Gallery by Karen Akers
Shady Spring senior Jacob Shamblin is pulling double duty for his final year of high school.
Along with being a standout soccer player, Shamblin is also sharing his talent with the football team on Friday nights.
Thursday night on the pitch in a clash with Oak Hill, the Tiger midfielder displayed why his kicking ability has been a welcomed addition on the gridiron.
Taking a throw from Nathan Vecellio, Shamblin scored the decisive goal of the match from over 30 yards out.
Blasting the shot just inside the far post, the senior standout propelled Shady Spring to a 2-1 win over the visitors from Fayette County at H.B. Thomas Field.
“It was just a knuckle-ball, side netting on the right. It was nice,” Shamblin said. “Nobody was paying attention, so Nathan played it to me and I had a free shot.”
The Red Devils came to Raleigh County looking for a bounce-back win Thursday after dropping a decision to sectional rival Princeton Tuesday.
Unfortunately for head coach Blake Wingrove, it was not the team effort he had hoped for going into the match.
“I think I have a couple of one-man shows that are trying to do a little too much for us,” Wingrove said. “They can distribute the ball and they can finish the ball, but they are not doing it right now. There is a bad attitude after this game and we have to get back to work and correct it. That’s all we can do and just learn from it. We have to do better, but we weren’t better tonight.”
Senior all-state striker Michael Vecellio gave the home team the early advantage when he intercepted a pass across the face of the net and knocked it in for a 1-0 lead.
“The whole game they were getting the ball on their left center-back and doing a full switch to the right center-back,” Vecellio said. “I heard them call for it, so I anticipated it, ran in and slid on to it.”
After missing the game last week with a slight knee injury, Vecellio was happy to be back on the pitch.
“I felt great today. I felt normal again, just a little bit out of shape,” Vecellio said.
Oak Hill scored the tying goal in the 19th minute when Andre Wright attacked from the right and ripped a shot towards the far post.
An excellent diving deflection from freshman keeper Jack Billeter could not be cleared however, and Nathan Hurt knocked it in the back of the net.
Following the evenly played first half, Shady Spring flipped the script and held the possession advantage in the final 40 minutes.
Oak Hill did earn couple of good chances, but Billeter came up big and refused to let anything past him in the second half.
“It feels great to get the win. We are starting to get on a roll,” Shamblin said. “I think we just had more intensity than them in the second half. I think we wanted it more, honestly.”
“Our first half possession was good. Our second half possession was non-existent,” Wingrove said. “I think we just got to a point where we were hitting the panic button and wanting to score. That is not how it works. You can’t play soccer like that and win.”
Shady Spring (2-1) travels to Princeton Tuesday, while Oak Hill (2-3-1) visits Sherman Thursday.
