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Franklin
Monroe freshman Rayna Horner makes a pass to the middle of the
field during first half action Tuesday
against Northeastern. Franklin
Monroe topped Northeastern 1-0 on a late goal by sophomore Saige Morrie
to advance
to the second round of the sectionals Saturday at West
Liberty Salem. CNO Photo by George Starks
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Unlikely hero
produces winning goal for FM
Lady Jets to advance to second round
By George Starks
Pitsburg- When Franklin Monroe coach Scott Howell was told that
sometimes it’s better to be lucky than it is to be good and he got
lucky on this night, he responded, “Amen…amen.”
With only 12 girls dressed, Howell had to use every resource he had
Tuesday in the Lady Jets first round sectional game against
Northeastern.
With the two teams battling to a 0-0 first half tie, it was becoming
quite apparent the possibility of overtime was not out of the question.
Then the unlikeliest of heroes stepped up with 2:46 remaining in
regulation.
Sophomore Saige Morrie stuck the ball in the goal from about 25 yards
out to propel Franklin Monroe to a 1-0 victory over Northeastern.
It was a situation of being in the right place at the right time.
“We took a lot of shots down there and couldn’t finish at the net
tonight,” said Howell. “Saige was right where she needed to be to get
the kick and she put it in.”
“That was a good team,” said Howell. “We scrimmaged them earlier in the
season. In fact, they were the last team we scrimmaged and we knew we
were going to have our hands full. We figured the team that would score
the goal would get it off a bad bounce or a mistake of some fluke.”
With heavy rains having fell most of the day in Darke County and colder
temps taking its toll on the field and the players, things for the Jets
were not as it should have been.
With very sluggish play and sub-par passing, Howell was not
enthusiastic about the overall play of his team.
“I don’t know if it was the field conditions, the weather or how we
practiced the last two days,” said Howell. “Our communication wasn’t
there today and we talked about it at half-time. We were ramming into
each other and if we’re going to have a game like this, let’s have it
today and we still come out and played the same way. We had a great
practice last night, aybe the best one we’ve had and maybe that
backfired on us. I’m not sure.”
With Ashton Shellabarger on the bench and only one sub to go to, the
Jets seemed to be wearing down quick as the game wore on.
“We were winded and they were subbing and running us,” said Howell. “We
were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to finish one. We thought
we could beat this team but you don’t know if you don’t finish. If you
don’t finish, it’s not going to happen for you.”
With the opening game in the books, the Jets will go to West
Liberty-Salem and a date with the 14-1-1 Tigers.
“This is a tough team we’re going to face,” said Howell. “Their only
loss is to Newton and we played Newton tough. They are a
well-disciplined team that works together. We’re going to have our
hands full.”
Franklin Monroe will square off against the Tigers Saturday in a 7 pm
start.
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