Scoring depth is helping the McCallie soccer progam make another deep postseason run.
The flaming blue heat that is coach Chris Cushenbery's Blue Tornado got goals from four players in Friday's 4-1 home win over Nashville's Ensworth in the TSSAA Division II-AA state quarterfinals, securing their place among the classification's final four teams at next week's Spring Fling.
Junior left back Elliott Arnold provided quite the cushion going into halftime. After senior Brandon Mathurin fooled the Tigers with his decoy move on a free kick, Arnold came in behind him to hammer the ball around a wall of defenders and into the far right corner of the net, making it 3-0 with six seconds left in the first half.
"Every single player on this team can score. We are not a one-man team whatsoever," Arnold said. "We do everything together. From the beginning of the season, we knew what we needed to do to win a state title: Be a team and have great chemistry. We are fighting together out there, and our goal is to become the best team in McCallie history."
McCallie (13-0-1), ranked No. 6 in the country by MaxPreps.com, is two wins from finishing off the first unbeaten season in program history and adding a fourth state title to go with those won by the Blue Tornado in 1999, 2018 and 2019. McCallie will take on Montgomery Bell Academy (12-1-1) next Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern in the state semifinals at Murfreesboro's Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.
The Blue Tornado will head north moving in the right direction, having scored at least four goals in five straight games and seven of their past eight.
Star midfielder Brandon Mathurin provided Friday's opening score in the 20th minute, when the senior captain cleaned up a loose ball in the box by sending it into the open right side of the goal. In the 31st minute, senior forward Dylan Capazario scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season as he sent in a hard ground ball that slipped under the keeper's legs at the front left post for a 2-0 lead.
After matching Capazario with a second-half brace in McCallie's 4-2 region title win over Chattanooga Christian School, freshman midfielder Brooks Hilger continued to shine with a goal in the 73rd minute against Ensworth. Hilger and Mathurin now have seven goals apiece this season, and they're among seven players who have scored at least three times this year for McCallie.
"What I love about this team is every guy plays a big role and is willing to step up when it is their moment," said Cushenbery, who has led the Blue Tornado since 2015. "Our guys work hard for each other and in doing so are very dangerous.
"I love this team. Their spirit and energy are contagious, and they are just good guys. They have the chance to become the best team in the history of McCallie School soccer."
Ensworth (10-2-2) was not able to get star sophomore Terrance Reynolds in a good flow, although he almost had a highlight when his bicycle attempt was saved by keeper Ryan Larrabee in the 67th.
"People lose that kid a lot, and Daniel McCarthy stuck with him all game and did a fantastic job," Cushenbery said of McCallie's defense against Reynolds, who had 34 goals this season. "Everybody on this team does their job, and that's what makes them so fun to coach. They can all step up in big moments."
Contributed photo / McCallie senior stars Caughran Fowler, left, and Kendrick Reynolds, right, placed first and fourth overall, respectively, in the TSSAA Division II-AA state decathlon Thursday. Fowler is the Blue Tornado's third state decathlon champion since 2018.Fowler is state champ
A third local athlete was crowned as a state champion ahead of next week's Spring Fling.
McCallie senior Caughran Fowler won the Division II-AA decathlon title at Brentwood Academy on Thursday, a day after Signal Mountain's Marlee Burkley and Sale Creek's Eisa Eilertson won girls' pentathlon championships in Classes AA and A, respectively, at Middle Tennessee State University.
Fowler scored 6,793 points in the grueling competition that compiles points from 10 track and field events. Lipscomb Academy's Warner Papillion was the runner-up with 6,745 points.
The Blue Tornado star won the 100-meter dash (10.99 seconds) and the 400 (48.11), while he finished second in the 110 hurdles (15.20) and third in the 1500 (4 minutes, 48.26 seconds). Fowler also placed among the top five in the pole vault (13 feet), triple jump (42-3), long jump (21-1 1/2) and high jump (5-10).
Fowler is the third McCallie athlete to win a decathlon state title since 2018. Hakim McMorris won in 2018 with a program-record 7,277 points, with Michael May winning in 2021. Fowler is second only to McMorris in points scored by a McCallie athlete in a single state decathlon.
The Blue Tornado wracked up even more team points for next week's competition as senior Kendrick Reynolds finished fourth in the decathlon with 6,394 points. Reynolds won the triple jump (44-10 1/4) and finished second in the high jump (6-0) and long jump (22-9 1/2).
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.