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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s William Lewis (14) high-fives Homewood’s Charlie Herring (10) after scoring for the Patriots in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Brooks Harwell (2) passes the ball guarded by Gardendale’s Elijah Parker (17) in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s William Lewis (14) takes a shot at the goal in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Will Jackson (8) hugs Homewood’s William Lewis (14) after Lewis scored for the Patriots in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Charlie Herring (10) moves the ball downfield in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Will Jackson (8) scores on a penalty kick for the Patriots in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Charlie Webb (5) passes the ball in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s William Lewis (14) smiles after scoring for the Patriots in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Charlie Chewning (20) passes the ball in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s William Lewis (14) scores in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Banks Landgren (11) passes the ball guarded by Gardendale’s Cole Vance (24) in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s William Lewis (14) takes the ball to the goal guarded by Gardendale’s Cole Vance (24) in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Charlie Herring (10) dribbles the ball downfield guarded by Gardendale’s Tanner Dill (22) in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Brooks Harwell (2) passes the ball guarded by Gardendale’s Guillermo De La Cruz (3) in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Gid Malone (16) heads the ball in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Will Jackson (8) moves toward the goal in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Homewood’s Charlie Herring (10) takes a shot at the goal in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
The Homewood student section cheers for the Patriots in the first half of a Class 6A quarterfinal game against Gardendale at Waldrop Stadium on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
HOMEWOOD -- Will Jackson scored two goals, goalkeeper Jacob Hill recorded his second shutout of the playoffs, and the Homewood High School boys soccer team beat Gardendale 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A playoffs, punching its ticket to the state final four for the second consecutive season.
The Patriots, coming off an emotional Tuesday night rivalry win against Mountain Brook, faced a quick turnaround on Thursday against Gardendale. The Rockets, which entered the night with a record of 18-3-3, met Homewood in each of the previous two playoffs and have a reputation for being tough and defensively sound. Despite the task the Patriots faced, head coach Julian Kersh was never concerned about his team’s mindset.
“It’s tough to play two days later when you've expended yourself so much emotionally and physically, but the boys knew that we had a simple task of winning and going to the final four,” he said. “I’ve trusted my guys all year. I was never too worried about them not being ready to play or looking past Gardendale. We knew from playing them the last couple years in the playoffs that they're a real team and they can definitely hurt you on their night, so focus was never an issue for us.”
Jackson, a senior midfielder committed to Wake Forest, opened the scoring with a penalty kick goal that gave Homewood a 1-0 advantage. Ten minutes later, forward William Lewis received a pass from Jackson at the left corner of the box and promptly doubled the Patriots’ lead. For the third consecutive playoff game, Homewood went into halftime ahead by multiple goals.
Despite his team’s 2-0 lead, Kersh wasn’t satisfied with Homewood’s quality of play and implored the Patriots to keep their foot on the gas.
“I honestly think we could have been sharper [in the first half]. That's kind of what we talked about at halftime,” Kersh said. “Knowing how good Gardendale is and how physical and intense of a team they can be, we knew the job wasn't done.”
“[In the moment], it’s easy to think we have a foot in [the Final Four], but we absolutely didn't at that point,” he added. “I respect Gardendale's program a lot, I know what they're all about, and I knew they were gonna make it a very difficult second half. At 2-0, it was always about getting the third goal. Whoever gets the next goal in a game that sits at 2-0 is the big one.”
Sophomore Amon Kaplelach gave the Patriots the all-important next goal 10 minutes into the second half, tapping home a Jackson assist and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
From there, the floodgates opened. Jackson recorded his second goal, freshman forward Andy Platt cleaned up a missed shot, and midfielder Giovanni Lopez wrapped up the scoring by heading in a Mac Webb throw-in to give Homewood a 6-0 lead.
The Patriots now have a week to rest before heading to Huntsville for the state semifinals. They will play either Randolph or Fort Payne, the latter of which eliminated Homewood from the 2023 playoffs.
“[We’re focused on] making sure we get fit, healthy and rested. What a chance to go play at a final four and play for a state championship,” Kersh said. “Obviously there’s that component of looking at our opponent from last year who knocked us out. My guys will be hungry and I can't wait to see them play.”
