It’s not exactly how either would probably have drawn it up, but old friends -- Chestatee’s Mike Herrin and Johnson’s Frank Zamora -- were hoping they might get another chance to see each other in the 2025 playoffs. Zamora played for Herrin's early teams at Chestatee in the 2000s.
After a tough 3-1 loss to Zamora’s Knights in the regular season, Herrin’s War Eagles will head to The Dungeon on Tuesday looking for a measure of revenge in the Class 3A quarterfinals. But it didn’t come without some crazy drama first.
It took four days for the Knights to be able to get past Calhoun in the second round, securing their spot in the Elite 8 with a 2-1 win on Monday in a match that began on Friday and was halted because of weather. Chestatee has been patiently waiting after its 2-1 overtime win over Class 3A No. 2 seed Richmond Academy in PKs (5-4).
The Knights will have to play on back-to-back days for the first time this season and just 24 hours after holding off the Yellow Jackets on the road.
Herrin said after Friday’s win, it didn't matter to them who they played next. But he acknowledged that getting another crack at the 2024 Class 4A state runner-up Knights was also in the back of their mind.
“Having played Johnson early on and going to OT with them last year (losing in PKs), our kids know they’re capable of playing against good teams when we play our best soccer,” Herrin said. “Our players and their players have competed with and against each other over the years through club, middle school, and now high school teams. “
Both teams have playoff experience and pedigree. The Knights (13-4) have captured three state titles since 2018, two in Class 5A and one in Class 4A, while the War Eagles (14-4) lost the Class 4A state title to Northwest Whitfield in 2018.
Herrin is hoping familiar paths and recent experience will help them against their cross-town rivals.
“The 2018 roster advanced to the second round of the 2017 tournament, and we had the bulk of those guys return with the confidence, and they could go through. It’s kind of the same thing this year,” Herrin said. “We have a great group of seniors who used last year’s experience to help prepare them to be ready to play this year. Richmond Academy gave us everything they had last week. For the boys to outlast the No. 2 seed, that gives them a huge shot of confidence going into this one.”
This will be the second of what could be three matches for Zamora’s Knights in five days as they try to get back to the title match once again. He said before the Calhoun restart on Monday the home team can have a slight advantage.
However, it did not work out well for the home-standing Yellow Jackets on Monday and Chestatee does not have far to travel on Tuesday.
“Obviously, I believe the home team will always have a little bit of an advantage in situations like this,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we just have to be able to push through and find a way to emerge from all of this.”
But those aren’t the only northeast Georgia area teams looking to advance to the Final 4. East Forsyth has a monumental task in Class 4A traveling to defending Class 4A champion Westminster.
And Habersham Central is trying to continue its best playoff run since 2015. The Region 8-5A champion Raiders take on Region 7-5A champion Milton at Raider Stadium, looking for their first semifinal appearance since 2011.
Milton (14-3) is ranked fourth in the scorbord.com poll. Habersham Central (13-3) is ranked 10th and brings a 7-2 home record into Tuesday’s showdown.
Raiders coach Ric Wallace, much like Herrin and Zamora, said experience could be a huge factor.
“It will take a collective effort from back to front. We will rely on the experience of team leaders Diego Gonzalez, Everett Rudeseal, Payton Adams, Camden Meads and Israel Pascual, who have been part of the success of the last two seasons.”
Defense could play a major role for both teams. Habersham Central has allowed just 21 goals on the season (1.31 goals/game) and just nine goals over their last 12 matches (0.75 goals/game). Meanwhile, they have five players with 5 or more goals on the season for an offense that is averaging 4.06 goals/game on the season.
Milton has scored just 52 goals (3.05 goals/game) but has yielded just 15 goals (0.88 goals/game) on defense.
“We have been incredibly balanced (on offense) this season,” Wallace said. “We’re not conceding a tremendous amount of goals, but we also have not recorded a great deal of shutouts.”
Wallace knows they will need more of the same on Tuesday to get past the Eagles, who are 7-1 on the road in 2025.
“Milton is very well coached and had a fantastic season. We will have to be disciplined defensively, stand up to the physical nature of the game, and be composed when finishing opportunities present themselves,” Wallace said.
(See the entire schedule of Tuesday's playoff matches below:)
BOYS SOCCER 3rd ROUND PLAYOFF SCHEDULE, Tuesday, May 6
(Matches at site of higher-seeded team)
Class 5A
Milton (R7, S1) at Habersham Central (R8, S1), 7:30 p.m.
Class 4A
East Forsyth (R8, S4) at Westminster (R6, S1), 7:45 p.m.
Class 3A
Jefferson (12) vs. Islands (4), 6 p.m.
Chestatee (18) at Johnson (10), 7:30 p.m.
