Hardesty, Jackson pace the Tigers in win over the Lions

GREENFIELD — Three goals in the first half by McClain senior Cody Hardesty was more than enough for the Tigers to win their home opener Monday, as they eventually won by an 11-1 score in their non-league match against the visiting Fairfield Lions.

In fact, the senior set a new school record for goals in a game, finishing with six goals against the Lions. He was by far the standout of the match for the Tigers (0-1, 1-1) at McClain Field, scoring three goals in each half.

Also with a hat-trick was McClain junior Tyler Jackson, with all of his goals coming in the second half.

"This was an outstanding game from the team," MHS head coach Jon Chamblin said. "This game showed our potential, and our conditioning worked out to our advantage because we wore them out, and once we took fire, there was no stopping us.

"As for Tyler, he had two great headers. We passed well, and with our assists, Tommy Free did an outstanding job."

The onslaught of goals by the Tiger senior began when Hardesty tied the score at 1-1 with 7:29 left in the first half as he raced ahead of the defense in a breakaway for the goal.

His second goal didn't take very long to hit the scoreboard as he scored a goal with the net unmanned, getting past the Fairfield keeper and defense for the 2-1 lead with 6:16 on the clock.

Hardesty's final first-half goal, and the goal for the hat-trick, came at the 1:49 mark, giving the Tigers a 3-1 advantage.

"Cody had a great day," Chamblin said. "We look for him to do that a lot because of his speed."

Fairfield's lone goal of the first half was the first goal scored between the two Highland County counterparts as Randy Lamme put the ball in the back of the goal with 36:09 on the clock, catching the Tigers' defense off-balance for the early one-goal lead.

Fairfield head coach Brian Ortlieb spoke about the loss.

"Defensively, we fell apart," he said. "We fell into the trap of getting into bad habits, and it continued through the rest of the game. We didn't adjust well, and we have a lot to work on.

"If we could have come out in the second half early and scored, we could have got back into the game. Once they (MHS) broke throughout our back line, it got to us."

One positive for the Lions (0-1) was the play of three players, according to their head coach.

"Ryan Mathews, Macky Jones and Tristan Seaman all worked hard," Ortlieb said. "As a team, we have to keep working hard and play a smarter game."

In the second half, Hardesty added to his scoring totals, with his fourth goal of the match coming 23 seconds into the second half.

That goal was followed by consecutive goals from Jackson, who had two header goals with 36:23 and 34:19 left in the match.

The fifth goal by Hardesty went to the back of the net at the 30:30 mark of the second half.

With 27:58 remaining on the clock, McClain senior Trace Poore added to the Tigers' lead, putting the home team in front by seven goals at 8-1.

Jackson's hat-trick came as he battled 20 yards with the defense of the Lions, eventually scoring with 23:32 remaining in the match for a McClain lead of 9-1.

Hardesty continued to score on the Lions, with the Tigers breaking away once again from the Lions' defense to make it a 10-1 lead with 20 minutes left in the match.

The Tigers continued to pressure the Lions, gaining a 10-goal lead with 15:51 on the clock, as senior Tommy Henry scored a goal.

At goal for the Tigers was sophomore Cameron Yates with seven saves in the win.

"Our defense was lights out," Chamblin said "This was a good bounce-back, a confidence builder for the kids. I'm glad we got the win."