By Josh Hall
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Few believed the Mountain Home boys soccer team could make it to the Arkansas Class 6A state championship game.
The Bombers surprised Russellville with a win to earn a spot in the title game, but even before that contest, Mountain Home was viewed by outsiders as underdogs.
All along the way, Mountain Home never stopped believing, but the magical run the Bombers put together finally came to an end on Friday when Siloam Springs claimed a 4-0 win to earn its second consecutive state championship.
“We were never supposed to beat Russellville to begin with to be here. We’ve always been known as a team to lose or choke when we get into the first round, and we didn’t do that this year. We never saw each other as underdogs. We give it 100 percent in practice every day. We never go half speed, and that’s why we’re where we are right now.”
Siloam Spring was the better team on the big stage.
Eli Jackson led the way for the Panthers with a hat trick, and the Bombers were not able to keep up with the speed of Siloam Spring as the game progressed.
The Panthers led 1-0 after the first half, before getting back-to-back goals to open the second. That’s all they needed
“I’m proud of these kids,” Mountain Home coach Bryan Mattox said. “They battled. We had to chase the game late and that pulled the game apart further. If our goal was to keep the game as close as can be, we probably could have kept it at 2-0. We wanted to chase the game. It’s the state championship game – let’s try to come back.”
Mountain Home will look to make another appearance in the state finals.
“I told the kids, if your season is not enough without a state championship; it was not going to be enough with it,” Mattox said. “The memories, the friendship, the bus rides – these kids have had a good time at the state tournament and throughout the season.
“Years like this help the program build. I think they learned anything is possible. I think the season shows that anything is possible. Nobody expected us to do any of this. I hope the future continues to be bright.”
Mountain Home was also quick to tip its cap to the Panthers for putting together a solid performance.
“They scored when they had to,” Xaco Baonza, an exchange student from Spain said. “They just played better.
