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SPORTS
HHS boys beat Midland
Huntington's Ben Mitchell and Cabell Midland's Joseph Thomas in Tuesday night's game at Cabell Midland.
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ONA -- Shortly before the Huntington High boys soccer team made its way out for the second half in Tuesday's 2-0 win at Cabell Midland, Highlander coach Brian Eerenberg stood in the middle of a team huddle and emphatically gave them one request.
"Hey, I don't want another clean sheet. We better score some goals," he announced.
It wasn't anything the Huntington High players rolled their eyes to.
It was a legitimate demand considering the Highlanders had outshot and outplayed the Knights in the first 40 minutes, but had nothing but a goose egg to show for it.
So they headed back out, heads up and eyes focused on the back of the net, but for 29 more minutes they kept producing more of the same -- good looks, no goals.
Then Jameson McCarthy showed he was fed up with it all.
The converted central midfielder won a ball on the left side some 30 yards out, wiggled himself some room to pass and sent a perfect diagonal feed to an oncoming Bill Jones, who collected it in the 18-yard box and sent it past Midland's Andrew Comer for a score
The play sent the Highlander bench into a wild scene of relief.
"It was definitely a welcome change," Eerenberg said.
It also loosened the floodgates a little. Six minutes later, Max Simpson scored again for Huntington High, icing its win over the rival Knights.
"Our guys finally started putting them in," Eerenberg said. "They were playing the right balls all night long and I told them just to stay the course and keep working and they'd get one.
"And they did."
Courtesy of a clever coaching move.
McCarthy was putting solid pressure on the Midland defense early in the night from his forward spot, but Eerenberg felt that his talents should be shifted back into the midfield, where he could direct traffic and dictate pace.
He did that and then some when he set up Jones.
"We moved (McCarthy) to the midfield because he's a controller," Eerenberg said. "And he played the most perfect ball that he could -- just beautiful. Jameson McCarthy, an awesome ball.
"I told him he got credit for the score. He's the guy that played that ball ... just perfect. You couldn't ask for a better pass."
The next tally was the result of a perfect substitution.
During the scoreless drought, it was evident the Highlanders needed a spark up top. Enter Simpson, a freshman and the smallest guy on the field.
"I just told him to do his thing," Eerenberg said. "Get up there and control, and if you get open, have it.
"And he did and it went. So it was an exciting time for him, I'm sure."
Evan Aldridge assisted on Simpson's goal with another nice ball to the box.
The win was a bounce-back for the Highlanders (2-3-1), who had a frustrating 1-1 tie with Hurricane on Monday.
Despite the outcome, the Knights (1-2-2) had their chances, including a just-miss from Chris Music from a few yards out with around 12 minutes remaining in a then-scoreless game.
"Yeah, that would have changed everything," said Midland coach Jon Cain. "It would have been nice, but it showed that we had opportunities and that we're making progress."
HUNTINGTON HIGH 0 2 -- 2
CABELL MIDLAND 0 0 -- 0
HH -- Bill Jones (assist Jameson McCarthy), 70:00
HH -- Max Simpson (assist Evan Aldridge), 76:00
Shots: HH 14, CM 5. Saves: HH 1 (Thomas Balch). CM 6 (Andrew Comer). Corner kicks: HH 1, CM 4.
