Next man up.
Caledonia High School has had its fair-share of season-ending injuries. However, the Confederates continue to plug away in hopes of capturing the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A state championship in boys soccer.
Caledonia will play at Corinth Saturday in a second-round playoff match. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
“We have approached the season with a whatever it takes mentality,” Caledonia coach Mark Box said. “Whenever it ends, the other team will know it has gotten our best shot.”
Caledonia advanced with a 4-1 first-round win over Senatobia Monday night. After a sluggish first half, Caledonia pulled away from a 1-1 halftime tie by scoring two goals in the space of 45 seconds in the early stages of the second half.
Caledonia played the second half without the services of senior striker James Longmire who broke his leg during a first-half collision with a Senatobia player. The Confederates lost senior defender Chandler Lester at the start of the season with an ACL injury.
“This team has some depth,” Caledonia senior midfielder Robert Mims said. “Fortunately, we played a lot of guys throughout the season. When somebody’s number is called, we know they are going to step up and get the job done.”
Strong backline play was the key for Caledonia’s first-round victory. Lester was expected to anchor that line when the season started.
In the win over Senatobia, sophomore Sam Young really shined, as did junior fullback Andy Blakney. Mims also had a couple of key stops.
“We thought when the season started we would have a strong backline,” Box said. “Funny that it has turned out this way. We have played well back there but with a bunch of different faces. We had some young guys really step up.”
Box said the team played more possession soccer in the second half and that led to more scoring chances. A similar approach will be needed Saturday to garner the road win against a Corinth team, which advanced with a 1-0 win over Florence.
“We were looking forward to another chance to play Florence because they put us out last year (second round),” Mims said, “We know the next team we play will be really good either way and that we will have to step our game up another notch. It will be hard to go on the road and win but right now we have a lot confidence.”
The confidence meter had to go up after a dominating final 40 minutes against Senatobia.
“We settled down and got into a rhythm on both offense and defense,” Box said. “We have a good group of seniors and they have provided this team a lot of leadership. Then we have some young guys who have stepped up and really responded to the challenge.”
The Corinth-Caledonia winner will face either Kosciusko or Amory in Tuesday night’s North State Class 4A championship.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott.
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