Sherwood-to-Brock keeps GMC Prep soccer going to semifinals

Matthew Brown, The Union-Recorder, Milledgeville, Ga.
·4 min read

Apr. 29—There are no Johnnies on the Georgia Military College Prep boys soccer team, but there was a 'Johnny on the spot' Tuesday to score the winning goal late in the first half of the Bulldogs' tough GHSA A Public quarterfinal clash at home with Trion High.

Brian Sherwood, as exhausted as a marathon runner by the way he spread out on the grass at his team's bench when the final minutes were winding down, put everything he had on the field looking for a tiebreaking opportunity. With less than six minutes to play, he was deep in the right corner and sent the ball into the box near the net. Trion's goalkeeper could not get a hold of that ball, and there was 'Johnny,' or more specifically Brody Brock. The ball deflected off Brock's body into the goal, and the Bulldogs were on their way to the semifinals with the 2-1 victory.

"Brian was gassed," said GMC Prep head coach Bobby Jaworski. "Really working his tail off. He had a little bit of trouble in the first half finding himself and started finding confidence in that second half.

"The ball was played out to his side, he got in under control and was able to send that cross. Unlucky for the goalkeeper. He had hands on it, but Brody was in perfect position. Great effort by everybody, even the link up play that found Brian in the corner."

And so the season continued on Friday at Dalton Academy for the defending Class A Public champions. This quarterfinal was the polar opposite of GMC Prep's second round win that didn't go a full 80 minutes when it ended 10-0 against Bryan County. Though Trion came in as a fourth-place region seed, it had a knack for playing close matches against highly-ranked clubs in its own region (6-A Public). That included Drew Charter, which knocked ACE out 1-0 in Macon in another quarterfinal, and Dalton Academy, which outscored its opposition 17-0 in three playoff matches.

There was barely a long stretch of ball possession by either club Tuesday in Milledgeville but a whole lot of running.

"We have guys with good legs," said Jaworski. "They have the fitness level to go a full 80 minutes. They were battling, even towards the end of the game with very little slow down."

If there was an extended period of domination on one side of the field, it was the first 20 minutes in favor of Trion, also called the Bulldogs from Chattooga County. And Trion scored the first goal dribbling into the penalty box and knocking in an angled shot to the right post at 19:43.

From there, it was back-and-forth play, and more chances emerged for the home team, even at 18:26 on a free kick of about 25 yards from Levi Ward that was played out by the keeper's hands and cleared.

Sherwood also became a point of concern for Trion as, at 14:30, he made a good play on the side of the box and the visitors had to head it out of the way.

Andrew Barnes got a hold of a 50-50, and it went from Ward to Justin Diep to Colby Avery. They sent the ball into the box, forcing a catch and punt from the Trion keeper.

At 11:40, Sherwood was going baseline thanks to the work of Owen McCabe, Tyler Smith and Diep. Sherwood went to the ground with no foul called, and Trion again cleared out the trouble.

Keeping the ball on GMC Prep's attacking side were Barnes, Shriyansh Parekh and Owen Simpson. Ward then took a throw in that went deep and rebounded back to him in play. He got a shot off that went way over the net. But it was clear Trion was playing much more on their heels until getting a corner kick at 6:26 of the first half. There was a big kick save from Bulldog Davis Duke at the left post, and though it was a second corner, Duke punched that ball up for a Ward clear.

McCabe then put his speed to work, and he passed off to Sherwood for a shot that was blocked. When the ball got back to midfield, Avery drew a foul, and from the free kick Barnes got a head shot into the goal tying things at 1-1 (3:56).

For 16 minutes of the second half, it was wide corner kicks and goalkeeper control. Duke had a clutch play at 26:08, and at 24:17 he successfully met an attacker that led to a corner kick.

At 22:40, Brock's pass to Parekh at the top of the box resulted in a saved shot. In the next five minutes Avery Kirkland broke up a Trion breakaway and Sherwood took a corner kick where Ward missed the goal wide.

Trion received the match's only yellow card at 13:10; Ward barely missed the mark again on the ensuing free kick from the left side.

Everyone had there touch on the ball from there until the winning goal. Trion had one significant shot to pull even at 2:52 but the blast sailed high.