Mount Airy used an explosion of offense late in the second half to defeat Surry Central 5-1.
The Granite Bears struck early in the Oct. 3 match, then neither team scored for 50 minutes of game time. The Bears doubled their lead midway through the second half before piling on three additional goals in the span of seven minutes.
The Eagles prevented the shutout by scoring in the 80th minute.
“I thought we played really well, and Central did too,” said Mount Airy coach Cody Atkins. “I’m proud of our guys because they went 100% all game and it was fun to watch. Both teams played like it was a playoff game.”
The county foes, who met for just the fourth time since 2019, didn’t waste time feeling out their opponent and threatened to score within the first five minutes. Central (6-5) actually put a shot in the back of the net that was called back. Mount Airy had a pair of early chances, one of which hit the post, before Vicente Gomez scored in the sixth minute.
Possession was nearly split down the middle for the remainder of the half as the teams traded momentum until the halftime whistle.
“We both had opportunities in the first half that we couldn’t capitalize on,” Atkins said. “I told the kids at halftime that we just had to keep pressuring. Our gas tank’s pretty good, so if we can keep pressure on them and wear them down we’re eventually going to get one in.”
Atkins said the Granite Bears (7-2) have typically been a second-half team this season, and that was ultimately true as they scored four goals in the 40-minute period, but it was Surry Central that made the biggest impact early in the half.
The second half began with Central’s Raymon Hernandez fending off a through ball sent to Mount Airy’s Gavin Guerrero. Soon after, Angel Ortiz-Osorno volleyed a corner kick from Jonathan Valadez over Central’s goal.
Central took over following the corner kick and earned one of their own with a quick attack that ran through Alberto Talavera in the midfield. Jacxon Gutierrez’s short corner set Ariel Martinez up with a line-drive shot that hit the football crossbar. Less than 60 seconds later the Eagles attempted another corner, this time taken by Martinez and sent into a crowded 18-yard box. Rodrigo Cortez connected for a header off the corner that was saved by the Bears’ William Garcia.
Central kept its foot on the gas and fed the ball to Luke Creed — a senior striker that earned 2A All-State Honors a year ago for scoring 37 goals.
“One of our biggest things coming in that we game planned for was stopping him,” Atkins said of Creed. “Edwin (Perez-Garcia) marked him pretty good, and Brayden (James) would come over to help double when he could.”
Creed had a shot saved in the 50th minute. The senior drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box in the 52nd minute before sending a shot off the Bears’ wall. Mount Airy made a quick counter by sending a ball up the home sideline to Enrique Hernandez-Ibarra, but the run was halted by Kevin Avila and fed back up to the offense. Creed was fouled once again, this time deemed yellow card worthy by the official, to set up another free kick that was sent north of the crossbar.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a highly intense game, and I think we were prepared for them to come after us,” said Surry Central coach Bernardo Leandro. “We came out strong and had a lot of chances in the first half, including the goal they called back. We were strong in the second half too. It was a really good game up until that second goal really.”
Fidel Santo had a header sail wide of the frame in the 57th minute to cap off the Eagles’ surge of offense in the second half. The Bears took the win out of the Eagles’ sails one minute later when Barack Galloway scored on a through ball from Gomez.
Galloway’s goal shifted momentum for the final time in Thursday’s match.
Mount Airy continued to attack the sidelines and spread the field to set up six shots across the next six minutes. One of those shots was saved and punted out in the 69th minute. The punt bounced around a sea of midfielders before ending up on the boot of Ortiz-Osorno, who used a wicked curve to strike from 35 yards out.
The visitors went 13 minutes without attempting a shot. Following Ortiz-Osorno’s goal, Gutierrez fired a 40-yard laser that was saved by Garcia. Creed added a header that was also saved just a few minutes later, but this would be Central’s final scoring threat until Creed’s goal with 28 seconds left on the clock.
Hernandez-Ibarra became the fourth Granite Bear to score by finishing off a through ball from Chris Castillo in the 24th minute. Adrian Rodriguez rounded out the Bears’ five goal performance by scoring on a free kick two minutes later.
“Mount Airy’s a good team, and that’s why we wanted to play them. We scheduled this game to get better,” Leandro said. “We did some good things, but we left a lot of shots open for them too. It is what it is. We’re just going to have to learn from our mistakes for when they come to our place.”
Mount Airy’s win marked its eight-consecutive victory over Surry Central dating back to 2017.
Thursday’s win also extended Mount Airy’s overall win streak to five-straight after starting the season 2-2. Surry Central entered the match in the Granite City riding a 3-match win streak.
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