WARSAW — Duplin County’s James Kenan High erupted for four goals in the second half Thursday night in Warsaw to cruise to a 5-1 victory over Jordan-Matthews in opening round action of the NCHSAA 2A State Playoffs.
With the win, James Kenan improved to 18-4 overall and advances to take on First Flight (15-3) in second round action while Jordan-Matthews closes the season at 10-10.
The contest was back and forth in the opening half with the Jets dodging several close range bullets from the host Tigers to keep the game scoreless.
But with just 8:57 to go until the half, James Kenan finally broke through when Adrian Capistran netted the initial goal of the contest to send the Tigers into the intermission with a precarious 1-0 cushion.
After the intermission, it took just :12 seconds for James Kenan to deliver a shocking and fatal blow when Luis Osorio hauled in a fast break pass off the foot of Lexy Hererra and deposited the ball into the corner of the net for a lightning-quick goal to send the Tigers up 2-0 in stunning fashion.
With the momentum, James Kenan would score again seven minutes later when Maken Augustine slammed in a rebound shot before Capistran scored again with 14 minutes to play, and Hererra late in the game to seal the 5-1 triumph.
Jordan-Matthews avoided a shut out when Cristian Esquivel tallied a nice goal late in the contest for the Jets.