Darnell Pride

I wanted to give a shout-out today to my brother David (far right). He scored the winning penalty kick last night to put FPD in the state championship game on Saturday. Go David! Go Vikings! We'll see you on Saturday!


Here's an article about the game from The Macon Telegraph this morning...

Friday, Oct. 24, 2008

Vikings edge Cavaliers in penalty kick thriller
By John Kosater - sports@macon.com

FPD sophomore goalkeeper Bryant Allen had seen it before.
Last week, his team was in the same situation, battling to a tie with Westminster after regulation and two overtimes, and the game was decided on penalty kicks. Although the Vikings won the game, Allen had not stopped a shot.
Against Mount de Sales on Thursday night, Allen fared much better, blocking two crucial shots to key the Vikings to a 7-6 thrilling penalty kick win over the Cavaliers following a scoreless draw in regulation to advance to the GISA Class AAA championship game.
Allen's first block on a Matthew Miller shot came when all the Cavaliers (14-3-2) needed was a goal to end the game. His second came four shots later, this time stopping a Paolo Cavaliere shot. Teammate David Darnell ended the match, beating Mount de Sales goalkeeper John Kot to the right corner to avenge two previous losses to the Cavaliers this year.
"They are the ones who battled the whole game and kept us in it," Allen said of his teammates. "We had given up four goals both times we played them, and to shut them out is a credit to our whole team. I just guessed right on two penalty kicks. My team gave me all the motivation I needed."
FPD head coach Joshua Trieste thought his team's defensive performance, led by Brandon Smith, Drew Owens, Jared Williams, Mark Scott and of course Allen, was the difference in the game.
"We changed a few things a few games ago and got a bit more defensive minded," Trieste said. "We were giving up three and four goals when we lost, and I thought we needed to focus a little more in not giving up so many goals.
"So far it has worked out well. I told our team at the beginning of the year we had a lot of things we could accomplish this year, and we have reached one of our goals. I just don't want this game to be the pinnacle of our season."
Mount de Sales head coach Iain Jones credited the defense of FPD (20-3).
"The defensive change bothered us a little, but I still think we had our chances to score," Jones said. "We had our opportunities. It just wasn't our night. "