Knights capture 2nd state title
HUNTSVILLE — A coach isn't often asked his age following a state championship match.
A youthful-looking Christian Adkins, in his first year at the helm of Westminster School at Oak Mountain’s boys soccer team, grinned as he revealed he was just 24 years old.
In other words, if Adkins wasn’t already well known to AHSAA officials watching from the press box, he could have probably slipped into the match as one of the Knights’ players.
Adkins didn’t have to. His Westminster squad defeated a speedy-but-small West Morgan side by a 2-0 score Friday and won the school’s second Class 1A-3A state championship in the past four years.
The Knights got on the board in the first half with a goal by Houston Likens, off an assist by John Richardson in the 32nd minute. But the team’s second score was the one that brought the fans at John Hunt Park to their feet.
Matt Wilson was working his way with the ball just outside the penalty area and parallel to its long edge. Suddenly, Wilson stopped and fired a left-footed blast at a 90-degree angle to his path that rocketed past the Rebels goalkeeper. The 30-yard missile came in the 58th minute to give the Knights some breathing room the rest of the way.
“Matt can go all over the place. He’s got the longest legs you’ve ever seen, but they work in his favor,” Adkins said. “He works super-hard to get into position to score.”
Westminster had an equally strong night from their keeper, Brodie Winks. He came up with nine saves to keep a clean sheet for the night.
West Morgan’s players were nearly all small in stature but made up for it with blazing speed. Such an opponent can sometimes be problematic for a bigger team, but the Knights were able to keep up, in large part due to a conditioning program that Adkins emphasizes. That program paid big dividends on Friday night.
“Fitness played a great part in this. We strive to be our fittest for these games,” Adkins said. “They push me to be better every day in training, and I want to push them to be the best. I’m a firm believer that fitness is a big issue.”
Price Leonard, who scored two goals in Westminster’s 2-1 semifinal victory over Bayside Academy on Thursday, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. “He’s skillful, he’s fast, his work ethic is unbelievable and he’s the fittest guy on the team,” Adkins said.
The championship is Adkins’ first as a head coach, but he is no stranger to the big blue map trophy. At neighboring Oak Mountain High School, he was part of two title teams as a player. When he returned to the Eagles as an assistant coach, the school won two more crowns before Westminster hired him to run its program.
The Knights close their championship season with a 24-2-1 record, while West Morgan ends with a 21-3-0 mark.