RABBITTOWN — For about 20 minutes Thursday in East Hall’s first round Class AAA playoff matchup with Gordon Central, Leo Toledo and Sergio Turcios played a two-man game that no one else was allowed to participate in.
The pair pulled off three perfectly executed give-and-go goals and went on to combine for seven goals and four assists overall in leading the Vikings to a 9-0 victory over the Warriors at Valhalla.
Top-ranked East Hall (18-1) next will take on Peach County in the second round at home on Tuesday.
“We practice that every day and when we run our set plays right, we’re tough to stop,” East Hall coach Chris Horton said.
Horton said quick starts are something that they strive for, especially once the playoffs roll around. The Vikings offense did not disappoint netting two scores in the first eight minutes and three in the first 13 minutes.
Diego Ramirez threaded a pass down the middle to Toledo, who buried it in the net less than three minutes in for a quick 1-0 lead. Carlos Castrejon made it 2-0 less than six minutes later on goal off a rebound shot with 31:49 left in first half.
Five minutes later the Turcios and Toledo show began. Turios lofted a pass to Toledo, who returned it to Turcios for a beautiful give-and-go and a 3-0 lead.
Toledo made it 4-0 after taking a long ball and beating a defender and the keeper on a 1-on-2 with 16:59 left in the first half. With just over eight minutes left Turcios and Toledo hooked up again on virtually the same play for another give-and-go goal for a 5-0 lead.
Toledo got a first half hat trick with 3:17 left settling a pass from Turcios and then blasting a shot just inside the box past the Warriors keeper for an eventual 6-0 Vikings lead at halftime.
“We always look for ways to get quick scores, especially in the playoffs,” Horton said. “We did a good job of pressuring them early. It takes the pressure off some when you can get a quick goal.”
The Vikings came into the playoffs carrying the No. 1 ranking and all the expectations that come with it. Horton said he feels they will be up to the challenge.
“We know we have a target on our backs,” he said. “We’ve talked about it. I don’t think the guys feel any extra pressure.”
The Vikings defense, which will have to match the efficient play of its offense as they advance deeper, played well much of the match. They did not allow a shot on goal in the first half and Gordon Central (7-7) did not get its first two shots until 31 minutes were left in the match.
But the East Hall offense was stagnant for the better part of the second half until a late flurry in a six-minute span pushed its lead to the final score. Toledo got his fourth score to make it 7-0, Turcios got his own hat trick with 11:39 left, and Bryan Galvaz capped the scoring with a goal with eight minutes left.
“I thought we had some positives out there,” Horton said. “The second and third team got a lot of work and there wasn’t much drop-off. We let (Gordon Central) make some runs in the second half so the defense needs to tighten up some. I thought it was a good effort overall.”
NOTES: East Hall has now won 10 straight and outscored its opposition 73-6 in that span with 6 shutouts. ... The Vikings improved to 6-1 at home this season ... Gordon Central suffered its third straight shutout loss to end its season. ... The Warriors finished with more road victories (4) than wins at home but dropped their final three road matches.
