Perryton's season comes to an end with 3-1 bi-district loss to Burkburnett
CANYON — This year was the first official season of competition for the Perryton boys soccer team. Though they competed in a club format, this was their first year as part of the UIL.
While they ended with a 3-1 loss to Burkburnett in the Class 4A bi-district round of the playoffs on Friday, the Rangers had plenty to keep their heads high as they walked out of Happy State Bank Stadium.
Perryton showed it grit, which is a part of the program’s identity going forward.
After falling behind by one goal in the 24th minute, the Rangers battled back as JJ Salaz scored on a penalty kick to knot things up at 1-1. Burkburnett added two more goals before — which was enough to keep Perryton at bay until the end of the match.
The final horn signaled the end of a season, but what an introduction.
The Rangers finished second in District 4-4A to go along with an undefeated record in district at 8-0-4. They went 11-4-5 overall, beat district champion Pampa once and tied them another time.
That's more than most programs can say and something to build on for the the underclassmen.
"These guys have a lot of experience," Pampa coach Jesus Ramirez said. "We're going to lose a lot of guys and we'll have to fill some big shoes, but we've got the personnel there to do it. It's never the way you want to end a season. It's just one of those games where nothing goes your way."
It did appear after the PK that Perryton scored an additional goal, but the Rangers were called offside, negating the score. Once Burkburnett took the 2-1 edge, it began to play ball control, running off as much clock as possible in order to minimize the Rangers' chances of leveling the score and putting the pressure on their opponent.
The Rangers may feel disappointed, but they have the first year of official experience to build off of.
Perryton is now a part of the growing soccer culture in the Panhandle, which included 16 teams advancing to the postseason from the area and seven moving on to the area round. There's plenty of reason to believe that Perryton will be in the mix next season as well.
"We've got a lot of guys coming back," Ramirez said. "We've got some freshmen that came in this year that are very capable of stepping in. We've got a class of about nine juniors that are coming strong. We'll be able to plug and play once again."
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Perryton's season comes to an end with 3-1 bi-district loss to Burkburnett
