KILGORE VS. BOERNE | Read Mitch Lucas’ thoughts as the game happened Wednesday

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mitch Lucas was in Georgetown at Birkelbach Field for the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A boys soccer state semifinal between Kilgore (25-2-2) and Boerne (22-0). The game was scheduled for a 4 p.m. start, but was thrown a bit late after the game before it, the girls game between Boerne and Salado, went into overtime. These are Mitch’s real-time thoughts on the game as it was happening.

• “Let’s go to Birkelbach Stadium, with Hector and Mason and the boys…” Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
• Dang, it is windy! UIL state soccer tourney flags down in the end zone are flapping like heck.
• When we arrived, Boerne led Salado in the 4A girls semifinal with just a few minutes left in the game. Salado scored to tie it at 1, send it to overtime, only to lose in the OT session, 2-1. A common misconception is that the overtime period is only 10 minutes. Not true. There are two 10-minute halves, with a short 2-3 minute break in between. And even if one team scores in that first 10 minutes, the rest of the time must be played. That’s exactly what happened; Boerne’s girls scored in the first period, but the rest of the OT period had to be played.
• National Anthem was just played, completed at 4:13. We’re about to get started!
• Kilgore is the visiting team for this game.
• Boerne is the Greyhounds. They’re wearing purple and white. Kilgore is in their white road uniforms with red lettering, black shorts and white socks.
• If you’re new to UIL / Texas high school soccer, there are two 40-minute halves with a halftime in the middle.
• Game starts officially at 4:16.
• Kilgore goalkeeper Chris Martinez is standing in the goal underneath the stadium’s scoreboard.
• Boerne with a corner kick, batted out of play in the middle of the scrum of players. (37:52)
• Kilgore with a throw in near Boerne’s goal, takes a shot (Diego Rojas) but the wind catches it, and then keeper Ben Niedecken grabs it.
• Bulldogs clearly as a team look faster than Boerne.
• Boerne’s Shae Gonzales on a corner kick (33:18), someone tries a header near Kilgore’s goal and the ball bounces out onto the road. On the re-try, the ball is tipped, heads toward the goal, and is batted away by Martinez. (32:30)
• Again, I don’t know how fast the wind is actually blowing here, but it is really, really up. Kilgore is playing into the wind; Boerne has the wind at their backs.
• Kilgore’s Enrique Salazar, who scored both goals against Wilmer-Hutchins, appeared to be fouled hard in the box with 28:20 left in the half; no call.
• Kilgore has so much talent, it’s really unreal. And credit a lot of it to the constant play, all the travel teams, and yes, the Kilgore Soccer Association. Leo Yzaguirre and a couple of others just returned from an international tournament in the Metroplex.
• BOERNE SCORES, Hudson Vickery, 26:08 (1-0 Boerne).
• Adan Reyes of KHS hard to the turf, going for the ball about 20 yards from the Boerne goal, along the sidelines. No call. They’re letting them play, typical Texas high school soccer playoff game.
• 24:00 left in the first half.
• Greyhounds miss a free kick that the wind catches and takes out of the freaking stadium. Again, Boerne has the wind at their backs.
• 20:30 left in the half, still 1-0 Boerne.
• Kilgore’s Jose Vasquez with a shot (19:44), but sails wildly to the right of the Boerne goal.
• Boerne’s apparent strategy: if the ball can’t stay in the stadium, Kilgore can’t score.
• The Greyhounds were warming up before the game, watching their girls team against Salado in a 4A semifinal. Boerne won that game, and the Greyhounds got an emotional charge from it.
• 16:30 left in the half, still 1-0 Boerne.
• Clean game so far; no cards.
• Boerne’s Justin Bain (10) and Elian Arreola (16) don’t quit attacking, even when the ball is headed out of bounds. All over Kilgore’s Jorge Aleman (17) along the Boerne sideline.
• Greyhounds still up 1-0. 14 minutes left in the half.
• Reyes hurt, about 20 yards in front of the Boerne goal. Up now, 13:34 left in the half.
• Ruben Rodriguez from KHS surrounded as soon as he gets the ball. I have to say this: Boerne is tenacious.
• The talk in the press box behind me is that retired NBA / Houston great Hakeem Olajuwon played goalie as a kid. Seriously.
• Bain, Brody Bowen corner Kilgore’s Peyton Roberts in the corner. Ball goes out, awarded to Kilgore, but the throw-in goes the other way, Boerne taking the ball upfield.
