‘We knew we had the talent.’ Henry Clay claims boys 11th Region soccer title.
It took just 81 seconds for Henry Clay to take a lead in the boys 11th Region Tournament championship game on its home field against Frederick Douglass on Friday.
Nathan Harvey pounced on a corner kick off the foot of Will Potter that found its way to the back post. The score put the Blue Devils up 1-0 before some of the fans on hand had a chance to take their seats.
“We knew we had to come out and score first,” Henry Clay junior midfielder Connor Taylor said. “It’s really huge, especially in these big games. If the other team scores first, they can just pack it in.”
Henry Clay went on to defeat Douglass 2-0 and claim the Blue Devils’ first region championship since 2019. Taylor scored the other goal on a penalty kick Henry Clay was awarded thanks to a Douglass handball in the box with 33:57 left in the second half.
But Henry Clay’s title run wasn’t just built on the five postseason games it has won so far by a combined score of 25-1. It has been a work in progress all year.
“We knew we had the talent. We just had to develop our chemistry. We had to develop our off-ball things, and it’s paying off right now,” Henry Clay tournament MVP Marco Messerli said. “It feels amazing.”
Henry Clay coach Jason Behler led the Blue Devils to back-to-back region championships five years ago. The 2019 team went on to win the program’s third state title.
Behler can’t guess what this year’s state tournament holds next week. But he had an idea that his 2024 team could achieve something big.
“This year, from the get-go, this group was together. The leaders were clear. And they had only one goal in their mind, and that was to bring the region championship back to Henry Clay,” Behler said.
Henry Clay’s first goal owed in part to a coaching point the Blue Devils learned on film and from playing Douglass twice before, a 6-0 win in the regular season and a 3-0 win in last week’s 42nd District championship game. Henry Clay knew Douglass would put defenders on the near and far post.
“I just had some poachers out there. I said, ‘You’re only job is to make sure that guy (a Douglass post defender) does not get the ball,” Behler said. “(Harvey) just stepped in front of the back post guy and poked it in.”
For Douglass (12-8-1), the loss marked the Broncos’ third straight loss in the region championship game. They lost in penalty kick shootouts each of the last two years. First-year coach Blake Parker took over a team that graduated more than half its offensive production from last season. He had nothing but praise for his team’s performance.
“They just worked their butts off today. It was a good game,” Parker said. “I can’t be more proud of how they played today.”
Next, Henry Clay (18-3-4) will face the 9th Region champion on the road in the first round of the state tournament scheduled for as soon as Monday. Highlands takes on Covington Catholic for that honor at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The only remaining teams ranked higher than No. 5 Henry Clay in the MaxPreps rankings are No. 3 Louisville Collegiate and No. 4 Bowling Green. And both of those teams are on the other side of the state tournament bracket. That doesn’t mean clear sailing, though.
“You set yourself up for whatever kind of (state) run you can have,” Behler said. “Winning the region is sometimes more difficult than what comes after. To get through this region in the fashion we did? I’m extremely proud.”
11th Region All-Tournament Team
Marco Messerli (MVP), Connor Taylor, Will Potter and Nathan Harvey, Henry Clay; Delfin Iteriteka, Andrew Hughes and Beni Shendera, Frederick Douglass; Gregory Meyer and Ben Schrader, Frankfort; Christian Delgado and JT Martin, Paul Laurence Dunbar; Gabriel Aguilar, Madison Southern; Ahadi Liongola, Tates Creek; Carter Dascher, Great Crossing; and Cam Alexander, Madison Central.
