STARKVILLE — Senior goalie Peyton Rodgers knew the spot.
Staring down Alabama F.C. teammate and Clinton senior Luke Bryant at the penalty spot Tuesday, Rodgers recognized Bryant’s preference for a shot to the bottom left corner of the cage from their time on the travel pitch.
Stretching across the goal mouth, the Starkville keeper guessed right. It didn’t matter.
With the ball tucked into the bottom right corner of the goal behind him and Bryant running toward the corner flag following his go-ahead penalty kick, a solemn look graced Rodgers’ face as Starkville’s (12-5-1) season concluded with a 2-0 overtime loss in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association 6A Playoffs to Clinton (13-5-1).
“I went that way and he just went further than I did,” he said postgame, eyes swollen from tears. “It’s a good kick and I wish them luck the rest of the season.”
On a night that took 100 minutes to reach a conclusion, it was Rodgers’ heroic performance in cage that kept the Yellow Jackets within striking distance throughout.
Pressing forward through the middle of the field, the Arrows attack drove the Yellow Jacket defense on its heels as Rodgers was forced to make three saves in the game’s first eight minutes.
The Yellow Jackets’ best chance of the opening frame came when junior forward Dominique Bush pushed down the right sideline. Lining a right-footed cross along the ground into the center of the box, Bush’s ball found the cleat of sophomore midfielder Ashton Staton. Connecting with the rolling pass, Staton blasted a shot just high of the crossbar and off the bottom rung of the football goal post that stood watch above the cage at Yellow Jacket Stadium as the crowd oohed-and-ahhed at the near-miss.
“I think the biggest thing was we needed to slow down and move the ball,” Starkville coach William Wells said. “We were kind of anxious — too excited and just kicking. We said we had to move it through the midfield and once we did those times we had great opportunities to go to the goal but it just didn’t happen.”
While the Starkville attack was slowed through the game’s opening 40 minutes, Rodgers maintained the scoreless tie as the second half commenced.
Following a back and forth opening 15 minutes to the second frame, Bryant snatched a wayward touch off a Starkville defender and broke into the open field.
Racing off the goal line, Rodgers swept his legs through the ball as his body slid across the top of the 18-yard box to boot the opportunity away from Bryant.
The fourth-year keeper’s heroics persisted into the 68th minute as a bouncing ball squirted through the Starkville defense and toward the bottom left corner of the cage.
Meeting the caroming shot, Rodgers flicked it away with a swift right-handed punch to maintain a scoreless tie.
Bryant again narrowly missed a chance to seal it for Clinton as he popped a ball over a defender before booting it out of the air. Standing firm in the center of the goal, Rodgers punched the shot away as the referee’s whistle blew to signal the end of regulation.
Moments after Bryant’s spot kick goal, Clinton junior Carson Barefoot iced the contest with a right-footed score as the clock crept toward two minutes remaining in the second overtime period.
“Peyton was lights out — he saved us a bunch of times,” Wells said. “It was just unlucky with that penalty kick right there and then we were trying to get a goal back and we rushed everybody up to score and they had a pretty quick counter attack and got that second goal.”
As the referee’s whistle chimed to signal the end of Tuesday’s marathon match, Rodgers — who will kick for the East Mississippi Community College football team next fall — took a knee between midfield and the 18-yard box. Staring into the turf, the emotion of the moment overcame him as tears began streaming down his cheeks.
“I gave it all I could,” he said, choking up with each ensuing gasp of air. “At the end of the day it wasn’t meant to be. It’s my last game and I’m proud of myself, but couldn’t do enough.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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