Tigers dominate Piketon in season opener; Davis scores 5 goals

The McClain boys varsity soccer team, under first-year coach John Gill, started the season off with a convincing 21-2 victory over visiting Piketon on McClain Field Friday night.

Junior Creed Davis scored five goals to lead the Tigers’ scoring attack, followed by freshman Brayden Shover, sophomore Case Robbins and junior Brynnen Babbs, all of whom tallied three goals each (hat tricks).

“We set the tone early in this game tonight and had a lot of people score goals, which I was happy to see,” said Gill. “Last year we were kind of a one-man army, so over the summer we worked hard on a whole core of strikers to make sure everyone could consistently help out the team scoring goals.

“Creed Davis got us going offensively, and Zayne Knisley, who is just a freshman, did a nice job at keeper tonight, giving up just the two goals.”

McClain scored early and often and led 10-2 at halftime with five Tigers scoring goals, led by Davis, who had three.

In the second half, Babbs got things going quickly on the offensive end of the field when he scored three straight goals to begin the period and push the McClain led to 13-2. The Tigers were able to coast the rest of the way, scoring eight more goals by several different players.

“We are a very young team with some little guys out there, but they are really dedicated to what we’re trying to accomplish, and that’s all I can ask for,” Gill said. “I had to cycle through positions because of our limited numbers and made sure that everyone was contributing both offensively and defensively.

“We were able to get our defensive formations and attacking formations set early in the game, and I thought both were very successful for the most part.

“I’m very impressed with this win tonight but there is still a lot to work and improve on,” Gill continued. “Logan Elm comes in here Monday night with a strong program that is well-coached, and that will be a bigger test for us.”

McClain next entertains Logan Elm Monday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m.

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