Patriots fight off elimination to take area crown away from Jets

By Caleb Odom (caleb@themadisonrecord.com)

MADISON — It was do or die for the Bob Jones boys soccer team and the Patriots dug deep to take down James Clemens 2-1 on Wednesday to win the area crown.

Bob Jones was driven by the strong play of the senior Joe Jimenez who racked up a pair of goals to lift the Patriots who literally faced the end of the season with a loss.

This game was originally supposed to be played on April 21, but inclement weather forced the rivalry tilt to be moved to the middle of this week.

Almost, ironically, rain fell on the turf at Madison City Stadium as the two clubs battled with playoff implications hanging in the balance.

Things were not as dire for James Clemens who was in the playoffs win or lose but, the defeat gives the Jets a tougher matchup next week.

“We have got to get ready for Huntsville at Huntsville and they have the home field advantage,” James Clemens head coach Jared Keesee said.

“We are probably playing them on Tuesday at the same time that the girls are playing so they are going to have a huge crowd.”

Despite the rain on Wednesday, the fans turned out for the Patriots and the Jets, and it was in full throat for the high drama of this game.

The James Clemens baseball team even showed up to chastise the Bob Jones soccer players with the usual dugout insults from behind the benches.

This lasted until the referee had heard enough and had them banished to the other side of the field where they kept on badgering the boys in white and red from their new perch.

Both sides had their chances, but Bob Jones took the lead in the 13’ minute when the senior Joe Jimenez put the ball in the back of the net on a header.

“I saw it coming and I was thinking I have one shot at this,” Jimenez said.

“I kind of had to feel around and use my other senses to see where the keeper was at.”

With the rain continuing to fall, the Jets worked to push the ball down the pitch, and they found playmaker Oleksiy Bolyard who was coming down on the left wing with some space to work with.

“I just saw an opportunity to run down the middle and I hit it into the up right,” Bolyard said.

The Bolyard shot cut through the air and was hooked by the keeper for a game-tying goal in the 38’ minute.

The action began to ramp up in the second half with the game knotted at 1-1.

With their season on the line, Jimenez found a way to get it done with a second goal in the 64’ minute.

“He’s went through some tough things personally,” Bob Jones head coach Michael Parker said of Jimenez.

“Had a death in the family that was really close, so that weighed on him a lot through the season. For him to be able to have this moment tonight was really huge for him as a senior.”

James Clemens tried to climb back into the game with a late corner kick, but it just didn’t happen for the Jets.

The victory in this bitter rivalry between JC and Bob Jones is another for school on Hughes Road who has dominated most sports of late.

“I’m well-acquainted with some of the baseball kids and basketball,” Jimenez said.

“We all hold Bob Jones games to a high standard, and I feel like us winning this game really cements us into history again.”

The win for Patriots means they get to face the number two team in the state Grissom next week.