SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — With a Region 5A-Division I title on the line for both squads, Social Circle split matchups with Oglethorpe County on Wednesday. 

The Lady Redskins claimed their third consecutive region crown with a 7-4 victory while the boys team fell short 3-2 in overtime. However, despite the loss, the Redskins can still win the region with a little help from Jasper County.

Brooks nets four goals to keep the region title in Social Circle

The Lady Redskins entered the pitch on Wednesday in hopes of maintaining their perfect region record.

In the first meeting between Social Circle and Oglethorpe County, the Lady Redskins came away with a 5-4 win in overtime.

This time around, head coach Heather Richardson wanted to see her team be aggressive on the offensive end.

“We needed to make sure from the very beginning that we were intense,” Richardson said. “We needed to pressure the ball. I told them, ‘You have to be right on top of them. Just play with intensity, control the ball well and pass the ball well.’”

In the first five minutes, senior Peyton Brooks began to turn the plan into a reality.

After a few shots from Brooks went inches over the crossbar, the senior scored at the 35:10 mark with a shot past the Lady Patriots’ keeper to give the Lady Redskins a 1-0 advantage.

Following a save from Social Circle’s Gentrie Mobley kept Oglethorpe County off the scoreboard, Alana Ferguson put the ball in the back of the net to extend Social Circle’s lead 2-0 with 29:04 left in the first half.

Brooks ended a 15-minute scoring drought with another goal at the 15:01 mark.

In the final minutes of the half, the Lady Patriots put their first goal on the board to make it a 3-1 game going into halftime with Social Circle ahead.

With the second half underway, Ferguson got things started for Social Circle.

At the 33:39 mark, Ferguson used her speed to get into the box before she netted a brace. Four minutes later, Brooks sealed her hat trick with a goal to give the Lady Redskins a 5-1 lead.

Following Brooks’ goal, the Lady Patriots answered just 30 seconds later with a goal of their own to reduce the lead 5-2.

However, Brooks was not done.

With a free kick set piece at 20:31, Brooks scored her fourth goal of the contest.

Shortly after, a corner kick from Brooks resulted in another goal when Faith Young scored a header to make it a 7-2 lead for Social Circle

In the final 10 minutes of the contest, Oglethorpe County scored two goals to trim the lead down to 7-4. However, it was not enough to defeat the undefeated Lady Redskins, who earned their third consecutive region championship.

Following the contest, Richardson spoke about the team and how it feels to three-peat in region play.

“It feels great. I am super proud of the girls, they played hard,” Richardson said. “We pulled it together tonight, because we didn't play quite as well against this team the first time we played them. We beat them 5-4 in overtime the last time, so we have been working and it showed tonight.”

The Lady Redskins’ win moved them to 13-0 on the season and secured a perfect, 6-0 record in region play. Following spring break, Social Circle will be on the road against the Academy for Classical Education Monday, April 8.

Redskins boys’ squad falls in overtime to Oglethorpe County

With a region crown up for grabs, the Social Circle boys team fell short in overtime 3-2 in a game that was back-and-forth from the beginning.

Ultimately, head coach Jim Corasaniti felt like the little things cost his team on Wednesday.

“The kids are encouraged, they give their hearts out,” Corsaniti said. “We made a couple mistakes that cost us the game. We made a couple judgment errors with the ball. If we kick the ball away on one play we win the game, so it's mental errors, it happens.”

The game began with both teams making runs, but Social Circle maintained more pressure on the offensive end.

Eight minutes into the contest, senior Nolan Clark got the Redskins on the board due to a miscue from Oglethorpe County’s defensive unit.

Clark’s shot rolled to the goal before a pair of Patriots allowed the ball to continue into the net on a miscommunication, which gave Social Circle the early 1-0 advantage.

At the 14:17 mark of the first half, Oglethorpe County tied the game on goal inside the box.

Following the Patriots goal, both teams had a scoring drought that lasted deep into the second half.

The drought was eventually broken on a fast-paced play from the Redskins.

With Social Circle advancing, Carson Lowe passed the ball through to Clark, who rocketed the ball into the bottom corner of the net for a brace to give the Redskins the lead with 26:55 left in the game.

However, the Patriots netted a goal of their own at the nine-minute mark to bring the game back to a tie.

Despite scoring opportunities from both squads in the final 10 minutes, neither team could score the decider.

This meant that the Redskins and Patriots were going to overtime for the second time this season.

After a scoreless first half of overtime, the Patriots pushed across the go-ahead goal in the final minutes of the overtime period.

The goal from the Patriots proved to be the winner as the Redskins were held scoreless throughout the remainder of the game.

Social Circle fell to 6-7 on the season with a 5-1 record in region play. Despite the defeat, the team can still come away with a region title.

“We are still in the driver's seat because we have more goals,” Corasaniti said. “We split it with them but we beat everyone else, so they still have two more games to win [against Jasper County]. We are going to be healthy over the break and hope they lose one, or hope they don’t score six goals.”

With spring break ahead, Corasaniti is looking to get his team ready for the playoff run ahead.

“We are going to come back next week and be ready to go and ready to play,” Corasaniti said. “Playoffs are coming up. We at least have the second seed so we will get a home game. We still want to be region champs, these guys have worked really hard to be region champs.”

The Redskins will play their regular season finale at home against Dutchtown on Thursday, April 11.