A pair of goals in the first four minutes staked Hopkins County Central to a quick lead they didn’t relinquish in an 8-2 win at Heritage Christian Academy on Tuesday in Hopkinsville.
Riley Dunlap scored twice and assisted on a third, and Jude Mitchell matched Dunlap on the stat sheet for the Storm, which improved to 2-3-2. It was the first meeting between the schools on the soccer field.
After goals by Talon Stephens and Mitchell gave the Storm the quick early advantage, HCA’s Kallan Davis stole a pass deep in the Storm’s territory and scored on the Warriors’ second shot of the game in the 13th minute.
Davis has 16 goals this season and entered the day in the top 10 statewide for scoring.
The Storm answered Davis’ goal with the final three scores of the first half. Dunlap and Mitchell scored in a 10-minute stretch, and Brennan Scott scored in the final minute for a 5-1 advantage at the break.
The Warriors have been dealing with numbers issues the entire season. On Tuesday, they began the game with 11 players and no substitutes. An injury left HCA one player down for the final 50 minutes.
HCA didn’t seem affected as the second half began. Davis lofted a corner kick that Jerry Spurling banged home in the first three minutes to cut the Storm lead to 5-2.
However, Hopkins County Central took nearly one shot a minute – 18 in each half and punched home three goals in the final 30 minutes with a relentless attack on the net.
Dunlap, Jak Mitchell, and Landan Bennett had the tallies for the Storm, who scored a season-high eight goals, their most since a 12-2 win over Fort Campbell in 2022.
HCA was able to get four shots off in the final few minutes but was unable to find the net.
Cayden Nowak had 17 saves in goal for the Warriors, who were looking for a second straight win after a victory over Lyon County last week.
HCA will meet the Lyons again on Thursday in Eddyville.
Hopkins County Central has a week to prepare for next Tuesday’s district showdown with Madisonville in Mortons Gap.
