For Landrum and Chapman it was a tale of two halves on Thursday, March 29.
Landrum hosted District 1 rival Chapman on the soccer pitch and walked away with a 1-0 victory.
Landrum (3-5, 0-2) outshot the Panthers 9-4 in the first half, but it didn’t take long for that first goal to hit the back of the net. Jon Perry sent a shot in from outside the goalie box just over a minute into the game.
“Whenever I got the ball, I just gave it a shot to the left and it paid off,” Perry said.
A big difference in the game, however, was Landrum’s physicality.
“The guys played together and they played physical,” said Landrum coach Josh Fowler.
Landrum forward Kaleb Gunther was constantly attacking the Panther goal. Panther goalie Eli Moore, Jr. had 12 saves in the game.
After the break, Landrum goalie Graham Mcllelan was a little busier.
Chapman Head Coach Will Maley had his Panthers attacking. After registering just three saves in the first half, McLellan had to fend off seven balls in the second half. Chapman (1-4, 1-2) outshot Landrum 8-6 in the second half.
After the match, Maley gave the Cardinals all the credit in the victory.
“Every time we play them, they come with their ‘A’ game,” he said. “Landrum has a lot of heart.”
As for Fowler, beating his district rival gave him some satisfaction.
“It’s nice to win those games,” he said.