Varsity Boys Soccer Faces Off Against Eastside in First Region Match!

On March 9, 2026, the Walnut Grove Warriors faced off against the Eastside Eagles in their first region matchup of the season.
by Gracie Edwards and Justin Andrio

Game Recap
At 7:30 p.m., the Warriors kicked off their game against Eastside. It was a very defensive battle in the first half, leaving the defenders exhausted and out of breath. Eventually, the Eastside offense became so overwhelming that they took advantage, scoring a goal halfway through the first half.

After that, the Warrior defense resisted, not letting up another goal during the first half. At the end of the half, the Warriors left the pitch for the locker room trailing with a score of 0-1.
During halftime, Coach Sparks delivered a speech that moved some of the players, helping them reset their minds and start playing like themselves.

Starting the second half, the team came out strong, putting pressure on the Eagles and forcing them to play a very defensive game. Eventually, the Warrior offense was too much for the Eagles, and Junior Adam Landers (#10) scored the first goal of the game for The Grove, tying the score at 1-1. After scoring his first, Adam kept the pressure on and scored once more, putting his team out front halfway through the second half. That goal also put him one away from a hat trick, which would be the first of his career.

Toward the end of the match, the Warriors continued to apply pressure. They pushed down the field, and yet again, Adam Landers scored, completing the hat trick and ending the game with the Warriors taking the win by a score of 3-1.

Senior Jean Loria (#1) has been on the team for a while, playing with last year's playoff team and the new, improved squad this year. Jean talked about the team's performance and whether this year's team is living up to last year's standard. “In the first half against Eastside, we began playing a little sloppy. However, in the second half, we came out better and finished our chances and the game... I believe the team is living up to last year's team. It can be hard to live up to such high expectations; however, we are still on track to equal our record or even have a better record than last year.”

Junior Dylan Martinez (#8) played striker during the game. He was asked how he thinks this season is going. “I think we’ve been doing good. Honestly, we got some dubs and we got some losses, but at the end of the day, we try our best.” Dylan shared his thoughts on how they played as a team against Eastside: “I feel like in the first half we were playing a little rough and we couldn't connect, but in the second half we started to connect and pass better and eventually got some goals.” He continued, “We gotta communicate more, we gotta keep our heads up and stand more.”

Junior Wyatt Hawkins (#2) has been on the team for the past two seasons, and he also plays striker. He shared his opinion on how the season is going: “So far, it's gone good. We’re starting region 1-0. [On Tuesday] we had good ball movement, [and] Adam scoring a hat trick was also really good.” When asked how the team could have improved, he noted, “Just trying to move the ball both ways of the field." His prediction for later in the season is “that we can go undefeated for the rest of the season; we’ve gotten this far, we can go the rest of the way.”

After defeating Madison County 6-0 on March 10, the Warriors currently sit tied with East Forsyth for first place in the region at 2-0. They are also 7-3 in the regular season. Come out and support the Warriors in their next region matchup against Cedar Shoals on March 13!