and they were keeping me up more at night than she was.
“But the belief, commitment, the accountability, desire, the discipline fell in place over the last nine to 10 weeks. … Teenagers are funny. They are unpredictable. But what this group has been able to accomplish has been one of the highlights of my career.”
It is Heise’s seventh championship appearance combined at Gray and Brookland-Cayce. He now looks to add a state title to his resume, which has more than 600 victories.
But Heise admitted he didn’t know whether this would happen with this group. He talked about its lack of fitness and not a team-first attitude. There also was the tough schedule, which included traveling most weekends to play tough opponents in an effort to improve.
It was a rematch of last year’s state semifinal and second meeting of the season between the teams. BE defeated Gray, 1-0, on April 17. Despite the loss, Heise thought it was important to schedule the Battling Bishops to see them and kind of get the mystique worn off from facing one of the state’s winningest programs.
The Battling Bishops have won 17 state championships.
“It broke down the mystery of it,” Heise said of playing Bishop England. “And we were able to shut out a dad-gum good team for 100 minutes. That is hard to do.”
The teams battled through a scoreless 80 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime before going into penalty kicks.
Gray Collegiate converted on all four of its penalty kicks — David Andrade, Andres Campo, Jacob Gardner, and sophomore Joshua Perez’s winner to seal it.
Gray’s 6-foot-5 goalkeeper, Charlie Petroff, allowed a penalty kick on Bishop England’s first attempt, but not the final two. Petroff also had several big saves during regulation and overtime.
“It is a dream come true,” Petroff said of going to the state championship. “The beginning of the season it was such a question mark. But it is great to be back and have a good chance of winning it.”
Boys soccer
Chapin 2, Myrtle Beach 1: Lucas Rogers’ goal in the golden goal portion of overtime was the difference as the Eagles won at Myrtle Beach in the Class 5A Division II Lower State championship.
Chapin will play Eastside in the final match Saturday night for the state championship. The Chapin girls team also will play Eastside right before the boys matchup.
The Eagles are going for their sixth state title and making their first appearance since winning three straight championships from 2016-18.
Southside 3, AC Flora 2 (OT): The Falcons lost on the road in the 4A Upper State championship.
Baseball
River Bluff 8, Sumter 1: The Gators scored five runs in the first inning on their way to Class 5A Division I District 4 championship.
River Bluff will face defending state champion James Island in a best-of-three Lower State championship beginning Tuesday at James Island.
The Gators lost their opener in the district bracket but won four straight elimination games, including the last two over Sumter.
Banks Alexander had three hits and an RBI to lead the Gators. Mason Iser added two and two RBIs, and Mac Raines also drove in two runs.
Peyton Hewitt went three innings to get the win but was pulled with the Gators having a big lead, so he can be used again Tuesday.
Clinton 11, Batesburg-Leesville 0: The Panthers dropped into the loser’s bracket of the 2A Upper State playoffs and face Chesnee in an elimination game Monday.
Softball
Gray Collegiate 3, South Florence 1: The War Eagles (31-0) moved into the 4A Lower State championship with a win over the Bruins.
Gray will host the North Augusta/South Florence winner Wednesday and then Friday if necessary.
Peyton Hendrix allowed a run on seven hits and struck out eight in 6.1 innings. Mackenzie Sease picked up the save and had two hits.
Hendrix and Elizabeth Robinson each had an RBI.
AC Flora 6, Seneca 1: Pressli Reynolds pitched a complete game and homered as the Falcons earned a spot in the 4A Upper State championship.
AC Flora will host York/Seneca on Wednesday and Friday if necessary.
Reynolds allowed a run on seven hits and struck out six. She also was 1-3 with a homer and 2 RBIs.
Annie Storm was 3 for 3 with an RBI and Garner Lanford was 2 for 3 with an RBI. Cameron Crook also had two hits.
North Augusta 8, Airport 1: The Eagles’ season ended against the Yellow Jackets.
