BELL BUCKLE, Tenn. – After taking down top-seeded Chapel Hill (9-6, 5-1) in the District 9-A Tournament a week ago, the peaking Cascade Champions (7-7, 3-3) did it again in a feisty Region 5-A Championship game to win the program’s first-ever region title.

“23 years. We’ve been around for 23 years, and it’s the first bit of history I’ve been able to make here with the boys, and I love to see it,” Cascade Head Coach Zack Spears said postgame, “We had a team two years ago that was great, but we came up just short against Chapel Hill. We’ve been building this program for a long time, and to see it continue to progress has been beautiful. We know our district is strong, and this was the fourth matchup against Chapel Hill. Nobody wants the silver [plaque], and it’s so nice to have the gold one.”

The Rockets scored their first and only goal of the night around the 10th minute to take a 1-0 lead in Bell Buckle. 

However, Cascade did not flinch. Slade Austin responded about five minutes later with a brilliant individual bit of skill to finish off an incredible solo goal. Austin dribbled through a number of Rocket defenders before delivering a rocket himself into the top corner of the goal to draw level at 1-1.

Finally, as halftime began to draw near, the Champions found the all-important second goal to take a 2-1 lead. The Champions crossed the ball into the box, and Logan Haddock was Johnny-on-the-spot, using his midsection to redirect the ball into the back of the net and take the lead going into the half.

“The second goal was huge,” Spears said, “We are fighting like crazy at 1-1, and Chapel Hill was already starting to bicker with themselves. We knew we were leaning on them, but to actually get that second goal, you could see everything change then. Making them [Chapel Hill] play from behind was our biggest deal, because they kept kicking it long. Our defense was so solid. We could not score goals at the start of the year, so burying those two was so big.”

The Champions would hold an increasingly frustrated Rockets squad scoreless in the second half, and secured the program’s first-ever Region Championship when the final whistle blew.

Cascade is set to host Hickman County on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in the State Sectional round.