DALTON, Ga. — Thanks to one swing of a leg and one shot into the far corner of a goal, two soccer teams built a bond that exemplifies what sports is all about.

Southeast Whitfield High School traveled to Gatlinburg, Tenn. last weekend to participate in the Smoky Mountain Cup. The 43-team tournament is divided into several divisions of varying size. Southeast was in the six-team Mount LeConte Division and with only three games for each team, it was possible multiple teams could finish undefeated and the champion would be determined by tiebreakers.

Southeast finished its last game Saturday morning and its players knew they would have to wait until Saturday evening at least to find out if they were the champions. Specifically, the Raiders needed Cookeville (Tenn.) to either lose or draw in either of its last two games. The Cavaliers played Sequoyah that night and the Southeast players decided to watch the game and pull for the Chiefs.

What none of the players knew was that the night would become a special memory.

“At first, we didn’t have any idea who they were,” Sequoyah senior Cole Heard said of Southeast. “I just kind of figured it was a team that needed us to win for some reason or maybe a rival team of who we were playing, but it was cool to just have some random team cheering us on.”

The Raiders were loud and supportive the entire game, but their spirits dropped when Cookeville took a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes to play. Southeast’s hopes of a division title took a hit with the Cavaliers goal, but the Raiders continued to believe and shouted encouragement toward the Sequoyah players.

With 45 seconds left, Heard blasted a right-footed shot across to the far corner that tied the game and sent the Raiders players into a frenzy. Southeast senior Leonel Lugo described the emotional roller coaster that the final minutes provided.

“When Cookeville scored that goal, my whole mood changed,” he said. “Before that I was happy because we had won our games, but then they scored and it changed immediately because I thought we could beat Cookeville. Then when Cole got that goal I just ran, I was so excited, I didn’t even know where I was going. All of us were so happy.”

The director of the tournament said someone on the radio declared, “It sounds like someone just won the World Cup down here” because the Southeast players’ reactions to the goal were so boisterous. They ran down to the sideline and waited for the final seconds to tick off. Once they had, the players rushed the field in search of their hero.

“Three of them came over and just shook my hand and told me ‘Great shot,’ but I saw the rest of them kind of waiting and waved for them to come over,” Heard said. “They all surrounded me and started chanting ‘eight’ (Heard’s number).”

Both teams joined in the celebration before a Southeast player asked if the teams could take a photo together. The teams then went their separate ways, but that wasn’t the end of their story. Heard posted on Twitter, “This is why I love the sport. Team we don’t even know cheering us on and having a great day! @RaiderRage1 love the support and the celebrations.”

After that post, Lugo reached out to Heard with a message and the two started a conversation. They talked about soccer, about the goal and about their plans for college. But then Lugo changed the conversation to talking about a common opponent, one that Southeast is desperate to gain any advantage against it can.

“I asked him about Dalton and their weak spots,” Lugo said. “He said that he thinks they are beatable and that he thinks we can and that he hopes we do.”

Sequoyah lost to the Catamounts 3-1 on March 24. Heard said Dalton has beaten the Chiefs pretty handily over his career at Sequoyah and there is no question who he will be cheering for when the two Whitfield County rivals meet on Thursday.

“Dalton has kicked our butts the last couple years,” Heard said. “I told Leonel they are a great team, but that I want (Southeast) to win.”

The connection between the schools is even more unlikely because they actually do share a nasty history with one another. In the 2008 state tournament, Sequoyah came to Dalton to face Southeast and the game was marred by several confrontations, leading to three Chiefs receiving red cards. There were accusations of racial slurs being used and the Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy on the scene had to get involved.

Sequoyah head coach John Zonin said that incident occurred the year before he got there. While none of the current players or coaches for either team was involved, he said it just goes to show that sports can bring anyone together.

“I took over the year after and was told about what happened and that we probably wouldn’t play them for a while,” Zonin said. “But I always kept up with Dalton, Southeast and Northwest because they are all so good. Then to see them cheering for us, it just shows what the sport can do. These kids had never met each other and by the end of the game they are hugging.”

Heard said it was a moment he will never forget.

“My favorite team is Liverpool, and their motto is ‘You never walk alone,’ and I think that is really true of soccer,” Heard said. “Soccer brings people together all over the world, but to have that apply to me personally like this made me so happy. I couldn’t stop smiling for hours.”