Shelbyville Central won the District 8-AAA championship for the second straight year. The Eagles host Riverdale in opening round action of the region Tuesday night at 7. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Shelbyville Central can stake that claim after their 3-1 victory over Columbia in the District 8-AAA tournament championship Friday night at the SCHS soccer field.

The Golden Eagles (15-2-3) swept through the district regular season and tournament undefeated and only allowed four goals in district play this year.

"Winning the district is always a huge accomplishment, but going through the district regular season and tournament without a loss is even a greater achievement for this team," Shelbyville coach Neal Gordon said. "I think we've been steadily improving as a team over the years and I think we're starting to see some of the success we've had at the middle school over the years and it's really starting to pay off at the high school level. We hope this is a sign of many more of these to come."

The Eagles now turn their attention to the region tournament. They host Riverdale at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Riverdale lost to Blackman in the District 7-AAA tournament Friday night. Columbia (10-9) will travel to Blackman Tuesday.

"We are expecting a very tough and physical game with Riverdale Tuesday night," Gordon said. "We tied with them in the regular season and tied with Blackman twice so it really didn't matter who we played. We're just excited to be playing that game at home."

Shelbyville claimed a 3-1 win at Columbia in the regular season and the Lions had revenge in their minds early in this game.

Columbia scored first off a goal from Ty Dudley. Eagle goalie J.D. Certain took a blow to his chest which left a cleat mark. He finished the game in goal but was in a lot of pain.

"We certainly hope J.D. is all right," Gordon said. "He's such a tough kid and it's going to take a lot for him not to be ready."

Trailing 1-0 at the half and with a number of players a little banged up, Gordon challenged his team to step it up a notch and help carry their teammates.

The Eagles took his words to heart by scoring three second-half goals for the come-from-behind victory.

Joey Jackson struck first less than two minutes into the half. Javier Hernandez followed with a long shot, then Ranferi De La Paz scored off a free kick for a little insurance.

"We played a great second half," Gordon said. "We really didn't play that bad in the first half but we made a few adjustments and they seemed to work in the second half."