KINGSPORT — Gavin Farmer and his Dobyns-Bennett teammates produced quite the sequel.
The junior forward scored two goals in the Region 1-AAA soccer championship for the second year in a row to lead the Indians to a 2-1 win over rival Science Hill on Thursday evening at Indian-Highland Park.
It was the fourth time the Indians have beaten their rival Hilltoppers this season, and it was the third straight region title for D-B, who won 3-2 over Science Hill on penalty kicks in 2023.
Dobyns-Bennett (15-0-2), which swept conference, district and region titles, will host Bearden in Saturday’s sectional round. The Hilltoppers (11-7) will go on the road at Region 2 champion Hardin Valley.
“We had an injury with Cooper McLain, but the boys stepped up and knew what we had to do,” Indians coach Tony Weaver said. “It’s not coaching. The boys played the game and played their hearts out. Farmer is playing the best soccer he’s played all year and that’s perfect for us. Four in a row against Science Hill is unheard of, something these boys are going to remember forever.”
It was another memorable performance by Farmer, who struck first in the 22nd minute off a ball assisted by Arrowood. He scored again 14 minutes later to give the Indians a two-goal lead at halftime.
“It’s definitely special. To do it against Science Hill, that’s a different feeling than any other team because of the rivalry,” Farmer said. “It makes it a bigger deal when you score against a team like that in that situation. We played well with the ball, passing back and forth. The offense kept everything down and the defense did their job back there.”
Passes by Bryson Broadwater and Brogan McGhee also helped set up the goals for Farmer.
Tingen Hatcher put Science Hill on the scoreboard in the 55th minute. He had a powerful boot off an assist from Lucas Trull. The ’Toppers just couldn’t build the momentum to take down the Tribe.
Dobyns-Bennett held advantages of 18-11 shots and 2-1 corner kicks. McGhee and Farmer each had five shots. Iden Brown, Palmer Kind and Hatcher had two shots apiece for the ’Toppers.
“When you’re second best at everything, you end up second,” Science Hill coach David Strickland said. “We were second-best on the quality of passing, finishing, defending and coaching. They’ve beaten us four times and the better team is right there. We gave Gavin space to run in and he punished us.”
A positive for both teams was the play of their goalkeepers.
Dobyns-Bennett’s Ethan Cline leaping save denied Kind a potential game-tying header in the 64th minute. He had to stay disciplined as the time wound down.
“I felt the adrenaline pumping, but it was to play smart and how the coaches have taught me,” said Cline, who ended with seven saves. “I managed to stay calm in those situations. It’s hard not to go outside the box, but I knew I couldn’t.”
Less than a minute after Cline’s save, Science Hill keeper Foster Childress made a similar stop off a hard hit ball by Broadwater to keep the Hilltoppers within striking distance. Childress finished with nine saves.
“The first half we got in close and I thought Xander (Church) had a goal for us, but Cline made a great save,” Strickland said. “Foster had a great save on what was a fantastic shot. Broadwater hit a screamer, but Foster answered it. It was quality play on both sides there.”