OAKWOOD — Call it The Showdown. The Rivalry. THE Match.
But when the Johnson and Gainesville boys soccer teams stage their annual Clásico for bragging rights, anything can happen.
The 2021 version lived up to the hype as the Red Elephants, behind two goals from Aram “Spider” Lara, held off the Knights 2-1 at The Dungeon to close out both teams’ regular seasons.
The previous eight meetings -- where both teams are 3-3-2 in that span in the rivalry -- all were decided by one goal. Make it nine straight.
Lara scored once in the first half for a 1-0 halftime lead and added a second with 18 minutes left for a 2-0 advantage. But Johnson’s Juan Jacinto pulled the Knights (12-4-1) within a goal six minutes later.
The Knights had several furious rushes in the final minutes but could not get the equalizer as Gainesville (10-8) is 2-0-1 in the last three meetings after Johnson had won three straight.
But it is also bittersweet as the Red Elephants will not be heading to the postseason for the first time in over a decade.
“This was nice for our guys because we’re not going to the playoffs (this year) so this will give us some bragging rights for a year,” Gainesville coach Eli Viviant said. “It’s always a big win in this one. We’re losing some guys but I think we’ll be fine for next year.”
For Johnson’s Frank Zamora, it was time to get one of the state’s best rivalries back on track.
“After not being able to play the rivalry game last year, it felt good to be able to play it this year. Very few games across the state get this level of attention and excitement,” Zamora said. “The environment is second to none in high school sports. We were glad we got to renew the Clásico after missing out on it last year.”
The Knights won Region 8-5A and will head into next week’s first round as the No. 1 seed. Johnson will play host to Region 5-5A No. 4 seed Northview on Wednesday at The Dungeon.
