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Reynolds roars by Mustangs in first game of soccer season
Toledo Johnny Toledo has control of the ball in front of a Reynolds player in Smoky Mountain's 6-1 loss Monday. - Herald photo by Carey Phillips Reynolds spotted Smoky Mountain a goal in the opening minute Monday but came roaring back for a 6-1 victory in the opening game of the soccer season at Reynolds.

Paul Howell scored two goals and had two assists for the Rockets.

"We really took it to them when we started off, and it got us a goal," Coach Dolphus Brown said.

The Mustangs were on the board just 45 seconds into the season. Michael Tennant scored when his shot deflected off a Reynolds player and into the net. David White provided the assist on a play SM ran off of the kickoff.

While Brown was pleased with the opening minute, he did not like much of what he saw the rest of the game.

"Right now our team is not playing good soccer other than at goalkeeper," he said. "Our passing game is not there."

The Rockets tied the game at the 4:40 mark on Zach Sullivan's goal after he took a pass on the right side from Howell.

They made it 2-1 at the 13:30 mark when the ball hit the top of the goal and deflected back to Chad Taylor, who knocked it in.

The margin was 4-1 at halftime. Howell scored off an assist from Brandon Adams at the 26:30 mark, and Tim Wander scored off an assist from Brandon Younger at the 35:10 mark. The latter goal was the result of a pair of mental mistakes by the Mustangs, Brown said.

Howell added a breakaway goal after taking a pass from Jeff Koppenhaver for a 5-1 lead at the 47:10 mark.

Younger, who earlier had missed a penalty kick, scored the final goal with two minutes remaining. Bixby Stewart had the assist.

"Our defense didn't communicate, and our midfield was shredded," Brown said.

On the positive side, he said the Mustangs created several scoring opportunities against a good opponent even though they didn't convert most of them. "This group kept fighting their guts out right to the end," the coach said.

Reynolds took 31 shots to 13 by the Mustangs. SM's Caleb Corwin recorded 14 saves. Garrett Baldwin had four assists for the Rockets, and Phillip Gennett added one.

"Caleb was outstanding," Brown said. "He was a huge bright spot for us. If he gives us that kind of performance night in and night out, we're solid back there."

He said Tennant made some nice plays and also singled out White, Johnny Toledo and Eddie Noell for their play.

The JVs battled to a 2-2 tie with all of the scoring in the first half. Jonathan Painter and Jacob Myers scored the goals while Coleman Corzine had an assist.

"It was a real team effort," Coach Allen Painter said. "We outhustled Reynolds from the start. If not for a couple of mental lapses, we would have prevailed."

Back to Sports: 08/15/02.