Published May 20, 2009 09:46 pm -
Brookwood one win from title game
Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — Brookwood’s work in the classroom is done.
The boys soccer team still has unfinished business, however.
Five days after the school held its graduation, the Warriors will return to the field today in a GISA Class AAA semifinal matchup at Pinecrest Academy.
Brookwood will play in Cumming at 6 p.m.
“We’ve been prepared for this all season,” Brookwood coach Eric Dobrzanski said. “I told them from the beginning that, not winning the state championship is not our goal at this point.
“It’s tough in a week where he had graduation on Saturday. I’ve got six starting seniors that are just glad to be done with high school, period. A lot of these kids are looking at their college future and looking forward to that, which they should. But we’ve still got to focus on a final four, which wasn’t our goal. It’s a state championship which was our primary goal. I feel that we had a team this year that was prepared to do that.”
Brookwood’s record speaks for itself. The Warriors are 10-1-1 following a 4-1 victory against Lafayette Christian in the quarterfinal round last week. That victory has provided the Warriors and their senior class a golden opportunity.
“It’s just a good feeling at this point, especially when we talk about the six seniors that we built on from last year and being the core group of kids they are now,” Dobrzanski said. “It’s unbelievable for them to be in this ride to the final four.”
Two of Brookwood’s seniors helped drive the Warriors into the semifinal round. In last weekend’s win, Blair Austin tallied three goals and Harrison Avera chipped in another as Brookwood overcame Lafayette and a three-hour rain delay to win.
“I think their one goal kind of woke us up from that three-hour delay. We just kind of poured it on at that point,” Dobranzski said.
Brookwood looks to have the same type of success today, although it won’t be easy. Pinecrest is 13-1 following a 2-0 win against Westminster in the quarterfinal round.
“They put a couple of their clips of their quarterfinal game on (the Website) youtube, so my boys, obviously, found it,” Dobrzanski said. “When we met (Monday) in a meeting, a couple of my boys were watching it when I got in. I think my boys got a couple of looks at what they have. I don’t know whether it settled them down a little bit or made them feel better about it. I know after I watched it, I can make a few adjustments.”
If Brookwood wins, the championship game will be Saturday at Stratford Academy.