After 60 minutes of play, the Todd County Central Rebels were right in the thick of things in their regional semifinal match against Warren Central. The Dragons were leading 2-1, but the flow of play was even and both teams had seen opportunities in the second half but could not convert.
A misplayed offensive possession for the Rebels near the 61:00 mark turned out to be a key moment in the match as the play ended up in a runout and goal for Warren Central. The momentum from that score led to another Dragon goal just four minutes later as Todd County Central saw the season end with a 4-1 loss.
It is the second straight year that the Rebels’ season has ended in a regional semifinal loss to a Bowling Green school. Last year, the Rebels fell to Greenwood 3-0 after winning a quarterfinal round match against Russell County.
Warren Central got out to the early lead Wednesday night when Houng Ha scored at the 9:20 mark to put the Dragons up 1-0.
The Rebels and the Dragons battled back-and-forth for most of the rest of the half.
The Dragons extended the lead to 2-0 with a goal from Byaunda Elombelo at 28:30.
Todd County Central cut the lead in half when Tanner Henderson scored four minutes later to bring the Rebels to within 2-1. That would be the score as the two teams went to the half.
The second half opened with both teams having chances to make their move, but neither could convert. The Rebels got outstanding goal play from Ricardo Garcia-Sears, who came up with some big saves in the second half.
The defining moment of the match came after the Rebels missed a chance to score and then Mzaliwa Noel scored off a long run for the Dragons to make it 3-1 at the 61:00. Just four minutes later, Byaunda Elombelo scored his second goal of the night to lock up the win.
The Rebels see their season end at 14-6-1. Todd Central reached the regional semifinals for the second year in a row. The Rebels also won their second straight All A regional title, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the All A state tournament.
Over the past two seasons, the Rebels have a record 31-10-2.
Todd Central’s Treyvon Osborne and Horacio Herrera were named to the 4th Region All-Tournament team.
