Carter Turner, new to varsity, one of heroes in Bearden soccer sectional win over Farragut

Carter Turner may not have started the season on varsity, but he demonstrated on Saturday why he's finishing the season there.

Turner scored a crucial goal to help visiting Bearden beat rival Farragut 3-2 in a Class AAA sectional game to earn a spot in the state tournament.

"It was the most exciting game I've ever played in," the sophomore said. "I'm just glad to get our seniors to state."

It wasn't a fancy goal, but it was a goal, and the Bulldogs weren't in the position to be picky after missing some open chances. Turner didn't make solid contact on his kick, but he made enough to get it in the net.

That tied the game up 2-2 with about 12 minutes left and then Caleb Wilkins headed in the eventual game-winner a few minutes later 

"It was a slow move to varsity," Turner said. "It's addicting to play varsity minutes. To score a goal in a game like this is a wonderful feeling."

Bearden's been dealing with injuries, especially at midfield, and coach Ryan Radcliffe wanted to get "some physical, big bodies in there," which gave Turner his chance. He's only one of the Bulldogs who hadn't played much in the regular season getting valuable postseason minutes.

Radcliffe likes what he's seeing from Turner and expects him to be an fantastic player as he continues to grow and improve over the next two years.

His teammates joked that he's the new big man on campus after scoring in this setting. It was a sectional game on their biggest rival's field. Emotions were high in this game.

Some of the Bulldogs said it was even more exciting to beat Farragut than to make the state tournament, but that's mostly the emotions in the moment coming through.

"It's always good to beat Farragut," Wilkins said. "But our goal is to get a trophy at the end of the season."