Friday March 29th, 2024 5:46AM

Boys soccer: Knights hold off Gladiators to capture 8-5A title

By AccessWDUN Staff

ATHENS — The Johnson boys captured the Region 8-5A title on Tuesday in thrilling fashion.

Christian Robles scored the only goal of the match with six minutes left in the second overtime period to give the Knights a 1-0 win over Clarke Central.

Jorge Sandoval. who created several good scoring opportunities early in the game, assisted on the game-winner in overtime.

Angel Sagrero and Eliam Chavez kept the Gladiators out of the offensive end with some excellent work in the midfield. Senior Steven Flores was solid in goal recording the shutout.

Johnson (11-2-1, 6-0 Region 8-5A) closes out its region schedule on Friday at home against Eastside but the victory over the Gladiators (9-2-1, 4-1 Region 8-5A) gives the Knights the tiebreaker edge over Clarke Central and Apalachee, which also has just one region loss.

The Knights will carry the No. 1 seed into next month's Class 5A state tournament.

After a rough start with injuries and COVID-19 issues, Johnson has been as hot as any team in the state. They have now won 10 straight, including a 4-3 win over Loganville in penalty kicks and now in overtime. They have outscored the opposition 37-9 with four shutouts during the streak.

"Overall it was a good team effort," Johnson coach Frank Zamora said. "We had solid defensive performances by Jeffrey Castillo, Landon Avalos and Andres Galicia, all with timely tackles to prevent breakaways late in the second half."

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