By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – Getting off to a good start was important for South Effingham’s boys Friday night in the first round of the Class 6A state soccer playoffs at the Corral.
So the Mustangs were at a full gallop quickly, tallying three goals in a five-minute span for a sizable lead about 12 minutes into the game en route to a surprisingly easy 7-1 victory over Forest Park.
South (15-2-1) advanced to the state Sweet Sixteen and will host Riverwood (14-3-1) next Friday.
Riverwood, a No. 4 seed from Region 4, stunned Region 3’s top-seed Veterans 3-2 in the opening round.
“Veterans or Riverwood will be tough,” SEHS coach DaKota Paradice said after the game. “Riverwood is a four-seed but they play in a tough region. You’re only going to see tough teams at this point of the year.”
Forest Park, a No. 3 seed from Region 3, was expected to be a formidable test. But Tyler Quick’s header off a perfectly placed corner kick from Edson Escobar opened a scoring frenzy at 32:46 of the first half.
Cole Hoffman scored about two minutes later on a cross from Desmond Prince.
At 27:43, Prince was pulled down in the penalty box and converted the subsequent penalty kick.
Boom, boom, boom, 3-0. Pity the person who chose those five minutes to go to the concession stand.
“This senior class has learned from (previous playoff) losses and if you can attack your opponent and get a lead on them, it’s going to be hard for (the opponent) to come back,” Paradice said.
A year ago, in the second round, the Mustangs missed an early scoring chance and eventually lost 1-0 to Lakeside.
This time, to press the attack, Paradice moved Escobar, his leading scorer, to striker.
South finished with six different goal scorers – Quick, Hoffman, Prince, J.P. Alonso and Escobar. Sophomore Tim France, who scored twice, came off the bench
“It was well-executed all the way around. Everyone played great,” Paradice said.
The seven goals equaled a season-high originally set on Feb. 27 against Effingham County.
The 15th win set a school single-season record. The Mustangs’ seniors have 55 wins (an overall record of 55-19-2) in their four-year career.
Forest Park (9-6) took 13 first-half shots, but managed only four shots on goal. Panther Wally Obregon scored on a mistake with 6:54 to go in the first half, but the South went into a defensive shell in the second half to slow down the Panthers.
The Mustangs gave up only four shots during the first 25 minutes of the second half and took advantage of pressing Forest Park to score three more times in the final 12:16.
SEHS freshman goalie Ryan Ellwood recorded eight saves.
“At one point, he was setting up the wall (for a free kick) and I heard the future senior voice come out of him,” Paradice said. “Everyone got quiet and did what he told them to do.”