Championship game gets rough

On a night where a region champion was crowned, it was a scuffle that nearly stole the show.

Greenbrier (10-3-2, 5-0 Region 2-AAAA) won its first region boys soccer championship since 2003 after beating Evans, 2-1, at Blanchard Stadium on Thursday.

But it was a second-period scrum between an Evans and a Greenbrier player that nearly escalated into a brawl.

Midway through the second half, nearly all the players on the field charged towards the incident, which was little more than a shove. But about five guys sitting in the Evans student section jumped over the rail and ran onto the Knights' sideline. Evans coach Brian Killips yelled at the fans, and they walked back off the field.

"It was a situation where the kids, who all play together on club teams, had control of the situation," said Greenbrier coach Chip Warren. "The kids ran over there to restrain the kids involved in the scuffle and make sure no one did anything stupid. The refs did a good job by not giving out any red cards.

"I never saw the kids come out of the stands. I found out after the game. They should have been escorted from the stands or ejected, whatever you want to call it."

The fracas was just one part of a wild and seemingly never-ending second half.

Bobby Zimmerman and Ben Parrish scored goals in quick succession as Greenbrier erased a 1-0 halftime deficit early in the second half. The Wolfpack had to hold on - it was tough to find out for how long because of a broken scoreboard and stoppage time - for the win.

"It was a huge win for us," Warren said. "I wasn't sure that we'd be this good this year. We've just responded to adversity, which is something we didn't do last season."

Evans' lone goal came on a rebound shot by Ryan Crislip in the first half.

The Greenbrier girls also beat Evans, 4-1, and will play Lakeside today for the region championship.