Photos by Gray Collegiate Academy – Gray Collegiate Academy head coach Kevin Heise with the Class 4A runner-up trophy.
By Thomas Grant Jr.
The quest for the elusive state championship continues for Gray Collegiate Academy boys’ soccer head coach Kevin Heise.
The third winningest boys soccer coach in S.C. High School League history led the War Eagles to their fourth state championship appearance in five years. Heise made three appearances at Brookland-Cayce.
Gray Collegiate Academy faced last Friday at Memorial Stadium a Southside team making its first-ever appearance at the state final. The game started two hours late as the Class 4A girls title game went into penalty kicks won by host school A.C. Flora.
After a scoreless first half, the Tigers got two goals in less than two minutes from leading scorer Erik Martinez. Another goal by Adriel Rodriguez and stymied by goalkeeper Edwin Batista’s 10 saves resulted in a 3-0 defeat for the War Eagles.
Southside finished the season 18-1, while Gray Collegiate ended with a 22-8-1 mark. It will compete in Class 5A starting next year.
“Going into the year, if someone would have said we would have been in the state championship, we would have signed up for it,” Heise told the media after the game. “This group came a long way and kind of galvanized themselves. We were a fun team to watch the last six weeks of the season. But tonight, we just didn’t, and you can credit Southside for that.”
