Central Falls In Regional Title
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FAIRMONT -- It wasn't the suspenseful whirlwind of high-end drama and tit-for-tat triumphs Fairmont Senior rode to the state tournament last season, but the defending Class AA/A state champion Polar Bears are heading back to Beckley.
Only this time, they're doing so in authoritative fashion.
After steamrolling through the sectional tournament last week, Fairmont Senior etched another performance of tactical dominance and relentless effort on Thursday as it dispatched Wheeling Central 4-0 to claim the Class AA/A Region I title and book a return to the state tournament.
"Fairmont Senior has never done this, we've never gone to states back-to-back years," Fairmont Senior coach Darrin Paul said. "So to be the first to do it back to back, that's a huge accomplishment for our guys. Our goal is always to win it all, but to just get back (to states) back-to-back years with a target on our backs and the way we're living now with COVID, these guys have worked their tails off and done things the right way."
In what was a rematch of a wild, back-and-forth 2019 regional final that Fairmont Senior won 4-3 in overtime on a golden goal by Isaac Branch, the Polar Bears (17-3) had no trouble with the Maroon Knights (12-5-3) this time around.
FSHS rolled up a 15-2 shots advantage over Wheeling Central in the first half, secured a 2-0 lead by the break, and then poured in a pair of insurance goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as it dominated the game's possession and tempo throughout.
"Last year (against Wheeling Central), we kept it close, but this year, we wanted to bury them early and continue to do that throughout," said Fairmont Senior captain Jonas Branch, who finished the night with a goal and an assist. "I think we did a fairly good job of doing that today."
Each of Fairmont Senior's Big Three of Bubby Towns and the Branch brothers, Jonas and Isaac, as well as sophomore midfielder Kaelen Armstrong tallied goals in the game as the Polar Bears eventually wrangled complete control of the game over the final 30 minutes of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half.
"All of us as a team, we're all solid players so we want to come out and knock the ball around and possess," said Jonas Branch, who delivered the final of FSHS's four goals on the night. "I think overall by far the most satisfying thing you can do in soccer is when you out-possess somebody and you find those opportunities on the last pass and then you just bury it."
Fairmont Senior pieced together plenty of surgically-executed, tic-tac-toe-style attacks that manifested into quality shots, and eventually it became too much to withstand for the Maroon Knights despite a stingy, full-game effort that kept that at least kept things close on the scoreboard.
"It's our home field and we wanted to make sure that we took care of business," Paul said, "and I think we did that for the most part."
Wheeling Central did manage to spook Fairmont on a few occasions early via free kick entries into the box, but Polar Bears keeper Eli Day kept things clean and eventually FSHS suffocated WCHS in its own half and attacking third.
"I think some of us were a little bit nervous coming out today because of course you don't want this to be your last game and all," said Isaac Branch, captain of the FSHS backline, "but as soon as we got our feet under us you saw the result. We got the feel, we started possessing a little bit better in their end, and we were able to finish some."
Towns lifted the Polar Bears from a hazy early start when he put home a goal off an assist by Jonas Branch in the 13th minute, and then after WCHS keeper Giulio Gentile fended off a flurry of shots with six first-half saves, Isaac Branch fired a devastating bullet with just 30 seconds left in the first half that hit off the far post and into the goal for a 2-0 lead.
"I saw him when he was coming across and all he had to do was read that last defender and pick a corner, and he picked the left side and hit it in off the post. It was a great shot," said Jonas of his brother's missile.
"I could not have finished that though without my other 10 guys on the field so it's not just me," Isaac said before Towns jokingly reprimanded him for his modesty.
Fairmont Senior then tacked on two more goals to start the half, with Armstrong scoring his goal in the 49th minute and then Jonas Branch recording his a minute later in the 50th minute.
"Kaelen played a heck of game," Paul said of Armstrong. "They gave us the middle and Kaelen went right down the middle. That's the thing I've been encouraging him to do is to not take second fiddle to anybody – he's playing in the middle of Bubby and Jonas – and continue to push forward. He did a great job tonight of owning the middle and working the ball well.
"I thought Gage (Carlson) also did a good job, and Braylon Weekley came in for Ashton (Cecil) and he played pheonmenal up top – he was great holding forward, he held the ball, and he played the ball to the guys we needed to get the ball to."
Fairmont Senior now heads back to Beckley for a second straight season where it'll be joined in the Class AA/A field by Charleston Catholic and Herbert Hoover while Region IV finalists Scott and Point Pleasant await the status of Sunday' rescheduled regional final.
"The hardest thing to do is go back to back. I definitely think last year people thought we were the underdogs, but I think going in this year people know what to expect and they want to take that title from us," Fairmont's Jonas Branch said. "But I think if we come in hard and play as a team, I think we'll do perfectly fine and we can go back to back."