Southern Wayne goalie Jefferson Morales (orange shirt) attempts to save a header by James Kenan’s Kebert Davis on a first-half corner kick. Defending with Morales are Cole Lane (8), Alex Trejo (2) and Angel Ramirez (11). Morales had 12 saves in the Saints’ road loss. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
WARSAW — James Kenan … well, Peter Omega, to be exact … proved unstoppable on a sultry Monday evening.
Omega notched a hat trick (three goals) for the Tigers, who easily handled Southern Wayne, 9-0, at Bill Taylor Field.
“The biggest thing was to move the ball around, move it side to side,” Kenan head coach Mitchell Quinn said. “If we can keep them chasing, we’d be great shape. We’d be hard to beat. I like what I saw [today].”
Indeed.
The Tigers constantly pressured the ball, dominated the first touch and found its creativity on offense. Midfielder Francisco Roldan distributed the ball well to his teammates.
Roldan’s work ethic helped Robert Ordonez collect the Tigers’ first goal 94 seconds after kickoff.
Kenan’s “bread and butter,” however, were set pieces.
The Tigers scored four goals that started off corner kicks. Omega found the net twice, while Edier Ruiz and Isaias Ruiz notched one apiece.
Direct kicks after fouls provided some offense as well.
“They’ve been working at it and I have to give them credit,” Quinn said. “They go to practice and actually focus on getting the job done. That helps us out big time. When they’re focused on the task at hand, everything just kind of flows easily.”
Six James Kenan players accounted for either a goal or an assist in the mercy-rule affair against the Saints, who hold a 6-3-2 advantage in the series since 2017.
Roldan tallied two goals. Rony Ramirez provided one goal and two assists — all in the second half. Ordonez supplied a second-half assist.
Southern Wayne goalie Jefferson Morales collected 12 saves on 20-plus shots. The Tigers attempted 12 corner kicks.
“A lot of it, we panicked just way too early,” SW head coach Luis Ramirez said. “We were kind of booting it up to them, letting them play their game and we were on ‘defense mode’ since the beginning of the game.
“They were a very good team. Their organization was up to par and everything just worked out for them tonight. We just played absolutely horrible.”
James Kenan (3-0-0 overall) has outscored the opposition 17-0 this season.
“We’re solid everywhere from top to bottom,” Quinn said. “But I love the overlapping [of the ball] down the sideline and any time we get the chance to do that, I tell them to go for it.
“We’ve got some speed up top.”
The Tigers improved to a mind-boggling 48-6-5 overall against Wayne County teams since 2010. Kenan has 18 shutouts during that stretch, including five against Southern Wayne.
The Saints (1-4-0) return home Wednesday to face Rosewood. Kickoff is 6 p.m. The Tigers begin a four-game road swing Thursday at North Johnston.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
