Wheeling Central Readies For Regionals
Maroon Knights’ Playoff Run Pits Them Against Frankfort Falcons
Nick Henthorn Trending
WHEELING - The Wheeling Central Catholic Maroon Knights can count themselves among the final eight boys soccer teams standing in the Class-A/AA field, finding themselves in the Region 1 championship Tuesday after downing Trinity Christian 2-1 in the sectional final on Saturday.
Down 1-0 at halftime, Joey Barki's goal off a corner kick in the 50th minute and Jeremy Ratcliffe's header score in the 71st minute flipped the game in Central's favor.
"It was a great win for the program, it was a great win for the kids," Maroon Knights head coach Brian Komoroski said Monday. "We really had in the second half of the game, though we were down 1-0, we had all the momentum. It was like running downhill. We were playing really well, we had a lot of possession. We kept pouring it on, finally scored, and once we scored that first goal, they didn't back off. They ended it, and they played really well."
It was the third time that Trinity Christian and Wheeling Central Catholic had faced off this season, with the two teams playing to a draw once, and Trinity beating the Maroon Knights once.
The outcome was different in the postseason though. Wheeling Central Catholic has scored a 3-0 win over Weir and 2-1 win over Trinity in the playoffs after a 7-7-6 regular season.
"What we are now is healthy," Komoroski said about his team's postseason play.
"We had a string of injuries throughout the regular season. I have 15 kids that I can go with at any time, and all 15 of them are healthy. That gives us the opportunities to slot kids into different positions, to match up and play the right way."
The Maroon Knights have gotten contributions from veterans and newcomers this year, with freshmen like Tino Sperlazza, who had seven saves against Trinity, complimenting seniors like Jeremy Ratcliffe, Thomas Komorowski, Luke Minor, Joey Secrist, and Levi Estep.
The seniors are bringing playoff experience along with their talents on the pitch, which is coming in handy on Wheeling Central's recent run.
"I have nine seniors, there's a handful who have played here all four years," Komoroski said. "Three of them have played in a regional final, they've seen the game. They were freshmen when we were here last. They've been there, they have experience, so that helps. Right now they're a loose bunch, which is great. They're just playing game-by-game, and that's the way we've been playing it since the beginning of the playoffs, one game at a time."
The Maroon Knights will face Frankfort on Tuesday for the regional championship in a game played at Oak Glen High School.
The Frankfort Falcons (10-3-3) got to the regional championship after defeating Fairmont Senior in the sectional finals, 3-2, in overtime. As Fairmont Senior had captured four straight regional titles, Tuesday will mark a new winner out of Class-A/AA Region 1 for the first time since 2019.
This is Frankfort's first rip to the regional finals, and Wheeling Central's first trip since 2020
Wheeling Central has not played Frankfort this season, but Komoroski said his opponent seems familiar to him.
"When I watch them, it's like I'm watching film of us," Komoroski said. "They're a gritty bunch, they have some skill players and a lot of athletes who are hungry for the ball, who go for the ball. It's almost like you're coaching against yourself."