ELLISVILLE, Miss. — It was a moment he'd waited on his entire life, but it almost didn't happen.
After 110 minutes of soccer, Pearl River (12-4-4 overall) and Gulf Coast (12-2-5) were deadlocked at 1-1 and heading to penalty kicks. Each team made the first five penalty kicks they took.
As Gulf Coast sent a player forward to take their sixth kick, freshman Abe Doxey (Bay St. Louis; St. Stanislaus) was the next player in line to take a Pearl River shot. Doxey realized the moment and offered his position in the order to fellow freshman Patton Francis (Poplarville).
"I knew it meant more to him," Doxey said. "He had played the entire game, and Pearl River means so much to him."
The Bulldog penalty taker went on to smash his penalty kick off the crossbar, setting up a moment for the ages for Francis. After all, the Poplarville native has been around Pearl River his entire life. His father, Jason Francis, is a former basketball coach and athletic director. He participated in camps since he was young, and he watched his older brother Maddux Francis become an All-American goalkeeper for the Wildcats.
Francis walked to the box, grabbed the ball from the referee and set it down on the spot. He took a few moments to gather himself, sprinted to the ball and smashed the ball past the diving MGCCC goalkeeper, securing a 6-5 penalty kicks victory and a berth in the Gulf South District Championship for a fifth consecutive season.
"I just felt it. I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," Francis said. "I knew I had to make it. I saw Maddux (Francis) in these moments. I know he got a little unlucky, and I thought about that before I went up there.
"That was the best feeling I've ever experienced. Everything in the world went through my mind in a flash. It was pure excitement."
For a third time on the season, PRCC and Gulf Coast were tied after regulation. This time, Pearl River prevailed.
"Tonight was typical Pearl River and Gulf Coast," head coach Drew Gallant said. "It's always been a rivalry, but it's become more intense because (head coach) Chris (Handy) and I have such a good friendship. They are a very good team. Our boys were spot on in penalties, and things worked in our favor."
The Bulldogs took the lead 39 minutes into the night, crossing a ball into the box that got one-touched into the back of the net, 1-0.
Pearl River responded in the 50th minute and who else to do it by Tiago Honorio Jr. (São Paulo, Brazil). Tycho van Haaren (Doetinchem, Netherlands) flicked a ball ahead, and Honorio Jr. chested it down. The sophomore took a moment to grab possession, turned around and fired into the net at the far post, setting a program record for goals in a season with his 28th of the year. He passed Gallant, who scored 27 goals in a season in 2003.
Cameron Kent (Brandon) came up clutch for the Wildcats throughout the rest of regulation, making numerous saves to keep the Bulldogs off the scoresheet. The game eventually went through two 10-minute overtime periods without a goal — then came penalty kicks.
The teams traded made penalty kicks for the first five, with van Haaren, Drew Rumery (Ocean Springs), Honorio Jr., Barrett Breazeale (Hattiesburg; Sumrall), and Sebastian Kristensen (Randers, Denmark) making each of theirs, setting up Francis' heroics.
The Wildcats secured a berth in the championship match for a fifth consecutive season following Francis' made penalty and the Wildcats spilled across the pitch in celebration.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats now face host Jones College on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Championship match. The match will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/watch. Tickets can be purchased at JCBobcats.com/tickets.
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