• Liam Griffiths of Boerne (20) hurt (9:23), limping off the field and helped by teammates.
• Bowen takes a free kick for the Greyhounds (9:19), misses everything from about 40 yards out.
• We’ll keep an eye on Griffiths to see if he runs right back on the field.
• Salazar juking and jiving Boerne kids out along the Kilgore sideline. A throw-in leads to a scrum (a big crowd of players fighting for the ball) about 30 yards in front of Boerne’s goal, but no. Kilgore still trails, with 7 minutes left in the half.
• Again, Boerne says if all else fails, kick the crap out of the ball and send it into the 29th row.
• Vickery taking a free kick for Boerne; right to Martinez’s hands, in front of the KHS goal (6:10), a save.
• Aleman gets free along the Greyhounds’ sideline, closes in, passes the ball to Salazar, who is practically free in front of Boerne’s goal, only one Greyhound there. The ball is just out of Salazar’s reach. Kilgore trails, 1-0, with 5:27 left in the half. Another Boerne player is being helped off by training staff.
• By the way, if you’re looking at the ETBlitz Facebook, ignore those stupid posts from people about tuning into the broadcast of this game. It’s quite irritating. But I’m typing this for you guys, and watching the game. I’ll try and clear them off at the half. Sorry about that. What can I say? People are stupid. It takes some people an hour and a half to watch “60 Minutes.”
• Gonna be VERY interesting to see what happens in the second half when the Greyhounds are playing against the wind, like Kilgore has had to do in the first half.
• Aleman crossed it over again between defenders, but Salazar couldn’t quite get to it, about 10 yards in front of the Boerne goal. (3:06)
• If y’all like this, I’ll try to do it for every game I’m at. If you hate it, I won’t. 🙂
• Under two minutes to play and Boerne in front of Kilgore’s goal. Yzaguirre kicks the (heck) out of it and sends it downfield, 1:26 left in the half.
• OK — rapidly approaching the half now.
• Boerne’s Gabe Sallick sends a ball, a line-drive kick, right at Kilgore’s Martinez, but Martinez is there to deflect it. And that’s how the half ends.
• Kilgore trails Boerne, 1-0, and they put 10 minutes on the halftime clock. Running now, 9:41, 9:40, etc.
• The game after this is the final game of the night. That’s Navasota-San Elizario. The winner of this one meets the winner of THAT one in the 4A state title game on Friday at 2:30, right back here at Birkelbach (Texas, with Waylon and Willie and the boys…).
• Kilgore is attempting today to knock off a team that’s won two state titles in the last three years, but I got it wrong in my preview story. They didn’t win it last year. Sorry about that. They won the title in 2021, and 2022. I’ll go fix it after this thing is over.
• OK, about five minutes left until the second half.
• I’m hungry. Whataburger on the way home?
• Three minutes until half No. 2.
• Only about a minute left until the second half starts. Kilgore coach Hector Peralez just strode back onto the field. And here come the Bulldogs, right behind him.
• No Boerne yet.
• Can someone go get Boerne and tell them we’re still playing?
• OK, here comes the Greyhounds’ coach, Michael Strong, and the Greyhounds.
• What the UIL SHOULD do next year is get their attendants some bright yellow neon shirts. Seriously, I love the ’80s, but that hurts my eyes.
• Halftime clock is up. Teams back on the field. Kilgore just broke its huddle, ready to go. Boerne followed. Let’s play soccer. One more half. Who’s going to the state championship game?!? LET’S GO!!
• Now it’ll be Kilgore with the wind at its back, and Boerne playing into the wind, although the Greyhounds do have the 1-0 lead.
• Second half officially started at 5:14.
• Boerne is very good at the subtle knock-down. You know — whoops! Didn’t mean to do that. (Heheheh)
• Looked like Salazar had a sure shot-on-goal on a breakaway, but a Boerne player managed to block the shot right after it left Salazar’s foot (37:13).
• Boerne media is already talking about what the Greyhounds will do tonight — you know, because the game is over (there’s 35:49 left and they’re only up 1-0).
• As in, they’re talking about their plans, whether they’ll spend the night or drive home, then come back tomorrow.
• If I had a “mad” emoji on this keyboard, I’d use it.
• Another Greyhounds kick out of the stadium, and I mean UP and OUT of the stadium, over the top row of the visitors side, onto the street.
• Kilgore in front of Boerne’s goal, shot deflected (33:30)
• For anyone who was at the Kilgore-Jacksonville game, you’ll remember that the intensity of that game was off the charts. This is similar, but not quite as physical.
