CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Henry County Patriots traveled to Hilda J. Richardson Field at for the Region 7-3A soccer championship game against the Wildcats on Thursday. The game was scoreless at half, but three goals in a 20-minute span powered the Wildcats to a 3-0 victory, for their first region title since 2021, and setting up a home sub-state match against Houston High on Saturday.

The first half was a defensive struggle, with neither team getting easy looks. Clarksville dominated ball possession, but wasn’t able to find the back of the net for the first 40 minutes. Luckily, the Wildcats also blanked the Patriots on the defensive end, with goalie Ellie Balthrop shutting down the ball. The two teams headed to the half tied with two goose eggs on the board.

The second half was a different story, with Clarksville finally breaking through on a long ball from Reagan Crass to take the lead in the 50th minute. Ten minutes later, Taylor Reynolds found the net off a deflection to extend the lead, and the Wildcats were in full control.

“We knew this game would be a battle,” said Wildcats head coach Sara Kluttz. “It’s hard to play in a game like that and battle and stay composed. In the second half, we settled in and executed our attack a lot better.”

While the Wildcats were playing good enough defense that two goals would have sufficed, Contsance Ludowse netted the heartbreaker for Patriot fans eight minutes later, and Clarksville took a commanding 3-0 lead late in the second half. That was all the scoring for the night, as the Wildcats celebrated their first region title since 2021.

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“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said senior defender and captain Grace Cunnigham. “My seniors and I have worked so long for this, and we were able to push through tough moments to get here. We’ve always been taught by coach Kluttz not to get too down or too up, and we stayed the course to earn this win.”

While Clarksville will celebrate this one, they will turn right around for a Saturday elimination sub-state match with Houston. The Wildcats haven’t made it to the state tournament since 2019, and will look to change that Saturday.

“It feels great to not have to travel to Memphis, it changes the feel of that game for us,” said Kluttz. “It’s no secret that the Memphis schools have dominated in recent years, but I’m never going to show up to a game without some belief that we can do it.”

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