Demopolis soccer downs Holtville for playoff win

April 30, 2016April 30, 2016 Jeremy D. Smith AHSAA, Alabama, Demopolis, demopolis high school, prep sports, Tigers

4-30-2016 - Demopolis, Ala. - Cristian Velez loads up for a goal scoring shot against Holtville. — 4-30-2016 – Demopolis, Ala. – Cristian Velez loads up for a goal scoring shot against Holtville.

Demopolis (13-2) advanced to the second round of the Class 4A-5A state soccer playoffs Saturday with a 10-0 defeat of Holtville.

The final goal of the contest came with 1:12 left on the clock when eighth grader Joseph Barnes collected the rebound off a Zachary Chu shot as it caromed off the cross bar. Barnes planted it in the net to end the match.

“Joseph Barnes scoring that goal made my day. We’ve got a lot of really good young players and when we can get them on the field, you don’t see much of a step back from our starting guys,” Demopolis coach Bert Rice said. “So I’m real excited to see what these young guys can do moving forward.”

Demopolis scored six goals in the first half to take a commanding lead. Adam Brooker opened the scoring with an unassisted effort before Chu made good on a Cristian Velez pass for the 2-0 lead. Velez then connected with an unassisted goal for the 3-0 lead.

4-30-2016 - Demopolis, Ala. - Zach Chu launches a goal scoring shot against Holtville. — 4-30-2016 – Demopolis, Ala. – Zach Chu launches a goal scoring shot against Holtville.

Chu made good on a Velez assist for the 4-0 lead before cashing in another shot for the 5-0 advantage. Velez hit his second shot with 21.7 seconds left in the first half for a 6-0 lead.

Alex Maravilla opened the second half scoring with an unassisted goal with 28:34 left for the 7-0 lead. Brooker scored his second goal at the 17:05 mark. Maravilla dished off to Smit Patel for the 9-0 lead with 13:02 to play.

“We hadn’t played an entire game in a long time with our ones, so we were a little inconsistent at times,” Rice said. “I think, when we had to show up, we did. Overall, I think it was a pretty good effort and a pretty good performance.”

Demopolis moves on to the second round Tuesday to face the winner of Marbury and Holt.

“Let them rest. Let them rest. Go over the game plan and show up and play. That’s kind of been my thing since day one,” Rice said. “I told these guys it doesn’t matter who we play, it doesn’t matter where we play. Just pull the ball down and let’s go.”