Dawgs bite back against Hawks
Only the Lady Bulldogs struck back, claiming a key 2-1 district win over HVA last Friday, Sept. 18, at the Bearden soccer complex.
Makayla Hammond nailed the first strike for HVA in the first minute, opening the scoring in a hurry.
Reese Underwood proceeded to even things up at 1-1, then Madi Bowlin nailed a penalty kick in the second half to give BHS a lead it would not relinquish.
With the win, Bearden moved to 2-0 in district play for the 2026 campaign.
“We knew they scored early against Farragut, and with this being our Senior Night, my message to the girls was that they’re a fast-starting team,” head coach Ryan Radcliffe said last Friday. “So you’ve got to get rid of the emotion of that early and be ready, because it’s a huge district game.
“I feel like I need to stop saying those things because I feel like I speak it into existence sometimes. But it was a great response, and it was encouraging to see.”
“It’s always nice to score right off the bat, but we’ve been struggling to score goals after that,” added HVA assistant Mandy Marshall of the Lady Hawks. “And teams like Bearden, there’s only so long you can hold onto a 1-0 lead.”
True to form, Bearden snapped into form in the 29th minute with the goal from Underwood, who is a freshman for BHS. She is one of several younger players for the Dawgs, who are looking to parlay their regular-season success into a second-straight state title.
“I think sometimes your youth is kind of naive and they don’t know the magnitude of the game, so they expect things to fall into our lap being Bearden,” Radcliffe said. “But they rose to the occasion. For Reese to come in and score that goal, that was big for us. She’s a coach’s kid, so she of all people knows the magnitude.”
Later, Bowlin’s PK came at a crucial moment for Bearden. The teams had battled consistently through the heat to that point, but Bowlin found a way to connect.
“It may not be the prettiest,” Radcliffe noted, “but you’ll have to work for it and grind it out. Sometimes when you play teams that are loaded defensively, you have to find ways to create your own luck. Credit to Maddi for that and for not giving up on the play.”
Following that win, Bearden moved on to face Central on Tuesday, Sept. 22, while HVA took on Lenoir City the same day. Neither result was available by press time.
