NOTEPAD: Mercer soccer seasons end, Macon teams in playoffs

Macon private schools set for semifinals

FPD and Stratford both won their quarterfinal showdowns in the GIAA Class 4A state tournament on Nov. 7, punching their ticket to the semis and drawing closer to a potential all-Macon state title game.

Stratford, which has the No. 1 seed in the bracket, dominated No. 9 Calvary Christian in the first half. The Eagles jumped out to a 30-0 lead and rode the advantage to a 37-21 victory. They will host No. 5 George Walton Academy, which remains undefeated after toppling No. 4 Bulloch Academy on the road in Statesboro last week.

The Vikings also handled their opponent with ease, rolling to a 42-7 win over No. 6 Strong Rock Christian. Star quarterback and safety Major Simmons was still injured, but talented running back and linebacker Brady McHugh returned and helped make a difference with four touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Cash Walker continued his great run filling in for Simmons as well.

The Vikings must go on the road and take on No. 2 Brookstone, which defeated FPD once at home already during the regular season. The Vikings lost that matchup 31-22 with Simmons still at quarterback early in the season.

Macon’s two other schools in the GIAA playoffs both lost in the Class 2A tournament. No. 8 Windsor’s hot streak came to an end with a 49-21 loss to No. 1 Brentwood, while No. 6 Central Fellowship lost on the road against No. 3 Southland Academy, 20-12.

Mercer men’s soccer season ends

Mercer’s men’s soccer team lost in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament Sunday, falling to UNC-Greensboro 2-0 despite having home field advantage in the match.

UNCG, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, got things started quickly with a goal from Teva Lossec off a corner kick from Steven Hernandez. The Bears held the Spartans off from there in the first half but struggled to produce offense of their own in that span.

UNCG added on in the 58th minute when Arnaud Tattevin netted a shot to make it 2-0, a lead that felt difficult to recover from with Mercer’s offense off its game. 

The Spartans led in both shots and shots on goal, as the Bears notched only seven shots on the night with five of them coming in the final 15 minutes of the match. Bryce Griffith led Mercer with three shots.

The Bears finished the season 5-9-4 after coming in second place in the conference during the regular season. Mercer will lose several key players, chief among them Junior Casillas, who had six goals and four assists for the Bears this year after transferring in from Omaha.

Mercer will also graduate four seniors — Tommy Redd, Fernando Arteaga, Grant Hampton and Lawson Cummins — who spent four seasons in the program and won two Southern Conference championships with the Bears.

Macon schools earn TD Club Honors

Players from FPD and Stratford earned the Macon Touchdown Club’s Player of the Week trophies this week after great efforts in the playoffs.

The club’s Back of the Week award went to FPD’s Brady McHugh, who had 93 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ playoff win over Strong Rock Christian. McHugh also had 53 yards and another touchdown receiving and tacked on 13 tackles on defense.

McHugh’s night was made all the more impressive by his injury status, as the star player for FPD was in his first game at full strength after missing time with a shoulder ailment earlier this year.

The club’s lineman of the week award also went to FPD, as junior linebacker Graham Moore took home the honors. Moore had 12 tackles and an interception in the dominant victory over Strong Rock.

The third and final award went to George Dunn, the punter, kicker and wide receiver for Stratford. In the Eagles’ playoff win over Calvary Christian, Dunn averaged 48 yards per punt and nailed all five of his extra point tries. Two of the punts were downed inside the 5-yard line, one of which set up a Stratford safety to open the scoring early.

Bears women’s soccer falls in title game

The Mercer women’s soccer team’s storybook postseason run came to an end Sunday, as the Bears lost to No. 1 Samford 4-1 in the Southern Conference championship game in Birmingham.

Mercer, which entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed, had to defeat No. 3 East Tennessee State and No. 2 Western Carolina to reach the title game. Those two wins were both thrilling matches, the latter over the Catamounts ending with a goal from Morganne Eikelbarner in overtime to give the Bears a 1-0 win.

The championship game did not unfold the same way, though it seemed at the start as if Mercer’s magic would continue.

Eikelbarner continued her hot playoff performance, netting a goal for the Bears just two minutes into the game to give Mercer an early lead. It was a slow burn from there, though, as Mercer’s stellar tournament defense could not hold out in the title game.

Samford scored its four goals scattered across the remaining 88 minutes, with scores coming at 21:47, 45:36, 59:50 and 70:07 for the Bulldogs. Samford’s leading scorer, Samantha de Luca, scored her 15th goal for the backbreaker to give Samford a two-goal advantage in the 60th minute. 

Nonetheless, it was a postseason run to remember for Mercer, which appeared in the SoCon championship game for the first time since 2015. The team’s 10-7-3 record was the third consecutive 10-win campaign for head coach Tony Economopoulis. 

Eikelbarner led the team with 10 goals and 24 points on the year, including the postseason. The transfer from Oklahoma was a senior this season. Mercer also got several great efforts this year from keeper Lindsay Bell, a longtime staple of the team in goal since taking hold of the position in 2022 as a redshirt freshman.