Dyersburg blanks Westview for Region 7-AA title

"The girls played super, you couldn't ask for anything better," said Lady Trojan head coach Joy Norman. "We really played with a lot of heart tonight, and I'm very proud of the girls."

The Lady Trojans were able to pick up the win behind two late second-half goals by senior leader Laura Leigh Horner, who played just her second game in over a month after missing half the season with a foot injury.

"We knew Laura Leigh would be ready tonight after being out of commission for the past month," said Norman. "She really played great, but she told me she is exhausted though."

The matchup between the top two teams in the region was a back-and-forth affair for nearly the entire game, with both squads' defenses playing great the entire game.

The Lady Chargers had a chance to jump out to an early lead 16 minutes into the first half, when Lady Trojan Emma Caylor was called for a hand-ball violation.

Lady Charger Katie Campbell lined up for the penalty kick, but the ball sailed over the top of the goal, which kept the game scoreless.

The Lady Trojans also had a chance to take a first-half lead on a penalty kick by Caylor, but Dyersburg's leading scorer pushed the kick wide right.

Both squads traded field position for the reminder of the first half, as the championship game was scoreless going into the intermission.

The second half started off the same as the entire first half went, with both squads trading field position.

"Our defense is awesome, they come ready to play every game," said Norman. "Our defense can handle it, and Brooke (Hubbard) is our quarterback back there keeping everyone in the right spot."

Dyersburg finally caught a break when a ball got past the Lady Chargers defense and Horner blasted a shot past the goalie, which sent the crowd into a frenzy, especially the Covington soccer team, who came out and cheered for the Lady Trojans.

"Im going to have to send Covington a card, they were awesome tonight," said Norman. "They lifted our girls tremendously, listening to them cheer for us was awesome."

Dyersburg put the game away with seven minutes remaining in the match, when Horner lifted a rainbow shot, which found the back of the net, and gave the Lady Trojans a huge insurance goal with time running out.

The Lady Trojans will return to action on Saturday when they host McNairy Central in a sub-state matchup starting at 2 p.m. at Dyersburg Middle School.

"It's huge for us to be able to host the substate game," said Norman. "We are going to have to play like we did tonight if we want to go to state, but after beating Westview, I think we are ready."