Will Boyaton scored three first-half goals with assists on all three by John Beasley, then added another goal after halftime as Boyd-Buchanan stayed unbeaten with a 6-1 win over a tough but young and maturing Chattanooga School of Arts and Sciences squad Wednesday night at CSAS.
The Buccaneers improved to 10-0-1 overall and, with the District 5-A/AA victory over CSAS, 7-0 in league action. The Patriots dropped to 3-7 and 3-4.
CSAS fought hard in the first half, but the Boyaton-Beasley combination was tough to stop. Two goals came when Beasley threw the ball in strong and Boyaton won the battle for a header and scored.
Ross Wortman added another goal as the Bucs built a 4-0 halftime lead. After Boyaton scored on a header five minutes into the game for a 1-0 Bucs lead, CSAS had a chance to tie the game on a hard penalty-kick shot by Zachary Webber, but Bucs goalie Isaac Antwine made a diving save.
Boyaton added a header goal early in the second half for a 5-0 Bucs lead. Avery Hardekopf blasted in the only CSAS goal to cut the Bucs' lead to 5-1, but Boyd put the game farther out of reach when Liam Lynskey scored on a header after a corner kick assist by Kade Owens for a 6-1 edge - and CSAS had no answers.
Boyaton said he appreciates his teammates and Beasley's throwing power because "everyone else gave me the opportunities. John's got the cannon. He delivers it really well; that's all it is. I just want it more than the guy next to me. I try to separate myself from him, and I'm just going for it harder than him."
Bucs coach Dustin Walker pointed out that the team earns the wins and individuals play key roles. Beasley, however, "is such a weapon in so many aspects of the field. He's fantastic in the middle of the field. He's fantastic on set pieces."
On Boyaton, Walker said, "regardless of where the ball is, Will Boyaton tries to go find it. And that's just who he is as a player. They are literally both fantastic kids, and they work hard for each other. All these guys work hard for each other."
Bucs starter David Ingram was out, and Berkay Dean filled his shoes and performed well - as did the rest of the Bucs players, Walker said. Though Boyd-Buchanan is unbeaten, Walker tries not to look ahead to the chance at winning the school's first state title since 2010.
"Our goal is try to get better every day. We will not look past a game," the coach said. "We worry about the game in front of us or the practice in front of us."
Said CSAS coach Davis Poss: "We're rebuilding, and (the Bucs) are just a strong as they have been. I think our record is indicative of a young team. They've got a great team. They always do. We've got more (players) coming. What's so positive is our numbers are huge. We've got 19 freshmen out of 32 total team players."
Contact Jeff Rancudo at sports@timesfreepress.com.