Kennett Summary

HANOVER BOYS EXPLODE IN 10-0 WIN OVER KENNETT

The Hanover High boys returned to the friendly confines of Merriman-Branch Field in style Saturday, hammering winless Kennett 10-0. The Marauders scored four times in less than three minutes in a dazzling stretch early in the first half, turning a mundane 1-0 lead into a lights-out smackdown. From that moment on it was a matter of handling the situation well and giving every healthy field player plenty of playing time. The win was Hanover’s seventh straight on the season, and extended their unbeaten streak to 34 games, now the second-longest in school history.

Ben Rimmer and Eric Jayne each tallied twice, and eight different players scored overall, including three for the first time. Several of the goals were particularly well-executed, making the match more than just a routine exercise between teams at the opposite ends of the Class I table.

The Marauders wasted no time getting down to business, and after Yosef Osheyack had announced himself with a blast off the upright in the second minute, Eric Jayne broke the ice in the eight minute after a short corner kick that caught Kennett napping. Ben Rimmer took the pass off the restart and raced into the Eagle box before dishing to Jayne at the top of the box. Jayne clicked his red shoes together three times and ripped a shot off a Kennett defender and into the back of the next. Kennett goalie Sam Burroughs turned to a teammate and said, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more, Toto.” Little did he know that a house was about to land on his head.

Henry Caldwell started the perfect storm in the 14th minute by taking a pass from Kevin Dade and finishing clinically. Dade then announced his intention to come out of the game, and then turned and headed a high ball over a defender, collected it on the other side, and beat the keeper to the ball before depositing it into the net 90 seconds later. Twenty-one second after that Caldwell set Ben Rimmer free on the right flank and the speedy senior hit an amazing scorcher into the upper 90 on the near side. As a sea of subs hurridly warmed up (and Ben Harris took his sweet time), Rimmer knew he was ticketed for the bench, but not before he took a nice feed from Osheyack and finished the blitz 43 seconds later. Four goals in two minutes, 26 seconds. 5-0. Game over.

As was the case in the preceding game against Bishop Brady, the level of play hardly dropped with ten substitutes in the match in front of starting keeper Rhys Cyrus. Hanover continued to dominate play, and tacked on a sixth goal two minutes from time when Miles Peterson took a nice feed from his warmup partner Isaiah Fariel and scored his first varsity goal after barely missing on a few earlier chances.

The second half started auspiciously for the Marauders, with freshman Trey Rebman threading a perfect through pass for Fariel, whose cold-hearted finish on the ensuing breakaway netted him his second score of the season. Rebman earned a second assist three minutes later when he took a great pass from now-center midfielder Rhys Cyrus and ripped a shot off the post. Continuing the success of the Class of 2012, Roland Stanzel beat two players to the rebound and rammed home a shot for his first career goal.

Leading 8-0, the Marauders began to face the need to negotiate the delicate area of how to address the concept of “running up the score”. Soccer presents unique challenges in this area that make it harder to avoid the appearances of doing this. In football, you can run instead of pass when you are ahead. In basketball you stop pressing and work the clock. In soccer, it’s hard to alter the way you play, especially when the players involved are dying to perform the way they have been trained, and have had little time. Kennett was trying hard, and not giving up. They deserved respect, and the best way to show this was to keep playing, albeit with starting strikers and other scorers on the bench. To the credit of both teams, the final 25 minutes were well-played, and the game was honored. Trevor Barlowe scored his first career goal on a penalty kick, hitting a second try after his first successful attempt was called back on an encroachment penalty. Eric Jayne finished the scoring on a nice give-and-go with Yosef Osheyack, and the match was in the books.

The homestand continues Wednesday with a game against Plymouth, followed by Saturday’s derby with Lebanon. The latter match will provide the entire Upper Valley soccer community to collect food for the Haven, a repeat of last year’s successful food drive. More details will follow on this worthy community service initiative.