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With a large number of players from last year’s team heading for the high school, the Central Middle School (CMS) Bobcats soccer team was destined for a rebuild in 2019.

With only two eighth-graders on the team, CMS was young and inexperienced. Also, getting a late start on practice and unusually hot weather only added to their woes.

Despite this, the team worked hard and improved greatly, finishing the season at 5-9.

Eighth-grader Quest Hennings along with seventh-graders Jamie Perez-Cruz and Landon Jackson did most of the work on offense as the starting forwards.

Eighth-grader Wyatt Rawlings plus seventh-graders David Terrones-Lara and Thomas Graves got the majority of their work at the midfield position.

Anchoring the defense were seventh-graders Katelyn Prue, Hadley Coffey, Colton Mann and sixth-grader Kayla Hylton. The goalie was sixth-grader Charlie Critzer.

Seventh-grader Sarah Ramsey and sixth-grader Jaythan Rutledge saw plenty of action at midfielder and forward.

Sixth-grader Augustine Sassi, unfortunately, finished the season out with an injury.

Concentration on fundamentals was a priority for Coaches Chris Nichols and Jay Graves. Skills, teaching the game and emphasis on versatility paid off with two wins each over Wyatt Middle, of Greensville, and Russell, of Brunswick, and a win over Prince Edward.

The Bobcats won two of the five by way of shootout and one in overtime. They lost close games to Prince Edward, 2-1, Lunenburg, 4-2 and 4-3, and Bluestone, 2-0 and 3-0.

Other losses were to larger conference schools — Park View and Powhatan.

Overall, the Bobcats gained a great deal of experience, and with 12 returning players, they are looking forward to a solid campaign in 2020.