Oxford, AL – After falling to Donoho two years in a row, Oxford dominates tense match to reclaim Calhoun County supremacy in boys’ soccer.
2024 Calhoun County soccer tournament
Boys’ results
MONDAY, April 1
No. 4 Jacksonville 3, No. 5 Faith Christian 1
No. 3 Donoho 8, No. 6 Weaver 1
No. 2 White Plains 9, No. 7 Saks 0
TUESDAY, April 2
No. 1 Oxford 8, Jacksonville 0
Donoho 3, White Plains 0
THURSDAY, April 4
Championship
Oxford 7, Donoho 1
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Aldo Gutierrez, Oxford
Offensive MVP: Sam Johnson, Donoho
Defensive MVP: Yair Gutierrez, Oxford
Oxford: Tristen Koontz, Jonathan Martinez
Donoho: Trey Alexander, Jack Thomas
White Plains: Luis Landa, Gleymar Perez
Jacksonville: Landon Garner, Peyton Spruill
Weaver: Leo Mondragon
Saks: Carlos Martinez
Faith Christian: Joseph Carroll
By Joe Medley
They say soccer is a sport that brings world together, so it’s naturally a sport where a Class 6A school and a 1A school can become rivals for Calhoun County supremacy.
And by together and rivals, we mean a combined two red cards, complete with ejections, and three yellow cards in the county final.
Most valuable player Aldo Gutierrez had two goals, and Class 6A Oxford beat Class 1A Donoho 7-1 on Thursday to reclaim the county title after Donoho won it in 2022 and 2023.
Issac Hernandez, Tristen Koontz, Kevin Martinez, Kevin Reyes and Yandel Amador scored a goal apiece as Oxford improved to 7-6-2.
“It was a game we knew was coming, the intensity and the toxic stuff,” Oxford’s Tristen Koontz said. “We just tried to keep our composure.
“I definitely lacked in it a few times, but we all tried to keep our composure as much as possible and get our revenge on what happened in the past two or three years.”
For background, these two teams played in the de facto county final last year. There was no official boys’ county tournament because not enough schools fielded teams, but the five teams playing last year played in the Isaac Crook Invitational.
Donoho won the final 2-1 on Lamar Field, Oxford’s home field, and there were feelings.
“They just stayed on me 24/7, playing dirty a little bit,” Koontz said last year. “I tried not to let it get into my head, but sometimes it’s just hard.”
Fastforward a year, and feelings had not changed.
“It’s just how they talk,” Koontz said. “It’s very hard to shut out, but it’s non-stop. It’s very hard to shut out. If you can do it, then they’ll calm down.
“They’re a very hard-working team, and they try to get in your head.”
All of the cards but one yellow went against Donoho. The same can be said about goals.
And for the record, Oxford largely succeeded in the mental game.
“We acted like we lost at the start of the game,” Donoho coach Daniel Blackstone said. “After the first two or three goals they scored on us, we had our heads down and lost it there.”
As for the match’s intensity, the feeling is mutual.
“They count it as a rivalry,” Blackstone said. “It is a rivalry. This game is important to both teams.
“Important games cause intense moments in an intense game.”
Donoho suffered key graduation losses from 2023, including Drew Williamson, Logan Melton and Matthew Belcher … all key players in the Falcons’ attack. Former goalkeeper Richard Goad plays baseball this spring.
Former Donoho coach Tim Melton now serves as the girls’ head coach, over a team that includes daughter Chloe.
Oxford lost three first-team All-Calhoun County picks, but six all-county players returned. The list includes Koontz, Gutierrez and a Yair Gutierrez.
This season marks Oxford’s second under head coach Haili Vinson, and she sees progress. She sees a “locked in” team.
‘This team, especially this year, is just, like, a unit,” she said. “They all think the same. They all play the same. They are just such a family-oriented team, and they’re just hungry this season.
“This is our peak. Now, we’ve got to just keep going.”
Vinson picked Aldo Gutierrez to be named the tournament’s most valuable player for more then the four goals he scored in the Yellow Jackets’ two matches. She lauded his leadership during an intense moments in an intense match.
Gutierrez was pushed out of bounds early in the second half but reacted in a measured way.
“Aldo is usually the difference maker in every game,” she said. “He holds the middle down, and he got in a heated situation and reacted appropriately, and that set a tone for our guys to be like, ‘This is what a leader does, so I’m going to buy into what my leader is doing.
“That really elevated us to the next level.”
Gutierrez remained a man of few words after the match.
“We played hard,” he said. “I don’t have any words right now. I’m just excited.”
