WADESBORO – Trying to peak at just the right time, the Anson High School Bearcats continue making bit-by-bit improvements ahead of the postseason.
Although suffering blowout losses to Rocky River Conference foes the West Stanly Mustangs and most recently the Forest Hills Yellow Jackets, the Bearcats offense continues finding the back of the net.
“They kind of beat themselves in the second half (against West Stanly). Sometimes our minds get the best of us when it comes to the game. After the first half, we had something to build on, somthing to go off or something to look forward to in the future,” Anson coach Hunter Klein said.
After shutout losses to Piedmont and Monroe respectively, center Ethan Dillon snapped the scoreless streak after making a steal deep in Mustang territory, then finding the back of the net for a score.
“He just came back. He broke his hip the first game of the season, so this is his second game of the season … Their defense was playing with the ball too deep in their box. We stole it, put it in the back of the net, and that was that,” Klein said.
Although hopeful in the first half, the Bearcats could not maintain their momentum, and allowed four goals in quick succession to end the game with a 9-1 loss. With the win, West Stanly picked up its first conference win and improved to 3-8 and 1-4 in the RRC. Anson suffered a similar fate in a 10-1 loss to Forest Hills (7-3-3), who currently sits atop the RRC standings at 5-0 while the Bearcats dropped to 0-9-1 and 0-4 in the RRC.
Anson’s fortunes could dramatically change in the next week with a game against RRC foe Central Academy (3-8-1, 2-3) Monday and a non-conference game against South Davidson (1-4) Wednesday.
“I’m looking forward to South Davidson. They look like a program that is inline with us. I’m excited for that one. I want to keep it on our schedule, so I can make that call whether I feel like we’re ready or we’re not,” Klein said.