Late goals lift West past Hardin Valley
Hardin Valley Academy’s boys soccer team has had a tumultuous 2026 campaign marred by adversity, including illness and injuries.
The Hawks closed out the District 4-AAA portion of their schedule Friday night with a 2-1 loss to Knoxville West at HVA.
It was Hardin Valley’s 13th match of the season and the Hawks used their 13th different starting lineup.
“We’ve been banged up. We’ve been dinged up and we’ve been sick,” said coach Ray Dover, who guided his side to the 2025 Class AAA state championship. “We rested some guys and we played some younger kids and I was really proud of our effort.
“The MVP of our team this year is our trainer, Cindi Juarez-Logan. She’s worked with our kids and done some things like conditioning.”
The Hawks (5-6-2 overall, 2-3-1 in the district) started fast and led, 1-0, at halftime thanks to a goal by freshman Elijah Lakins, that was assisted by sophomore Manny Longinos.
“I used some younger kids,” Dover said. “We knew coming into the 2026 season that we would have a team of 2027 that wouldn’t have a lot of seniors on it, so we were able to get a glimpse into the 2027 season.
The loss had all the elements of a heartbreaking defeat as the Hawks darted out to an early lead against the Rebels, coached by Nick Kim, only to see West (12-1-3, 3-0-2) come behind with two late goals.
“I was actually really proud of our effort,” Dover said. “We were up, 1-0, at halftime and West came back and scored two goals in the last 20 minutes.
“Nick has a good team. West is good. They have talent and they play hard. Our district is always tough, but this is as deep as I think I’ve ever seen it,”
Oliver Bankston, one of the area’s top players, found the back of the net for the Rebels. Luke Rappe also tallied for West and Grayson Huffaker dished out a pair of assists.