• Kilgore tried to execute a corner kick, to no avail (31:40).
• Kilgore’s Jobani Chavez (15) called offsides (30:50).
• Wrong, sorry; Chavez just lost the ball. Sorry about that.
• Under the 30-minute mark now, 29:40, Kilgore still down 1-0.
• Imagine if paperwork worked like a soccer game — if you don’t like it, just haul off and kick it out of the office.
• The Bulldogs, for the most part, are controlling possession of the ball in this game.
• The Greyhounds’ one shot in the first half that scored, by the way, was the first goal given up by Kilgore since the second-round game against Lindale, a game Kilgore would go on to win, 3-2.
• OK, guys; 26:40 left in the game, and in the season, if Kilgore can’t score.
• Kilgore’s Chris Perez on the corner kick with 26:13 left, but the Greyhounds (surprise) kick it out of bounds, about 60 yards downfield.
• 25 minutes left in the game. 1-0 Boerne.
• I don’t know what Kilgore coach Hector Peralez would say about this, we’ll see. But Boerne appears to me to be playing the best defense the Bulldogs have seen in this postseason, along with maybe Jacksonville.
• Shot to the Boerne goal went right to the keeper. (23:36)
• Greyhounds’ free kick fails (22:30), doesn’t even get close to Kilgore’s goal.
• Kilgore’s Perez just misses (21:20).
• So much grabbing in this game.
• Corner kick by Kilgore, but off someone, deflected out of bounds, and now a throw-in by Chavez.
• Loose ball controlled by Kilgore. (19:26).
• Boerne goalkeeper Niedecken gets his hands on the ball, shuts down that effort. Sends it flying in the opposite direction.
• 18:20 left, still 1-0 Boerne.
• Mostly cloudy here at the stadium, sun coming in and out of the clouds. No rain, at least.
• Reyes tripped up again, once again near the Boerne goal, again no call (17:10).
• I’m not insinuating anything, simply saying the officials are letting them play. No blood, no foul, honestly.
• Kilgore’s players are just really magicians with the ball. Leo, Rojas, Reyes, Velasquez, Aleman — it’s just amazing to watch.
• Under 15 minutes to play (14:45), Boerne leads 1-0.
• NEAR MISS by Yzaguirre, 14:20.
• Like, the press box personnel oohed and ahhed, and so did the crowd.
• Time, unfortunately, is running out on the Bulldogs, who are down 1-0 with 12:40 left.
• Kilgore shot just over the goal by Rojas (9:50 left).
• Game is stopped now with 9:17 left for an injury to a Boerne player.
• Jacob Contreras long pass to Rojas, as Kilgore presses downfield, but Boerne interrupts.
• 8 minutes left now, Kilgore still trails 1-0.
• Clock tick, tick, tick… Boerne 1-0 over Kilgore. 6:30 left.
• 4:46 left, long boot by Martinez downfield.
• A series of headers by players on both teams, and Kilgore winds up with possession.
• There is absolutely nothing being called in this game, almost to the point of just being crazy. It’s the ultimate in “letting them play.”
• 2:30 left. Boerne up 1-0.
• Corner kick by Perez goes into the middle of all the players in front of Boerne’s goal; deflected and loose, out of bounds.
• Down to the final minute now. Kilgore still down 1-0.
• Ball belongs to Kilgore, 45 seconds left.
• Now Boerne has it, clock just running, 28, 27, 26…
• Ball belongs to Kilgore again but far from Boerne’s goal. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Boerne wins, folks. 1-0, final.
• Kilgore’s season ends with a 25-3-2 record, just three losses on the entire season: one to Center in a district game, one to Nacogdoches in the regular season finale, and one today, in the 4A state semifinals.
• Peralez and his Bulldogs are hurting right now, but what a fantastic season, losing one step shy of the state championship game. One heck of a first year for Peralez as coach, and a great season to end on for a senior class that won 100 games as a class in their careers.
• Those seniors: Chris Martinez, Jose Vasquez, Leo Yzaguirre, Adan Reyes, Diego Rojas, Jacob Contreras, Jobani Chavez, and Joseph Chavez.
• Boerne advances to play either Navasota or San Elizario in the state title game on Friday at 2:30.
• For Kilgore, the 2024 season is now history. But great history, indeed.
• Thank you guys for hanging with me today. Come back and check out ETBlitz.com every day. We’re open 24-7.
• Peace-out.