OAKWOOD, Ga. — When they needed him most, Edgar Vazquez put Johnon’s season on his powerful right leg.
The senior converted two free kicks into goals, the second one giving the Knights the lead late and eventually the difference in a 3-2 win over Whitewater in the Class 4A quarterfinal round on Tuesday at The Dungeon.
“It’s just Edgar being Edgar,” Johnson coach Frank Zamora said. “Whenever we have a kick 30 yards out, we just tell him to go get us one. He got two, and both were big for us.”
But Vazquez explained that he couldn’t have done it without help, as Daniel Trujillo twice provided the perfect screen in front of Wildcats’ keeper Baine Thompson.
“I was going for the back post on the first one but mishit it, and Trujillo just let it go through his legs, and it worked out,” Vazquez said. “He did it again on the second one, and that one was on purpose.”
The first Vazquez goal gave the Knights a 1-0 lead late in the first half after the two teams had played a field position battle for the first 32 minutes. The second gave them a 3-2 lead with 10:45 left in the game after they had trailed 2-1 at halftime.
The 2024 Knights are proving that they are a second-half team, scoring five goals after halftime in their last two playoff games.
“The boys didn’t have a good start, and we talked about it at halftime, about making the adjustments and the energy we needed to have,” Zamora said. “When you’re down with 40 minutes left in a quarterfinal, it’s all or nothing, so we are specifically going on the attack in the second half. They made it happen.”
Johnson created three solid chances early in the second half but it was a Trujillo center to Junior Castillo for a goal in the 49th minute that would tie the match. The Knights (17-1-1) kept the pressure on making Thompson have to make five diving saves over the next 10 minutes to keep it tied.
The Wildcats nearly reclaimed the lead in the 62nd minute when Johnson keeper Benji Villatoro had to make a diving save of his own on a 30-yard free-kick blast from Ryan Daniel. Both teams traded two more scoring chances until Vazquez was able to get the go-ahead goal eight minutes later.
The Wildcats pushed forward over the final 10 minutes and had two headers off crosses slide past the goal. Johnson gained possession in the final 30 seconds and ran out the clock to advance to their sixth straight semifinal.
The Knights will turn their attention to Northwest Whitfield in Friday’s Final Four. Northwest Whitfield beat LaGrange 2-1 in the second overtime to advance. The other semifinal will pit Westminster against Holy Innocents, both from Region 6-4A. Westminster won an earlier matchup 3-2 in the second overtime back in March.
“Going deep into the tournament has become a point of tradition here, playing in the big games, and we’re excited to be able to have a Final Four game at The Dungeon in front of our fans,” Zamora said.
For the first 33 minutes, both the Johnson and Whitewater defenses dictated the action and limiting chances. Each team managed just two solid opportunities in the first 30 minutes and it looked like it was destined that the first goal would win it.
And the Knights would crack the Wildcats defense first on Vazquez’s first free kick goal.
But the Wildcats Class 4A No. 1 offense responded in a big way. Taking advantage of two free kicks of its own after going on the attack, Whitewater got a header from Cole Barentine and then 47 seconds later Eli Bannister flicked in a bouncing ball off another free kick past Villatoro for 2-1 lead with 2:58 left in the half.
It was the first time the Knights had trailed in the 2024 playoffs.
Johnson had 7 shots on goal in the opening half. Whitewater had 9 shots in the first 40 minutes.
NOTES: Johnson continued several massive streaks with the victory. The Knights now have won 14 straight in 2024, 13 straight playoff games, and 17 straight postseason games at home. ... It is the second consecutive season they have knock Whitewater out of the playoffs in the Elite 8. They beat the Wildcats 7-1 in the 2023 quarterfinals. ... The Knights have allowed more than 2 goals just once in a 5-4 win over Gainesville. They have allowed 1 or fewer goals in 14 games with 7 shutouts. ... Whitewater came in with top-scoring offense in Class 4A with 92 goals. ... But the Wildcats are now just 1-3-1 when allowing 2 or more goals. They were a perfect 13-0 when yielding 1 or fewer goals.
