From rivalry victories to postseason magic; braces, hat-tricks and historic playoff runs, the high school soccer season was another exciting one in Blount County.
Here are seven of the best moments from the pitch.
Royals rise to district title
In a game of momentum swings, Eagleton scored late in both overtime periods, with senior Harrison Graves earning a hat trick on the winning shot with just over three minutes to play, before the game would have headed to a penalty-kick shootout.
The 5-4 victory on at Everett Park earned Eagleton the first district championship in the program’s short history.
“It was one of the craziest games I’ve ever been a part of,” Eagleton coach Caleb Platillero told The Daily Times.
The Royals were led by strong efforts from its three captains, starting with the hat trick from Graves, assisted on two of his goals from defender Emilio Aguilar, and with junior goalie Braylen Stephans racking up 11 saves.
Tied at 3-3 after regulation and 4-4 after the first of two 10-minute overtimes, Eagleton earned a free kick near midfield after an Oneida penalty. Aguilar’s big leg boomed the ball into the penalty area. Graves controlled the incoming ball in front of the box and side-kicked a short punch against the flow of the Oneida defense and into the back net.
Maryville eliminates reigning state champ
Maryville scored early goals in both halves, then parlayed excellent defense into a hard-fought, 2-1, victory over Hardin Valley in a quarterfinal game of the District 4-AAA Tournament. The Rebel victory at the Kerr Family Soccer Complex ended the season of the reigning state champions.
Tied 1-1 at the break, Maryville scored again just over two minutes into the second half, then relied on its defense to hold the lead.
Devan Dee, who had netted the first goal of the evening early in the first period, sent a nice pass forward to Josh Maldonado-Costas. The senior striker carried the ball wide, cut back inside and fired a 25-yard liner to the back net.
The Rebel attack forged a slim, 12-7, lead in shots-on-goal in the hard-played contest, and had a handful of strong opportunities sail just wide, including another Maldonado Costas run seven minutes after the game-winner.
As the clock wound down, Maryville packed its defense in. HVA earned two of its three corner kicks in the last ten minutes but keeper Turner Foulk and his back line did not budge.
Alcoa’s Senior Night spectacular
The good times kept rolling for the Tornadoes.
Alcoa soccer mercy-ruled Sequoyah, 9-0, hosting the District 5-AA Tournament opener. Alcoa poured on eight goals in the first half, then honored nine graduating Tornadoes during a halftime Senior Night ceremony.
Only the Tornadoes’ determination to have a senior score their final, mercy-rule enacting goal extended the first-round playoff match that was appeared destined for an early ending. Alcoa continually fed seniors Kyrin Tyson and Alex Barham with shot after shot at the ninth goal, but last-place Sequoyah saved its best defense for those moments while the Tornadoes also caught some of their unluckiest breaks — more than a few shots off Tyson’s leg clanged against the goal post or missed by mere feet.
Still, the Tornadoes were all smiles when junior Alex Espinoza finally called game in the 69th minute, rifling their ninth score past Sequoyah’s keeper to end matters at Alcoa Elementary. Five Tornado seniors scored in the victory, led by two goals from Victor Beristain, as they advanced to the district tournament semifinals.
Govs respond for another win over Alcoa
“Response” was the word of the week for William Blount soccer.
The Govs took one on the chin at home against Maryville — nearly a mercy-rule in district play — but they knew they couldn’t stay down on themselves with another in-county rivalry looming that same week at Alcoa.
The always-dangerous Tornadoes struck first in the second half, but the William Blount defense stayed stingy while seniors Wyatt Martin and Sean Helwig created two huge scores that lifted the Govs, 2-1, over Alcoa for the second consecutive season.
William Blount had a wide advantage in first-half shots but never pressed despite its many attempts failing to finish. Alcoa scored the match’s first goal when senior Josh Choy hustled to convert a deflected ball in the 52nd. The Govs “kept their foot on the gas” in their response, and 10 minutes later struck through when a slightly banged-up Martin buried the second effort on a free kick.
William Blount scored again before five more minutes had passed. Helwig, who moved from defense up to forward for a brief stretch in the second half, recorded the go-ahead goal as the Govs backed last season’s home win over Alcoa with a one-score road victory at Alcoa Elementary.
Dee seals it with a PK
The Rebels kept searching for their opportunity to strike until the final seconds of the match.
Against District 4-AAA rival and the reigning Class AAA State Champions, Hardin Valley, Maryville battled throughout but was unable to get on the board all night. In the final seconds of regulation, Maryville strung together one last attack, feeding the ball inside to Devan Dee, who was fouled with 13.1 seconds remaining and awarded a penalty kick.
There was no doubt in Dee’s mind as he set up his shot and booted a clean kick to give the Rebels a 1-0 win at the Kerr Family Soccer Complex.
“After I flicked it onto my teammate, I thought he might have been able to pass it back, but it went to the PK, and I just knew we were going to end it right there,” Dee told The Daily Times. “It was definitely a special moment.”
Hat-trick in Heritage’s first win
Heritage, searching for its first win of the season, scored twice in the opening period on a Hudson Tidwell goal and penalty kick. Eagleton responded not long after, but Tidwell notched his third goal late for the hat-trick that pushed the Mountaineers over the edge, 3-1 in the Bearden Invitational.
“We’re doing everything we can so that Hudson doesn’t have to do everything himself, right? But I tell these guys all the time, ‘Can you take five minutes and turn into 20? Can you take 20 and turn into 40, 40 in the 60, 60 into 80,’” Heritage coach Chris Quinn said. “We most definitely turned some moments into opportunities.”
Heritage started the match pushing the tempo and keeping Eagleton on its heels. Five minutes in, Heritage fed the ball to the middle to the forward Tidwell, who booted in a close range shot to go up 1-nil.
The Royals responded with an attack of their own that resulted in starting goalkeeper Keenan Shockley exiting the game with a bloody nose after contact in the box. Heritage’s backup keeper and last year’s starter Eli Rowland subbed in and didn’t miss a beat, making several saves and helping protect Heritage’s lead as Tidwell scored again at the 22:34 mark off a penalty kick.
Jamerson helps Rebels open with a bang
When the Rebels needed a boost at the forward position, Hudson Jamerson was there with the spark.
Maryville was short-handed for its season-opening match against Webb School of Knoxville after staring wing Colin Sexton suffered a preseason injury. The Rebels had to shuffle their lineup around, which meant moving Jamerson up to center forward from his usual position, center back.
Head coach Nick Bradford had been mulling over the move for some time. He liked Jamerson’s experience as a three-year starter and knew he would bring the same on-the-field leadership to the new position. The Rebels decided their first match of the year would be as good a time as any to try Jamerson at forward, and he rewarded them with two goals to beat Webb, 4-1.
“The team’s electric all around, so I’ve got good guys working around me the whole time,” Jamerson said.
Seniors Gavin Massoni and Josh Maldonado-Costas, both of whom scored a goal and assisted on another, joined in on Jamerson’s fun as the Rebels opened the 2026 season with a victory. Massoni started Maryville’s campaign with a goal just over two minutes in, and not even 60 seconds later, Jamerson scored his first of the night.
Webb came back within a goal after converting a corner kick late in the first half, but Jamerson fed Maldonado-Costas for a 71st minute score to make it 3-1, and then he finished the brace around Webb goalkeeper Drew Autry in the 72nd.