From: "MD Smith" To: "M.D. Smith-Hiwaay" Subject: Indian Springs Soccer - Huntsville AND Birmingham Newspaper stories Date: Monday, May 12, 2008 12:16 PM Sunday, May 11, 2008 By MIKE EASTERLING Huntsville Times Sports Staff mike.easterling@htimes.com Indian Springs pins Raiders with three early goals Van Santos walked away from John Hunt Park with few regrets. He certainly wanted a better outcome Saturday, when his Randolph team lost 3-1 to Indian Springs in the Class 1A-4A boys soccer state championship. But Santos, the team's lone senior, was proud of the otherwise youthful Raiders. "I can't ask any more from them," Santos said after Randolph was denied its bid to three-peat. "It's a very young team. I asked them all year to work hard and they did. "They've got a good team. We've got a good team. It just wasn't our day." Indian Springs (22-6-1) jumped ahead by three goals before Randolph (18-5-0) scored on Alex Clay's penalty kick with 8:31 remaining in the first half. "Sometimes, we just come out slow," Clay said. "They had too much of a lead to overcome. "We controlled the game after we scored that goal,'' Clay said. "Controlled it more than we had been." Indian Springs held a 13-10 shots advantage, with both teams managing five in the second half. Indian Springs, which had the first soccer program in the state, won its first state title since the AHSAA first sanctioned the sport in 1991. Indian Springs' first coach, Ray Woodard, also attended the game. "He deserves the credit,'' Indian Springs coach Rik Tozzi said. "He brought soccer to Alabama.'' Indian Springs took a 1-0 lead when Alex Jamroz scored an unassisted goal with 32:55 left in the first half. Thomas Fox scored at 16:52 on an assist from Ben Guion, and David Pique scored on an assist from Taylor Hogan at 13:20. Freshman Drew McDonald made five saves for Randolph, while Freddie Delchamps had three for Indian Springs. Randolph started six freshman and sophomores. "We'll try to come back next year and get another title,'' Clay said. *****************[ photo by M.D. Smith below ]****************** Indian Springs boys capture 4A-1A state soccer crown Sunday, May 11, 2008 WESLEY HALLMAN Birmingha News staff writer HUNTSVILLE - Indian Springs coach Rik Tozzi didn't have a very high opinion of his team entering the 2008 campaign. "It was supposed to be a rebuilding year," Tozzi said. Indian Springs' youthful players proved otherwise Saturday by capturing the school's first Class 4A-1A boys soccer championship with a 3-1 victory over No. 3 Randolph at John Hunt Park. Class 4A-1A tournament MVP Alex Jamroz got the scoring started with an unassisted goal in the seventh minute and second-ranked Indian Springs (20-6-1) never looked back. "If a team has played better in the first 20 minutes of a match in this tournament, I haven't seen it," Tozzi said. "I couldn't be prouder of the guys. It certainly is sweet." Thomas Fox added Indian Springs' second goal with an assist from Ben Guion in the 23rd minute. David Pique capped the scoring for Indian Springs in the 26th minute on a goal with an assist from Taylor Hogan to help IS take a 3-0 lead into the halftime break. Randolph's Alex Clay scored the Raiders' lone goal with just over eight minutes remaining in the match. Indian Springs goalkeeper Freddie Delchamps finished with three saves while allowing one goal. Randolph (18-5) goalkeeper Drew McDonald blocked five shot attempts while allowing three goals. Tozzi, who had guided Indian Springs to the Final Four the previous three years, won his first title in his six-year career at Indian Springs. "This is the biggest stage most of our kids have played on since most of them don't play club soccer," Tozzi said. "I told them you can't ensure victory, but you can deserve it. Today they deserved it." Tozzi dedicated the win to Ray Woodard, who started soccer at Indian Springs and won several unofficial state titles before soccer was sanctioned by the AHSAA. ***************************************************************[ 30 ]**************************** (Note, I played Soccer at ISS from 1956 thru 1959 when I graduated. There were very few schools to play in those years, but our trip to Cullman playing St. Bernard school really taught our team a lesson when we got beaten really badly, about 12 to 1 as I remember. We became a much better team after that. Many of my friends played basketball and not much soccer, but it was one sport where everyone got to play, usually for as long as their wind could hold out, and sometimes with not many subs, you played the whole game. That was fifty years ago, and it seemed like only yesterday as I watched ISS win Saturday. Even though I have had several kids graduate from Randolph, in soccer, you know where my heart had to be on Saturday. :- ) M.D. Smith '59 Smith Broadcasting, Inc. SmithStoreit.com HiWAAY.net Internet Services 307 Clinton Avenue, Suite 100 Huntsville, AL 35801 256-536-8521, ext. 103