May River’s Mikey Chappelear scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Sharks to a 6-1 region win on an emotional night at Ridgeland-Hardeeville.
The Jaguars came out inspired just two days after teammate Angel Jimenez was struck by a vehicle and killed while bicycling. After both teams huddled in prayer and RHHS began the game with 10 men on the field and Jimenez’s jersey in his usual position, the Jaguars got on the board first with a goal midway through the first half and their goalkeeper stood tall to preserve the lead until halftime.
The Sharks responded despite playing without two of their top offensive threats in Conner Golden and Joel Fleek, as Chappelear scored just 20 seconds into the second half and added the go-ahead goal off an assist from Brayan Silva five minutes later.
Nick Lewis scored in the 61st minute and Chappelear assisted on Donovan Ling’s first varsity goal in the 69th minute to make it 4-1, and Lewis added a penalty kick in the 72nd minute. Ling assisted on Chris Pineda’s goal to cap the scoring.
“Kudos to Ridgeland-Hardeeville for playing hard and well after losing a brother Sunday,” May River coach Misael Garzon said. “They fought hard all game and gave us a fight. I’m super impressed with their strength after such a tragedy. Our boys were solid playing under these circumstances and without two of our top scorers.”
The Sharks will continue to honor Jimenez when the teams play again Friday at May River, and they will be collecting donations for the family.
May River (14-1, 5-0) hosts Hilton Head Christian Academy for a non-region match at 7 p.m. Thursday.