Staff Reports

DOBSON — Surry Central’s soccer team, having its best season in years, beat former conference rival Starmount 5-0 on Saturday night to advance to the 2A state quarterfinals.

Jose Antonio Talavera and Bernardo Leandro scored two goals apiece and Ed Lira added the other score for the Golden Eagles, who improved to 22-2. Surry Central has now beaten three foes in the playoffs — Newton-Conover (5-1), Owen (2-0) and now Starmount.

“We were able to finish a lot better tonight,” Surry Central coach Blake Roth said after Saturday’s win. “We had some opportunities and we were able to capitalize.”

The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed twice due to inclement weather.

Up next is a matchup with Wilkes Central, which pulled off an upset Friday night by defeating top-seeded and top-ranked Forbush by a 3-1 score.

Roth said that the path to the state championship is not clear just because Forbush is out of the way. Wilkes Central is a team the Golden Eagles haven’t had much good fortune against. Both played in the old Mountain Valley 2A from 2005-08 before realignment shifted them into separate conferences.

“Eight times we played them and we were only able to beat them once,” Roth said. “The good news is the last time we played them, at home, we were able to beat them.”

Luckily for Surry Central, the game is in Dobson tonight (Monday) at 7 p.m. Monday’s winner will face either Shelby or Salisbury for the 2A West crown. The state championship game is set for Saturday in Cary.

Starmount’s season ends at 16-5-1. The Rams, who won a pair of playoff games before being ousted, engineered their second-longest post-season run in program history. Only the 2006 team, which made it to the state quarterfinals, has gone deeper.

Surry Central built a 3-0 lead by halftime. The Golden Eagles scored on a penalty kick early in the second half and that play took the wind out of the Rams’ sails, coach Dale Draughn said.

“We had some opportunities late in the first half at point-blank range, and their keeper made a couple of good saves,” Draughn said. “If those two go in, it is a different ball game all together, but as fate would have it, neither went in.”

Draughn said he believes tonight’s showdown between Surry Central and Wilkes Central “could go either way.” Wilkes Central plays in the Rams’ current conference, the MVAC 1A/2A.

As for the Rams, their future looks bright. Only three seniors are set to leave the program. Next year’s team should be pretty stacked.

“I told the boys to remember this night and how it feels, and that we would probably see Surry Central again either in the regular season or late in the playoffs again next season,” Draughn said. “I truly think we surprised a lot of people with how we have performed over the season. We are not there yet and they are already talking next year. That is what a coach likes to hear.”