By Rubin E. Grant
Will Jackson wasn’t a part of Homewood’s 2021 state championship soccer team as he spent his freshman season training in the MLS Next youth soccer program in Nashville.
He was on the team in 2023 when the Patriots suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Fort Payne in the Class 6A semifinals.
Last Saturday, Jackson made sure the Patriots wouldn’t come away without a blue map championship trophy in the AHSAA 2024 State Soccer Championships at Loretto P. Spencer Sports Complex at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.
The senior midfielder scored an unassisted goal just 77 seconds into the game and added a second goal in the second half on a penalty kick, leading Homewood to a 3-1 victory against Spanish Fort in the Class 6A boys championship game.
“This really means a lot,” Jackson said. “Ever since I’ve been on the team, winning a state championship is all I wanted to do. It’s a super relief because of all the work we put into it.”
Jackson, who is headed to Wake Forest to play in college, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player as the Patriots claimed their seventh boys state title.
“I tried not to let nerves get the best of me and just play freely,” Jackson said. “Being MVP is a great honor, but I’m more proud of the way our team performed than any individual award.”
Homewood (24-3-4) controlled the tempo from start to finish.
“I’m so proud of the grit, the determination, the work all year long,” Homewood coach Julian Kersh said. “We fell short in the semifinals last year, so we knew we had a job to do. They came out and delivered.”
Senior forward Charlie Herring scored Homewood’s final goal, blasting a shot into the net on an assist from Drew Giardina.
Spanish Fort (12-10-2) averted a shutout with a goal by Dylan Gaynor at 69:20 in the second half.
Homewood goalkeeper Jacob Hill had four saves.
The Patriots avenged their 2023 loss to Fort Payne in the semifinals, shutting out the Wildcats 2-0. Fort Payne was the 2023 champion.
Jackson scored the first goal on an assist from senior Charlie Herring at 39:31 in the first half. Homewood’s other goal came with just 1:55 remaining when junior midfielder Haines Durkin entered the game and immediately fired a pass to teammate Charley Chewning, who scored the goal on a breakaway.
“The one on Thursday was never about revenge or anything,” said Kersh. “We had a mission to complete. Fort Payne was brilliant last year and we knew they were going to test us again this year.”
Spanish Fort defeated Northridge 4-2 in its semifinal but was no match for the ultrafocused Patriots in the final.
“It was a quick turnaround, about 48 hours, after we beat Fort Payne, so we celebrated it a little and then changed our mindset to get focused on the championship game,” Jackson said. “We were prepared properly. And we got the result we deserved.”
Homewood’s previous state championships came in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2021.
“I walked them by the trophy case before we left school to come up here,” Kersh said. “I walked them by all the championships we have on the wall, and I went ahead and put a 24 up there for them.
“And I said, ‘Boys, I’m not counting this one in the bag, but I’m putting the 24 up there so you can see your legacy. That every year when students walk by, when you’re long graduated, they’ll know you guys won the State Championship that year.’”
Oak Mountain Caps Undefeated Season
After two disappointing outcomes in the Class 7A state soccer tournament the past two years – a loss in the final in 2022 and a loss in the semifinals in 2023 – the Oak Mountain Eagles weren’t about to leave Huntsville without a title this time around.
Oak Mountain put together two dominant performances, including a 3-0 victory against Auburn in the Class 7A final to complete an undefeated championship season with a 29-0-1 record.
“It’s incredible,” Oak Mountain coach David DiPiazza said. “This is the greatest group of kids I’ve ever coached. You know, just, they come from incredible families. They’re incredible people and really darn good soccer players and it’s just such an honor to be their coach and to get him to this goal that they’ve had to be state champions.”
The state title was the eighth in school history but the first since 2017.
Oak Mountain took a 1-0 lead at 50:35 when junior midfielder Gabe Capocci scored an unassisted goal. Senior Aidan Riley followed 11 minutes later with a goal set up by an outstanding assist from senior Nate Joiner. Gerardo Rodriguez scored the final goal on an assist from junior Luke Jovanovich with 70:27 to play.
