In one of the most entertaining games you’ll see this side of Manchester United vs. Chelsea, the FHS Varsity Soccer Rabbits took the Cougars of Bryan Adams to 2 overtimes before succumbing 5-4, in the inaugural play-off game in FHS Boys Varsity Soccer history.

The rain on Tuesday March 24 held off long enough at Hanby Stadium in Mesquite to let the boys play.  The first few minutes of the game showed that this would be a very physical contest.  Although the Cougars were probably smaller—and certainly no faster—than the Rabbits, they were not afraid of contact at all.  In the 15th minute, Blake Withrow got FHS off on the right track with a beautiful run up the left side, muscling through a defender and the Cougar keeper for the first goal in FHS Varsity Boys history! (Lauren Watts of last year’s Girls’ Varsity squad scored the first playoff goal for the Lady Rabbits—against Adamson. There will be a quiz!)

Of course that was only the beginning of the scoring melee this evening. Bryan Adams showed their resilience with the first of Alejandro Cisneros’ 3 goals in the 21st minute. Teammate Roland Tovar scored 6 minutes later on a shot that looked to many like Rabbit defender Toby Elery had cleared off the line.  But the center referee, deferring to his linesman, ruled that ball had completely crossed the goal line, and awarded the point to the Cougars.  It had looked like the Rabbits had dodged a couple of bullets, as Luis Berumen again saved a goal just seconds before!  But it was not to be, and the Cougars had their first lead of the evening 2-1.  

But the Rabbits built on the excitement and attacked again.  Chase Withrow knocked down a rebound in the 34th minute and put it in the back of the net to knot the score at 2! And so as the horn sounded ending the first half, FHS had built some momentum going into the next period.  Bryan Adams indeed had the better of the play in the first frame, sending 15 shots toward Rabbit keeper Austin Walker, a couple of which were of the point-blank variety.  Austin turned all but two of them away and the stage was set for the second half.

After the intermission, the rugged play continued. In the 42nd minute, a penalty was called on the Rabbits inside the box, but away from the ball. The call was very questionable but a penalty kick was awarded to the Cougars. Elvis Flores converted his shot, and Bryan Adams resumed the lead, 3-2.  The Rabbits ran the ball back to the midfield stripe and hurriedly went back on the attack. FHS defender Steven Slywka looked to find a forward to feed a pass to, but finding no one close decided to try a kick of his own. From about 40 yards, Steven smashed a beautiful ball that slipped just under the crossbar and just out of the reach of the Cougar keeper!  Rabbit bedlam ensued but for only a short while as the linesman called the Rabbits offside.  This decidedly looked like the wrong call (and the film later confirmed this), but no amount of protest could change the referees’ minds and the goal was taken away.

The game took on a more defensive bent, as each team took turns at making runs towards the other’s goal. In the 60th minute, Erick Contreras took a rocket of a shot that the Cougar keeper parried.  But the ball bounced towards a wide-eyed Chase Withrow, who wasted no time in shredding the net for his second score of the game. Tie game once again, 3-3!  The Rabbits smelled blood, now, and 6 minutes later brother Blake Withrow saw his opportunity from about 20 yards and let fly from the left side. The Bryan Adams keeper was positioned properly, covering the near side of the goal.  But Blake kept his well-struck shot low and angling towards the far post.  The ball certainly had eyes, as it caromed off the post and inside the net!  The Rabbits had their second lead of the game, 4-3.

The Cougars at first were stunned, with the Forney fans going crazy.  But they regrouped and went on the prowl again. And sure enough, in a chaotic flurry around the Rabbit goal in the 70th minute, Alejandro Cisneros converted a rebound into the equalizer, all tied up 4-4 on Cisneros 2nd mark of the evening.  The final 10 minutes of regulation brought no further scoring and we were off to overtime. Unlike district games where shootouts are ordered immediately after regulation, playoff games feature two 10-minute periods of overtime.  If there is no winner after 100 minutes, then there is a shoot-out.

The first 10 minutes were sluggish, with each team feeling the effects of a long, hard-fought match.  The 2nd overtime period started the same way and things began to look like another shoot-out was coming. However, in the 93rd minute, Cougar forward Cisneros took a lazy shot towards the Rabbit goal, that keeper Austin Walker had measured well.  He was about to make the save when the unlucky Luis Berumen tried to clear the ball away himself, like he has done countless times this season. But alas, he got only a part of it, and that was enough to deflect it past Austin into the net for what turned out to be the game winner.  As there was no sudden death, the game continued on for the remaining 7 minutes.  But try as they might, the Rabbits could not find the energy to tie the game, and their playoff hopes died on the Hanby pitch, 5-4 Bryan Adams.

And so the season ended, but what a season it was! The Rabbits had become a force in district and sincerely earned their first playoff appearance. The seniors had finally found success after their four years of hard work.  For the underclassmen, their future is so bright, they’ll have to wear shades!