The old axiom speed kills was readily apparent in the boys' High Desert District soccer championship between The Community School and Bliss at Elkhorn Thursday.
And as the Bears found out, a nose for the net can only aggravate the situation.
Employing a 4-4-2 formation, the Cutthroats exploited a young Bears squad, which was unable to match the speed and skill of strikers Travis Stone and Tanner Flanigan.
The most dangerous duo the school has seen since Josh Stanek (94 goals) and Sean Higgins (76 goals), the pair either scored or had an assist on all six goals the Cutthroats stuffed past Bliss' junior goalie Eric Rojas (11 saves) in what turned out to be a 6-2 Sun Valley victory.
"Travis and Tanner can run through anyone, but everyone contributed," coach Richard Whitelaw remarked. "In the last two games, especially against Bliss and Wendell, we came on a bit."
The win secured #1 seeding for the undefeated Cutthroats (15-0-1) in the upcoming State 3A Soccer Tournament in Buhl and also meted out a measure of revenge as Bliss beat the 'Throats 2-1 last season to win the district championship.
"It was good to show them who is boss, especially after the hiccup we had down there (a 3-3 tie on Oct. 3)," Whitelaw said. "It's always pleasing to win the district championship."
Only a sophomore, Flanigan (22 goals) had a man-sized play on the game's opening goal.
With the ball bouncing loose in the goal box, Flanigan bounced a shot off of Rojas, hit a defender on the rebound, and nailed the net on his third try. It was a textbook lesson, not only on persistence, but following your shot and keeping the ball in front of you.
While he might be closing in on Stanek's school scoring record of 94 career goals, Stone (90 goals) displayed that first and foremost he is a team player. On a clever move, Stone let a throw-in roll through his legs, giving midfielder Bergen Palmer a crack on net. Palmer nailed the crossbar, one of four times the Cutthroats rang the post during the game.
Both teams were even-up on shots in the opening half with 10 each, with the Bears sturdy midfielder Omar Rosales setting the table for slick sophomore strikers Cole Erkins (#13) and Alex Cortez (#6).
At the 17-minute mark, Stone passed to center mid Connor Brown, who drew the goalie and stuffed the shot for a 2-0 advantage.
Four minutes later, Flanigan collected the ball at midfield, burst through two defenders, went around a third, and dished to Stone, who parked a left-footed shot in the side pocket for a 3-0 lead.
While it looked like the Cutthroats might run away with it at that point, Bliss (8-5-1) was not ready to cry "Uncle."
Just two minutes later, Erkins answered on a long-distance shot in the far right corner for a 3-1 game. Erkins had a similar shot moments later, but by and large, the defense with Alex Conn, Tyler Davis, Jackson Bates and Mac Whittington did a fine job of keeping the Bears forwards pushed out to the sides and protecting goalie Eugene Zak (6 saves).
Sun Valley sunk the final goal of the half. On a cross by Jeff Gaecke, Stone, in double-coverage, launched a perfectly placed header in the back of the net for a 4-1 lead at the break.
With an injured Rosales on the bench, Bliss could not mount the attack in the second 40 minutes as it had in the first.
The Cutthroats outshot Bliss 13-3 in the second stanza, with Stone, Brown and Flanigan linking up on the fifth goal, and Flanigan assisting Stone on the sixth. The goal marked Stone's fourth hat trick of the season and 11th of his career.
Erkins scored once more on an assist by Dale Butler to close out the game, 6-2.
While much is made of seventh heaven, eight is pretty great for The Community School.
The win marked the Cutthroats eighth district title under Whitelaw, eighth win at home this season (8-0 at Browning Field), leading to their eighth state tournament berth in nine years.
Striker Tanner Flanigan displays his juggling skills against the Wolverines in a game earlier this season. They will come in handy this week at the state tournament. Photo by Willy Cook
