OAKWOOD — The star players usually love the big moments.
Johnson’s Jorge Sandoval recorded a hat trick, Kristian Hernandez made four huge saves, and both helped propel the Class 5A No. 1-ranked Knights to a 4-1 win over No. 3 Clarke Central at The Dungeon on Friday night.
The win gave Johnson (16-1-1, 7-0 Region 8-5A) its eighth straight region title and fourth consecutive Region 8-5A crown.
Sandoval summed it up just after the final whistle: “No sir, it never gets old!”
And the Knights needed both early after the Gladiators (13-3, 6-1 Region 8-5A) jumped on Johnson quickly. After a series of turnovers, Clayton Dufur, who found a seam in the Knights defense after scooping up a loose ball, beat the Johnson defense and Hernandez on his low right side for a 1-0 lead less than five minutes in.
“I just told the guys to stay calm because when we stay calm we’re able to move the ball and get momentum,” Sandoval said.
His speech obviously had an effect. The Johnson offense turned up the pressure over the next four minutes, twice getting into the Clarke Central box but could not get off a quality shot.
But on a third trip deep in Gladiators territory, Jalil Chavez placed a perfect cross to Sandoval, who buried a shot high in the right corner over a leaping Nathan Paredes to tie the game in the 12th minute.
Six minutes later, Johnson took its first lead at 2-1 on a penalty kick goal from Angel Sagrero in the 18th minute after a Clarke Central foul in the box trying to slow down a Knights attack.
The two defenses took control over the final 20 minutes. Johnson had one more scoring chance but a blast by Jeffrey Castillo was blocked. The Gladiators had a pair of free kicks in the final minute, but both were thwarted by Hernandez to preserve the 2-1 lead at the break.
“We’re expecting our veteran players to make big plays in big moments and Jorge and Kristian did that for us tonight,” Johnson coach Frank Zamora said.
Johnson was coming off its only loss of the season to No. 2 Woodward Academy on Monday and Zamora said that could help his squad as the get ready for what they hope is another playoff run to the Class 5A championship game.
“We schedule some of the best teams in the state to see how we measure up against them and see what we need to improve on,” Zamora said. “That loss was humbling and I think made us hungry again.”
Johnson wasted little time after the half to extend its lead. Sandoval netted his second goal off a cross on a quick strike in the 42nd minute.
The Knights defense, led by Rudy Granados, Landon Avalos, and Andres Galacia also limited the Gladiators to just one shot on goal over the next 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Johnson offense also poured on the pressure.
The Knights generated three corners and six shots within 20 yards deep into the second half. Paredes kept the Gladiators within striking distance making four point-blank-range saves.
With Johnson pulling back to play more defensive over the final 15 minutes, Clarke Central had two good scoring chances but Hernandez made two diving saves to keep it a two-goal cushion. The Gladiators had another great chance on a corner in the 73rd minute but the Knights defense cleared a loose ball with Hernandez out of position.
Moments later, Sandoval completed the hat trick on a blast into the top left corner off a feed from Kevin Castillo for a 4-1 lead with just 5:03 left.
Hernandez stopped three more shots in the final five minutes as the Gladiators continued to press the attack
“Things happen for a reason,” Sandoval said. “That loss woke us up and now we're coming back hungrier and going for that state title.”
Both teams will play host to first round games in the state playoffs, which start on April 12. Johnson will take on Chapel Hill while Clarke Central will take on North Springs.
CLARKE CENTRAL GIRLS 5,
JOHNSON 1
The Lady Knights closed out their season with a tough loss at home in Region 8-5A.
Clarke Central 2-0 late into the match before Kami Lopez scored for Johnson (6-8-2, 1-6 Region 8-5A) with 13 minutes left to pull within a goal.
But the Lady Gladiators scored three times in the final eight minute to pull away.
Neither team advanced to the upcoming Class 5A state playoffs.
