Forest escapes the Bees

  The defending State champion Cavaliers rolled into Brookville on Thursday evening.

Mike Forster

Jefferson Forest's Matthew Crider (left) teams up with Teddy Delledera after the two teamed up for the Cavs' only goal.

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The luster of that State crown lasted about thirty seconds into play, as the Bees gave as good as they got from JF.

The final score, 1-0, could as easily have gone to the Bees as it did to Jefferson Forest.  In this case, Matthew Crider's tip of a corner kick gave that winning edge to the Cavs.

Crider's tally, his first of the season, came with five minutes remaining in the first half.

On that set play, Taylor Edmundson boomed the corner kick toward the far post.  From there, Teddy Delledera got his noggin on the ball, directing it back toward the near post, where Crider was stalking.  The sophomore point man got the tip of his toe on the ball to send it home, past Brookville keeper Ryan Davis.

That goal aside, the first half clearly belonged to the Bees, who had a quartet of solid scoring opportunities.  One sailed just over the cross bar.  Another was shanked wide to the right.  Two others wound up in the tight grasp of JF keeper Jeremy Lee.

But, they don't give points for effort or for dominating a period of play.  They give them for putting the ball in the net.

At the start of the season, Jeff Forest Head Coach Jedd Zaring predicted that every team would be gunning to topple the champs.  Brookville proved the coach to be prescient.

"We knew Brookville had a strong squad," noted Zaring.  "We know they're athletic.  We didn't expect anything (other than what they threw at us)."

From the sideline perspective, the play of Lee was a difference maker.  Edmundson played a solid game, and Peter Drablos seemed to provide a calming influence that helped get the Cav offense on track.

Additionally, the back line of R.J. Goodwin, Drew Henderson, Nicholas Shortridge and Trevor Jannah seemed to provide a good forcefield in front of Lee.

The game was the first in Seminole competition for both teams.

Earlier in the week

The Cavs took care of AAA powerhouse Patrick Henry, 2-1, in their official opening game.

Playing on their home turf, the Cavs picked up a pair of first-half goals, then hung on for the win.

JF's first goal of the season came by a fellow named Patrick Henry.  Actually, the initial tally came on a Patriot own goal.  The next strike came via more conventional means, as Tyler Bullock struck on a feed from R.J. Goodwin.

JF's stout defense, which includes Goodwin, helped keep Cav keeper Jeremy Lee's night fairly quiet:  He faced five shots for the contest.