Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — Thomas County Central’s boys soccer team had a memorable playoff run a year ago.
The ’09 version is ready to make a little history, too.
The Yellow Jackets can clinch the No. 1 seed in the South Division of Region 1-AAAA against Bainbridge today. The two squads will meet at 5 p.m. at Thomas University.
“(Bainbridge) is on a pretty good run right now,” Central coach Jonathan Carroll said. “They have a new coach over there and he’s done a good job with the team he has.”
Central must defeat Bainbridge by two goals today to gain the top spot. The Yellow Jackets’ (3-1-0) only region loss this year came to Bainbridge on March 3. The Bearcats won on penalty kicks.
“We had four or five chances to put the game away,” Carroll said. “We got punished by PKs. We don’t want it to come close to PKs (today).”
The biggest obstacle today, though, may not be the Bearcats soccer team. Another wave of inclement weather is expected to move through Thomasville, which could force another cancellation.
“We are concerned. It’s looking slightly better than what it was,” Carroll said. “Just the unpredictability lately of this weather is concerning because we’ve had five rainouts in the last 10 days.”
Since that 2-1 defeat to Bainbridge almost a month ago, Central has shown great improvement, according to Carroll.
“We have matured a lot over the course of the season. We started out with a series of tough games. I think we’ve learned from that,” Carroll said.
Last year, the Yellow Jackets featured a senior-laden squad that advanced to the semifinal round of the state playoffs. This year ‘s youth-dominant team started 1-4 with losses to McIntosh, Pace Academy, Thomasville and Cairo. Entering Wednesday, though, the Yellow Jackets had won three straight.
“We’re starting to play much better soccer, which is the most encouraging point right now,” Carroll said.
Among those playing well is one of the three freshmen on the roster, center midfielder Christian Quinones.
“He’s been a pleasant surprise. He’s really fit in with the schemes and formations we play,” Carroll said.
Also playing well is junior Montavious Diaz, who entered Wednesday as the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals and one assist.
The first round of the region playoffs is slated for Tuesday. The first round of the state tournament is scheduled to begin April 22.
