By: Scott Nickerson
The Prattville boys’ soccer team improved to 17-3-1 on the season, and 5-1 in area play, with a 7-0 victory over Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in the final game of the regular season. The victory earned the Lions the Class 7A Area 5 title.
“It feels great to see my players reach one of the key goals for the season. I am super happy for the boys to have accomplished this through their hard work and commitment,” said Prattville Coach Trever Ledkins. “We have great senior leadership. Finishing second in the area the season before was a big motivator for our team. This allowed us to have the focus we needed every day to help us win the area.”
Prattville boasts a strong squad that has not allowed a goal in 13 of 21 games played this season according to MaxPreps. They boast an impressive goal differential of +68, having scored 88 goals and only allowing 20 goals.
The Lions have four different players that have double digit goals this season. Austin Ledkins leads the team with 17 goals and 12 assists, while Levi Smith has 11 goals and 11 assists. Additionally, Porter Sutton has 11 goals and Richard Byrad has 10 goals, according to Coach Ledkins.
The Lions enter the post-season ranked #3 in Class 7A. However, they might have the most difficult journey of any team in the state to reach the Final Four. For the playoffs, Prattville’s area was matched up with Class 7A Area 6 for the first two rounds, which is home to Class 7A #1 Oak Mountain, and Class 7A #2 Hoover.
As the Area 5 champ, the Lions will host the 1st round of the Class 7A playoffs against the Hoover Buccaneers, the Class 7A Area 6 runner up. Hoover’s record is 18-2-1, with their only two losses of the season coming against #1 Oak Mountain. If the Lions get past Hoover in the 1st round, they have a potential matchup against undefeated and defending state champ Oak Mountain in the 2nd round.
“We will have to play with confidence and be resilient when adversity happens,” Coach Ledkins said about the upcoming playoff showdown against Hoover. “When we create chances we will need to place them on goal.”
The 1st Round of the Class 7A playoffs will kick off for the Lions on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m. at 17 Springs.
