FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Class 4A No. 5 East Hall moved into second place all alone in Region 8-4A after taking a 3-0 win over Cherokee Bluff on the road in a huge region battle for both teams on Tuesday.
The Vikings (11-2, 7-1 Region 8-4A) sit one game ahead of North Oconee (7-4, 6-2 Region 8-4A) and own tiebreaking wins over Bluff (6-8, 4-3 Region 8-4A), Chestatee, and East Forsyth. But they dropped a 3-0 decision to North Oconee earlier in the season.
The game against the Bear was a scoreless draw until Jonathan Torres scored the first of his three goals in the 25th minute off a shot that deflected to find the back of the net. But East Hall could not add on as it went to the half 1-0.
Torres struck again in the 48th minute from outside the box into the bottom left corner off a pass from Yerli Mejia. Torres completed the hat trick in the 59th minute off an assist from Alan Mata.
Kenny Barrera-Paz and Alex Perez combined for the shutout in goal for the Vikings.
East Hall is off for a week before playing host to North Hall next Tuesday and then closing out the regular season against No. 1 Johnson on March 31 at The Dungeon for a possible showdown for the region title.
Cherokee Bluff is still right in the thick of the playoff race but closes out its region schedule with three straight road games, beginning with North Oconee on Friday, in what could be a playoff elimination game for both teams.
CHESTATEE 3,
NORTH OCONEE 2
Chestatee scored three first half goals and then held on in the second half to beat the Titans in a must-win scenario for the War Eagles in Region 8-4A action on Tuesday.
It was the region finale for the War Eagles (11-4, 7-3 Region 8-4A) and the win kept them alive for a playoff spot.
Iori Vasquez scored in the opening minute on a penalty when Jeff Zamudionwas tackled inside the box. Andre Sanabria and Jeff Zamudio both later scored on free kicks to give the War Eagles the big lead.
It stayed that way until the Titans (7-4, 6-2 Region 8-4A) scored in the 60th and 70th minutes to get within a goal.
But Chestatee keeper David Diaz, who made four saves, and the defense was able to hang on.
JOHNSON 2,
EAST FORSYTH 0
The No. 1-ranked Knights remained unbeaten on the season and in Region 8-4A with a road win at Half-Mile High Stadium.
It did not come easy against the Broncos. The match was scoreless until the 24th minute when Edgar Vazquez dribbled through two defenders to find Jorge Sandoval on a through ball. Sandoval blasted a one-time shot to the far post to give Johnson (13-0, 7-0 Region 8-4A) a 1-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the 45th minute Jalil Chavez setup Juliann Pimentel on an open shot to the goal to make it 2-0.
From there Kristian Hernandez and the defense held off East Forsyth (8-5, 5-4 Region 8-4A).
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 6,
NORTH HALL 2
The Lions (3-4-1) scored four second half goals to pull away for the non-region win at home on Tuesday.
Lakeview led 2-0 at halftime but exploded in the second half. Liam Weidner recorded a hat trick for the ions. Jay Dave had 2 goals and 3 assists and Frisco Johnson had 1 goal and an assist. Bryan Ramsey and Akhil Mangalat each had one assist for Lakeview.
William Harrison recorded the win in goal.
Next up for Lakeview is Riverside on Friday at home on Senior night. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
GAINESVILLE 2,
FLOWERY BRANCH 2
The rivals played to a tie on Tuesday at Falcons Field.
Branch (7-5-1) went up early with a goal from Azriel Flores from an assist by Tyler Galasso. Gainesville got the equalizer but the Falcons reclaimed the lead on a penalty kick from Mario Rodriguez after a foul on Tiago Zapata.
It went to the half with the Falcons up 2-1.
In the second half, Gainesville got a penalty kick to tie the match and it ended with the draw.
