Friday night had all of the hallmarks of the Aiken vs. South Aiken boys' soccer rivalry.
Back-and-forth scoring, physicality, intensity, a frantic sprint to the finish - maybe the only things missing were extra time and penalty kicks, which have felt destined each time these teams have squared off recently.
Aiken finished the job in regulation this time, holding off a spirited charge from South Aiken in the closing minutes of a 3-2 win to sweep the regular-season series and take firm control of second place in Region 4-AAAA.
Reid Raintree scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner on a free kick with about 13 minutes remaining. JT Lee scored the Hornets' other goal, and Marco Diaz had two assists. Bayer Dawsey scored twice for South Aiken, once in the opening minutes for an early lead and then again midway through the second half to tie it back up.
Aiken head coach Roger Carpenter said the message to his team all season long has been about composure, especially as the Hornets have faced a brutal schedule loaded with state and national powerhouses.
"We just wanted it more, I think, at the end. Fortunate we got a great shot there, great free kick there by Reid," he said. "... They all just kind of stepped up and did what we've been working on and practicing. We've been trying to work all season getting Reid and JT connected with Marco and Tripp (Calfee), kind of doing those quick little 1-2s and get people spread. We did a great job of it first half. Second half, they did a little bit better job of keeping us from doing that against them."
South Aiken (6-6-2, 4-3) couldn't have asked for a better start, with Dawsey surging forward to put the T-Breds ahead less than 5 minutes into the game.
The Aiken (9-9, 4-2) attack generated some scoring chances from there, with Raintree netting one just moments after South Aiken narrowly avoided an own goal.
The Hornets then took the lead in the closing moments of the first half thanks to some fancy footwork from Lee, who faked out a couple of defenders to set up an easy roll into the net.
The intensity continued to increase in the second half, and Dawsey added to that by scoring his second goal of the night with about 20 minutes remaining.
A foul by the T-Breds a few minutes later gave the Hornets a free kick from about 25 yards out. Raintree lined up on the left side of the ball, with Angel Negrete on the right. Negrete crossed over in front to clear the way for Raintree, who booted the ball into the top-right corner of the net.
That stood up as the winner, despite a late charge from South Aiken that generated a couple of near misses.
"They have good players making one or two good plays, man, that's it. It comes down to it," said South Aiken head coach Brad Reinhart. "I tell my boys they can control two things, their effort and attitude, and that's what I need to see. They have some good players making one or two good plays. They did what they needed to do, and that's it. So hats off to them."
Reinhart was pleased with the way his guys stuck together regardless of the situation - early lead, tied, trailing, tied again, trailing again. He didn't see them change their tone, which is something the T-Breds have been working toward all season. He said the loss hurts and will leave a bad taste in their mouths, but he's seen plenty from them that shows they can put this loss behind them and finish the season strong heading into the playoffs.
"That's it. You did not see - when we were up, everything's fantastic. When we're down all of a sudden, are the knives coming out? Are they blaming each other? Man, absolutely not," Reinhart said. "... You hold yourself accountable and you hold your teammates accountable, and watch what can happen. And it's a fantastic thing. We'll lose together. We'll win together. We'll get punched in the face together, dude. But we're doing this together. So, for them, here, in this environment, to do that and to not complain at each other, I'm cool with that."
The T-Breds are third in the region with a game still to play next week against league-leading North Augusta. Aiken faces fourth-place Midland Valley and fifth-place Airport next week, meaning the Hornets can lock up the No. 2 seed by taking care of business on the road.
"What it means for us is we've got two games next week against the fourth- and fifth-place teams in the region," Carpenter said. "If we keep our focus and keep our mentality going, we should finish out second in the region and getting a home playoff game. That's something we're looking forward to, trying to get a home playoff game and get one more time to play here on our home field and not having to travel in the first round of the playoffs."
Aiken's seniors played on the varsity team as freshmen during a 2-18 season, with the Hornets taking their lumps against a difficult schedule. They turned around and won 11 the next season and returned to the playoffs, and Carpenter said withstanding those beatings and coming back as an improved team helped give them some confidence.
Only three of Aiken's nine losses this season have been against Class AAAA teams, with North Augusta and Bluffton being ranked among the best in the state. The others have been to Class AAAAA schools and Georgia Class AAAAAA schools Lakeside and Johns Creek, the latter ranking fifth nationally by United Soccer Coaches.
Carpenter has told his players all year that they've hung with all of those bigger programs, and he feels they can go just as far in the playoffs as anyone if they get the right draw.
That road begins April 29 with a first-round game.