Jovanovich earned MVP honors for the state tournament, finishing with two goals and two assists in the semifinals and finals.
The Eagles’ defense did not allow a single shot on goal in the championship game.
Oak Mountain, which entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in the nation for high school soccer teams that compete in the spring, defeated Huntsville 3-0 in the semifinals. The Crimson Panthers knocked off the Eagles 1-0 in the semifinals last year.
Jovanovich and Joiner played leading roles in the victory over Huntsville. Joiner scored the first goal of the semifinal match at 18:42 in the first half and assisted Jovanovich, who scored the first of two goals in the second half with a deep service in the box at 45:45. His second goal came with just over 10 minutes remaining in the match on a takeaway steal and shot.
Auburn defeated Fairhope 2-0 in the other semifinal.
The season featured multiple milestones for DiPiazza, who earned his 500th career coaching victory earlier in the season.
The only blemish on Oak Mountain’s record was a 1-1 tie with Oconee County, Georgia. The Eagles won each of their 29 games against in-state opponents.
“Obviously winning this has been our goal the whole time,” DiPiazza said. “The rankings that come with MaxPreps and all that stuff, that’s awesome. But if we knew if we were going to be a nationally ranked team, we had to win a state championship.”
Hoover Denied 7A Girls Crown
The Hoover girls soccer team put up a valiant fight while playing in their first championship game since finishing as runners-up in 1999, but the Bucs were denied a title.
Hoover (21-5-2) outshot Auburn 12-5 but couldn’t find the net, falling 1-0 to Auburn in the Class 7A girls championship game.
Auburn’s Peyton Bishop scored the game’s only goal in the 26th minute of the first half, after a ball got away from the Hoover defense.
“All credit to Auburn, their back line was incredible,” second-year Hoover head coach Nick Smith said. “Our girls left it all out there. We outshot them, we just couldn’t get one to go.”
Auburn junior defender Laila Simmons was named MVP. The Tigers (20-3-1) also shut out McGill-Toolen Catholic 3-0 en route to capturing he first girls soccer championship in school history.
Hoover defeated Huntsville 3-0 in the semifinals, which was the defensive-minded Bucs third straight shutout in the playoffs.
The Bucs took charge early, scoring two goals in the first six minutes of the match. Junior midfield Elise Marquardt scored the first goal on a penalty kick at 4:06. A minute and a half later, junior Dee Udeh nailed the second goal with a take-away at the offensive end of the field. Nneka Udeh managed the final goal at 58:36 in the second half.
Huntsville managed only two shots on goal, both turned away by Hoover goalkeeper Lane Morton.
Westminster-Oak Mountain Comes Up Short
The Westminster-Oak Mountain boys came up short in their bid to win their first state championship since 2018.
The Knights (19-5-4) took an early 1-0 lead on junior midfielder Aiden Gamble’s goal just 3:11 into Class 1A/3A championship game, but St. Luke’s Episcopal from Mobile rallied for a 3-2 victory to claim its first boys state soccer title.
Following Gamble’s goal, St. Luke’s scored the next three goals to take a 3-1 lead. Junior Mason Brown tied the match for the Wildcats (20-7-3) at 31:42 in the first half with a goal, set up by an assist from Jamison Bryant. Seven minutes later, Ryan Knotts scored to put the Wildcats ahead 2-1.
Knotts, who earned Class 1A/3A state tourney MVP honors, made it 3-1 with a goal early in the second half.
Westminster-Oak Mountain added a late goal at 67:07 with sophomore David Bean scoring with an assist from Walter Moore.
The Knights defeated Tanner 4-1 in the semifinals as junior midfielder Charlie Krulak scored two goals, and Gamble and Bean one each. St. Luke’s advanced with a 6-1 victory against Tuscaloosa Academy in the other semifinal.
