Wald.
By Rubin E. Grant
Julian Kersh had a hard time trying to compare what it’s like to win a state soccer championship as a player and as a coach.
Kersh was a player on Homewood’s 2005 and 2006 boys state championship teams. He took over as the Patriots’ head coach in 2020, but the season was cut short because of the COVD-19 pandemic and there was no postseason.
In his first full season at the helm this spring, he guided Homewood to the Class 6A state title in the 30th AHSAA State Soccer Championships on May 7-8 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.
“It’s tough to put into words,” Kersh said. “It’s the ending we all dreamt up coming into the season. I remember well as a player all the joy of winning the state championship, but it’s a different pride winning as the coach at my alma mater. I wanted to give my players a platform to have a lifelong memory of doing it in a game they love and with their best friends.”
Homewood (18-3-3) captured the title with a 2-1 victory over McGill-Toolen (20-6-4) in the championship game.
Jacob Sitton scored the Patriots’ first goal on a header five minutes in and Yousef Nasser nailed the second goal shortly thereafter on an assist from Hardy Smith to give Homewood an early 2-0 lead.
“The key for us in the state tournament was the quick start in each game,” Kersh said. “We scored two minutes in against Fort Payne.”
The Patriots defeated Fort Payne 3-0 in the semifinals. Junior forward Bryan Sokell scored just 65 seconds into the game. The early goal was especially notable because Fort Payne (17-3-3) had allowed only one goal in three playoff wins en route to the semifinals.
Homewood’s Gage Estep added a goal midway through the first half, and Nasser scored midway through the second half on an assist from Adonijah Kaplelach. Homewood goalkeeper Luke Keown had three saves to earn the shutout.
In the final against McGill, Homewood didn’t allow a goal until the final minutes when the Yellow Jackets’ Jackson Ward scored with an assist from Henry Kilpatrick.
McGill had advanced to the final with a 3-1 win over Pelham in the semifinals.
Nasser was named the Class 6A boys MVP.
“It feels great,” Nasser said about winning the state title. “I’ve been dreaming about this since last year. It’s been an honor to play with this team.”
The championship was the sixth in Homewood school history. The Patriots’ other titles came in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2014 and 2018.
Indian Springs Claims First 4A-5A Boys Title
Indian Springs’ 6-foot-7 junior Jackson Nabors scored twice during an eight-minute stretch in the first half — the first on a header from a perfectly placed pass from teammate Nick Johnson — to lead Indian Springs (24-2-1) to a 2-0 victory over Russellville in the Class 4A-5A boys championship game.
Indian Springs handed Russellville (19-1-0) its only loss of the season, denying the Golden Tigers their first state boys soccer championship. Russellville reached the final with a 3-2 overtime victory over Crossville in the semifinals.
Nabors was named the tournament MVP. He had two assists in the 2-0 semifinal victory over Montgomery Academy before scoring both Indian Springs goals in the final. Junior Liam Falconer and Nathan Tozzi scored the goals against Montgomery Academy.
Indian Springs now has won four AHSAA boys’ state soccer titles, but this is the first in 4A-5A. The previous three titles, in 2008, 2014 and 2017, were in the state’s smallest classification.
Indian Springs won its five 2021 playoff games by a combined score of 19-2.
Indian Springs coach Rik Tozzi expressed appreciation for completing the season after the 2020 season ended early because of the pandemic.
“I’m just glad we’re back playing,” Tozzi said. “We were ranked sixth in the country when we lost it (the season) last year. We set eight state records and to come up here and have two clean sheets is fantastic. We played two quality opponents and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys.”
