Friday March 29th, 2024 1:12AM

Playoff soccer: Johnson boys' domination erases memories of first round upset

OAKWOOD — Last season the Johnson boys soccer team experienced the bitter disappointment of a first round playoff upset.

There was no way the Knights were allowing that this time around.

Johnson scored three goals inside the first 10 minutes en route to a 7-0 destruction of Kell on Wednesday in the Class 5A first round at Billy Ellis Memorial Stadium, exorcising the demons of last year's upset and showing that Johnson is very much focused on the ultimate prize.

"The boys were locked in; we had a good week of training considering the weather, and they came out focused today," Knights coach Brian Shirley said. "We wanted to play our game and get back to basics."

The basics included an incisive and goal-minded attack that saw Rigo Campa, Marco Vazquez and Michael Arcia each score twice, while Junior Arellano also bagged a goal for a Knights team determined to wash away the memories of last season's opening round upset to eventual semifinalist Grady.

"We talked about execution tonight, and they came out and executed," said Shirley, whose team rolled into next week's second round.

The Knights (14-2-2) displayed their focus from the start, as Cole Bowen dragged a 20-yard shot just wide of goal just a minute into the contest. The Knights did not miss the target again for much of the first half.

Rico Campa got Johnson on track with 36:52 remaining in the first half, cutting inside the Longhorns penalty area before unleashing a pile driver past Kell keeper Kevin Rapplean for a 1-0 lead.

"That took a lot of pressure off, allowed us to not feel like there was an elephant sitting on our chest," Shirley said of the early strike.

Just over three minutes later Marco Vazquez doubled the Knights' advantage, gathering a teasing cross from Bowen before prodding past Rapplean.

And with 30:35 still to play in the first half Johnson opened up a 3-0 advantage. This time Michael Arcia ran on to a long diagonal pass before cutting back and slotting a 18-yard shot into the far corner.

The scoring blitzkrieg stunned the Longhorns (6-10-2), but Johnson needed some time before continuing the assault.

When it came, however, it again came in rapid succession, as Junior Arellano and Campa each scored in less than 30 seconds. Arellano worked a pinpoint one-two with Anthony Fleshman in the Kell penalty area to score from close range before Campa volleyed home to make it 5-0 with 3:13 left in the half.

By then the Knights could so easily have let their thoughts drift toward the second round. But Johnson stuck to its task in the second half and kept up the attack.

Arcia added his second strike of the contest on a perfectly weighted through-pass from Villanel Albarran with 29:03 left to play, and Vazquez added his second on an assist from Bowen with 26:53 remaining to make it 7-0. 

At that point Johnson did begin to think of the second round, rotating out a number of starters, including goalkeeper Cooper Bowen who made three saves during the contest. 

"We're still trying to peak; that was a huge win for us in the first round against a solid team, but now we have to build on that and keep getting better," said Shirley, whose Knights will take on Riverwood on Wednesday. "They're a very solid team with skill, pace, and they're organized. We'll have to continue to build on this performance."

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