Shady Spring boys win first sectional title since 2011

Oct. 21—For Michael Vecellio, there was no other option.

"We lost to PikeView two years in a row," the Shady Spring senior said of the Tigers' recent sectional championship history. "Those years, it hurt me. Both of them. So this year we came out and I said, 'We have to win this.'

"This was my last game on this field. So it's like, do I want to go out on a win?

"Of course."

Everything went according to plan Saturday night.

And it was Vecellio who fittingly knocked in the winning goal, a penalty kick six minutes into the second half. The Tigers held on through another physical 34 minutes for a 2-1 win over PikeView for the Class AA/A Region 3, Section 1 championship at H.B. Thomas Field.

Shady (15-4-1) not only solved the Panthers' postseason dominance, but took a significant step forward for the program. It is the Tigers' first sectional championship since 2011.

"I'm so proud of the seniors. They have been leaders all year," said Josiah Smith, who has guided the Tigers to a 26-10-2 record in his two seasons as head coach. "It means a lot to them for sure, but to the whole program. We've been working for this. I'm so proud of them."

"It's one of a kind," said senior Jacob Shamblin, who also has served as the football team's placekicker this season. "You're only going to feel like this one time, I feel like. It's amazing."

The Tigers were the No. 1 seed for the tournament, solidified by last week's 2-0 home win over the Panthers. PikeView, the No. 2 seed, had defeated Shady 1-0 in Gardner.

As expected, Shady had to earn this one. The game was physical throughout, with several yellow cards and one scuffle that had to be broken up.

That scuffle resulted in a penalty kick for the Panthers, who were trailing 1-0 in the game's 43rd minute. Michael O'Sullivan took the PK and put it to the right, just out of the reach of keeper Jack Billeter for the equalizer.

The tie didn't last long.

Precisely three minutes later, the Panthers (14-4-2) were called for a penalty in front of the goal, giving the Tigers a shot at the PK. Vecellio blasted a shot that keeper Drew Damewood was able to dive to his left and bat down.

However, the ball was loose and Vecellio, still alone, stayed alert despite the miss and knocked the ball in to put the Tigers back on top.

"I didn't feel nervous at all. I mean, he saved it. It was a good save," said Vecellio, who now has 35 goals on the season. "It comes back to me and I just kept my composure, tapped it back in the other way that he dived from."

"He is a dynamic player and he doesn't go to sleep," Smith said. "It would have been easy to take the PK and see that it was saved and sort of hang your head. He's up for it. He's ready for the next thing and he was alive to it and put it away. Credit to Drew. He is a phenomenal keeper, played so well throughout the season and was really strong tonight. He had several really nice saves."

The Tigers took their 1-0 lead in the 28th minute when junior Nathan Vecellio got separation from his defender and deposited the left-footed shot from about six yards.

"They overcommitted on me, so I just took a touch wide and finished in the top," Vecellio said.

Michael Vecellio said it was big that the Tigers didn't allow the atmosphere to become intimidating.

"I think the main thing that we did good was we kept our composure," he said. "There was times that game started getting rough, fans started getting rowdy. We just had to stay calm. We had to drown out the noise."

The Tigers' next challenge is a big one, traveling to Section 2 champion Charleston Catholic for the Region 3 championship. That game will be played Tuesday at 5 p.m. — followed by the Shady Spring and Charleston Catholic girls at 7:30 p.m.

The Irish (15-6-1) are the two-time defending state champions. They defeated the Tigers 8-1 Aug. 24 in Shady Spring.

"We did it for our seniors," Nathan Vecellio said. "We came in wanting to win (the sectional championship). All year, this was our goal. And we came out and did it today."

"This means the world," Shamblin said. "We haven't won it since 2011 ... I mean, it's the best (feeling) we can get. I just hope we can keep going into regionals and beat Catholic. It's going to be a challenge."

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5