Northwest Rankin holds off Gulfport 1-0 to clinch 7A South State title
FLOWOOD — For the second time in three seasons, the Northwest Rankin Cougars are heading to the state championship game.
Behind a strong defense and some inspired play from goalkeeper Ryan Smith, the Cougars held off the Gulfport Admirals 1-0 in the MHSAA Boys Class 7A Soccer South State Championship on Tuesday night.
Northwest Rankin (22-1-2) will face the Hernando Tigers (19-3) for the Class 7A State Championship at 6 p.m. Saturday night at Ridgeland.
MORE: 2024 MHSAA Boys Soccer State Tournament Brackets
“I thought in the first half we played too slow, and our tempo was real slow and I asked the guys to pick it up,” said Northwest Rankin coach Chris Gardner. “We came out fast and was able to get a quick goal and made stand up, so that was awesome. We worked on corners all week where they left a hole right in front of the net and that’s where we were aiming for and we were able to get it in.”
The games only game came with within the first two minutes of the second half as Jay Hurt scored off a corner kick in the 42nd minute.
“It was a good ball played in by Braxton (Williams) and Cade (Thortis) missed the tap in," Hurt said. "But luckily I was there to put the ball in the net, and it all worked out in the end. It was a pretty physical game, but we’ve worked all year for this and we love these types of games. We’ve been through a lot of (overtime wins) this year, so we’re built for these types of games. This will be my second time in a state championship game, so since the last one we lost in overtime hopefully we can get this one.”
Smith had five saves in the net for Northwest Rankin, including one shot that was heading for the upper left corner he deflected over the crossbar and out of bounds.
“I think both goalkeepers were the best players on the field because they both made some saves that probably shouldn’t have been,” Gardner said. “It’s exciting to get back to state championship and have another shot. We didn’t get the goal ball last time, so we’re going to do our best to be dialed in and ready to go. It’s a great opportunity for the boys.”
Gulfport finished the season 22-3-1. The Admirals had nine shots on goal, with two different shots hitting the cross bar.
“Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way and we had opportunities to get the ball in the back of the net,” said Gulfport coach Donevin Esterhuizen. “We did what we needed to do to get chances, but this game is about scoring goals and we didn’t do that.”
