Boys Soccer Advances; Boys Golf Finishes 5th

The SJCS boys soccer team took care of business on the road in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs Monday night. Then the Knights found out they would be returning home for the second round.

The Knights, the third seed out of Region 2 and the No. 9 seed in the Upper State, breezed to an 8-0 win over host Belton-Honea Path, the third seed out of Region 1 and No. 8 in the Upper State.

Meanwhile, Southside Christian, which finished sixth in Region 2 and has the No. 16 seed, knocked off Region 3 champion (and top-seeded) Greer Middle College 2-1 on penalty kicks.

Thus, St. Joe's (12-5) will have home-field advantage in the second round against Southside Christian (3-9-3). The teams will play at 7:00 PM Thursday. The Knights won both regular-season meetings, by scores of 2-0 and 3-0.

Against BHP on Monday, Jonny Bunecke scored four goals for the Knights, and Andrew Moore-King, Brody Hall, Colin Keefe and Phil Adil each scored once.

Moore-King, Hall, Adil, Daniel Leon-Osorio, Liam Montes, Lukas Mueller and Rhys Roberts each had an assist.

Josh Linebaugh (three saves) and Lincoln Davis (two saves), who played the final 20 minutes in goal, combined on the shutout.

Worth noting: Powdersville, Christ Church, Palmetto and Carolina -- which finished fifth and beat Region 1 champion Pendleton -- also won first-round matches, which means of the eight teams remaining alive in the Upper State, six are from Region 2.

Boys Golf

The Knights struggled in the Region 2-3A tournament Monday, finishing fifth at The Preserve at Verdae Golf Club. Powdersville and Southside Christian went down to the wire for the title, with the Patriots (302) coming in just ahead of the Sabres (305). Christ Church (311) was third, followed by Palmetto (332) and St. Joe's (341).

Cael Roberts led the Knights with an 82. Bryce Chapman followed with an 84, while Clyde Williams (87), George Covington (88) and Smith Crick (88) rounded out the team's scores.

The Knights will have an opportunity to regroup on Wednesday with a nine-hole practice round at The Preserve. Next up will be Monday's state qualifier at Saluda Valley Country Club in Williamston.