OAKWOOD — Johnson boys soccer coach Frank Zamora loves a good challenge.
The Class 5A No. 1-ranked Knights already have played the likes of Gainesville and a trio of ranked teams in West Hall, Chestatee and Flowery Branch. But on Friday, they will get their biggest test of the season to this point when they play host to Class 6A No. 1 Dalton at The Dungeon.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
And, they will lace up the cleats just the way Zamora was hoping: with both squads coming in undefeated and perhaps peaking as they head down the final stretch of the regular season.
“We are expecting a great match with a great crowd and a great atmosphere,” Zamora said. “We wanted to play them to improve our schedule. This is the kind of match we wanted to get to help us get ready for the playoffs.”
Dalton finished No. 2 in the nation in the final 2021 United Soccer Coaches High School Rankings poll released at the end of last season. They were one of five Georgia teams to be among the final Top 25 in the country, including No. 1 McIntosh, which narrowly beat Johnson in last year’s Class 5A championship game (2-1) at McEachern High School.
The first 2022 poll is expected to be released next week and the Catamounts are expected among the Top 25, if not in the overall Top 10. Zamora is also hoping his Knights will be included in the opening poll.
Dalton (9-0-2) has faced as challenging a schedule as it could comprise. They opened with a 3-3 tie against Class A Private No. 1 Atlanta International School, also fought to a 0-0 draw with Southeast Whitfield (4th, Class 4A) and beat ranked teams in Pace Academy (2nd in Class 2A), Westminster (5th, Class 3A), and fellow Region 5-6A foe Rome (5th, Class 6A).
The Knights (11-0-1) have faced ranked teams in Flowery Branch (4th, Class 4A), Chestatee (Class 4A) and West Hall (6th, Class 3A) and are 3-0 against Class 6A teams with wins over arch-rival Gainesville, Habersham Central, and Lanier.
Dalton has outscored its opponents 43-9 on the season, and comes in on the heels of three consecutive shutout wins. Johnson has outscored its opposition 53-7 and comes in riding a 7-match win streak, including three shutout victories.
It figures to be a titanic showdown worthy of a state title game.
“Both teams are very similar in style,” Zamora said. “Both are very attack-minded but also play great defensively. But I expect some goals will be scored on both sides.
“The key will probably be which team controls the ball. We’re a very possession-oriented team and so are they. You can’t score if you don’t have the ball so maintaining possession will be crucial.”
The Johnson offense has been led all season by Jorge Sandoval and Ramon Aguilar, who both have recorded hat tricks on the season. Angel Sagrero, Christian Robles, Andres Galicia and freshmen Jalil Chaves and Daniel Trujillo have stepped up to provide plenty of firepower.
Defensively, the Knights have been solid all season with Landon Avalos, Jeffrey Castillo, Rudy Granados, and Galicia in front of junior keeper Kristian Hernandez.
"We’re going to have to take advantage of any opportunity we get,” Zamora said. “It should be a tremendous midfield battle. It will take a total team effort to be able to beat them.”
However, despite it being “just” a regular season, non-region matchup, Zamora also said they would like to reverse their 0-3 all-time record against the Catamounts, including a gut-wrenching 2-0 loss in the 2014 Class 4A championship match.
“We’ve never beaten them and all three matches have been in the playoffs,” he said. “They are a great program so playing well and hopefully being able to get a win would help to continue to put our program in a positive light.
“Again, we want matches like this to help us get better as a team. We’ll play them again next year in Dalton. We are definitely looking forward to this one.”
