STATE FINALS PREVIEW: Something has to give as titans clash in 4A championship

There's no doubt something will have to give when Johnson and Westminster duke it out for the Class 4A boys state soccer title on Thursday at Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School.

Johnson (20-0) has won 26 straight games since last season. Westminster (17-4-1) has not lost to a team from Georgia in 2023.

It's just the kind of match Johnson coach Frank Zamora enjoys, or so he says.

"We like playing good teams, and this should be a fun one," Zamora said, who has been a part of both Knights' state titles in 2018 and 2022. "They're the program everyone wants to be in soccer. We're hoping that it's our time to show we're ready to be one of those programs that others want to be like."

Westminster coach Scott Snyder, now in his 24th season at the helm of the Wildcats with nine state title trophies on his mantle, said they are the ones chasing the top dog this time around.

"Johnson is clearly the team to beat in Georgia right now," Snyder said. "Frank has done a great job over there. They are loaded with talent. It will be a huge challenge for us."

It was hard to tell if Snyder was doing his best Vince Dooley impersonation or not. But it's also hard to argue against him about his scouting report.

Johnson climbed to the No. 1 spot in the country in the latest United Soccer Coaches High School national rankings. The Knights have also been sitting atop the scorbord.com poll in both Class 4A and the statewide All-Class poll most of the season. Westminster is unranked in the national poll and seventh in the scorbord.com All-Class poll in Georgia.

Over the past four years, Johnson has primarily been known for its offensive firepower. On the way to the Class 5A state title in 2022, the Knights scored five or more goals 11 times in 23 matches. They managed that just seven times in 2023. They scored two or fewer just three times in 2022 compared to five times so far in 2023.

While the Knights still have senior North Georgia signees Jorge Sandoval and Ramon Aguilar, along with junior Edgar Vazquez, the 2023 squad has flexed its considerable muscles with a relentless ball-control offense and stingy defense.

The Johnson defense in front of senior keeper Kristian Hernandez has been nearly impenetrable. Senior Landon Avalos, junior Andres Galacia, sophomore Miguel Duran and freshman Josue Mendoza have been the foundation of a unit that has yielded just five goals on the season (0.25 goals against).

The Wildcats scored 89 goals in 2023 (4.0 goals/game), but 32 came in three blowout wins early in the season. They are averaging 4.5 gpg in the playoffs, including knocking off defending 4A state champion Southeast Whitfield in penalty kicks in the second round.

Still, Snyder felt his "undermanned" group will face its toughest challenge of the season.

"We don't have the star power we've maybe had over the years. We have a lot of good kids that play hard and do what we ask," he said. "Johnson doesn't give up anything on defense. They've barely been scored on this year. We can't afford to get in a shootout with them. They have too many weapons.

"Johnson also controls the ball so well that they can counter you in a lot of different ways. We will need to slow them down somehow. A lot of people have tried but haven't had much success. This will be a tall task for us."

Zamora, however, isn't paying much attention to any particular stat line or outside noise. 

"You know it's going to be a tough match. It's Westminster," he said. "They are still a very good and dangerous team. We won't be able to just sit back. We want to play our style, which is a little more ball control. But we can't make any mistakes because they know how to counter and attack.

"I'm expecting a tough match. But we feel really good about how our defense is playing, and hopefully, that's where we have an edge."