Woodruff Boys Soccer Won Their Second Straight Region Title Before an Exciting Playoff Run
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer | garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
When Woodruff boys’ soccer coach Aaron Chappell came to Woodruff in 2023, he aspired to turn the Wolverines’ program into a championship contender.
Line by line, Chappell and the Wolverines are drawing the blueprint for that reality.
After winning the region championship during the 2023 season, Woodruff was defeated early in the 3A state playoffs. The 2024 season was meant to be the next step in the program’s evolution, but it turned into that and much more.
The Wolverines ran it back, again winning the conference title, but this time, they kept running and shooting all the way to the third round of the postseason.
“I believe that their success comes from what we focus on and protect daily, which is our culture,” explained Chappell. “We protect our culture by holding each other to our standard, which is, ‘Our Best for Each Other.’ Each player is held to that standard each and every day. What we are starting to see now is the players holding each other accountable to that standard. What we do when no one is watching makes us who we are and who we will become. That is the core of this team’s resilience.”
Woodruff played one of the strongest non-conference schedules in the area to prepare for the late-season rigors. Close early losses to top-tier teams set up a dominant run through Region 4-3A.
Winning a region championship last year was an amazing moment for senior Brandon Hernandez. To do it again further validated the framework being laid by an up-and-coming program ready to win.
“We take it game by game and keep working harder with each training session,” Hernandez said. “Our goal was to win region, obviously, and go far in the playoffs. We just took it one game at a time.”
The Wolverines stormed through their conference slate, finishing 8-0 and outscoring opponents 55-5. The outcome was never much in doubt, and the team was able to play its entire roster and shore up its ship prior to the playoffs.
Junior Tavo Bastos explained how all the hard work he and his teammates put in had led to this moment and the respect that the Wolverines are beginning to earn from opponents. The program he became part of as a freshman is far different from the one he plays for now.
“As a freshman, I think we got the second or third seed in the playoffs, and now to win two region championships back-to-back feels great, obviously,” Bastos said. “We worked hard to make this happen and change the narrative about Woodruff soccer.”
Woodruff finished the regular season with a 14-4 overall record and met Palmetto in the first round, the team that had eliminated the Wolverines from the postseason last year. This time, Woodruff got the upper hand and a 2-1 win.
Winning that game against the Mustangs proves to Hernandez that the effort and expectations demanded by Coach Chappell were paying off.
“All of the tough games and close games we played during the regular season prepared us for that situation,” he said. “First half, we struggled, and at halftime, we talked about it. We fixed our mistakes, and the second half was way better. The team played way better, and we got the win.”
It was the Wolverines’ second round game against Carolina High, though, that might be the most impressive testament to their drive to succeed. Trailing 1-0 with 15 minutes to play in the game, Woodruff seemed unable to break through.
Then, the Wolverines scored a deluge of four goals in the final minutes to turn around the deficit and blow out the Trojans. The blow was fast and decisive.
Woodruff would ultimately fall to nationally ranked Powdersville in the state quarterfinals, finishing the season a stellar 16-5. As each of the past two seasons has seen the Wolverines take another step toward the mountaintop, even defeat left Woodruff ready to keep climbing.
“Our program will move forward and it will be because everyone who is a part of our program has made the personal choice to be uncommon,” added Coach Chappell. “As long as we fiercely protect our culture and keep working, the best is yet to come for Woodruff soccer.”
Bastos, who set a new school record with 41 goals scored in the regular single season, will be back to continue the journey next year along with a talented core. He says the support from all sides for the soccer program is a driving force of motivation for him and his teammates and a catalyst for their success.
“It’s not just our teammates,” said Tavo. “It’s everybody that’s supporting us. We’ve got coaches investing in us in the weight room, coaches working their tails off spending time away from their kids, my teammates sacrificing their bodies for me and me for them, so it is all a testament to how hard we worked these last few months.”
So maybe, running it back is the wrong choice of words to describe what Woodruff soccer is accomplishing.
Running it forward is more like it.
Author: Tracy Sanders
