By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – Another region game, another shutout for the LaGrange Grangers.

LaGrange improved to 4-0 in Region 5-AAAA with Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Troup, and it hasn’t allowed a goal in any of those games.

Wednesday’s win was a critical one for the Grangers, who moved a step closer to a region championship.

LaGrange can secure the region title with home wins over Chapel Hill on Friday and Cartersville on Tuesday.

“We set goals at the start of the year. One of them was to win region,” LaGrange head coach Keita Placide said. “We’re in good position right now. We’ve got two more games.”

Placide feels his players are performing at a high level as they continue the pursuit of a region title.

“The kids are playing awesome,” Placide said. “The intensity is there. The belief is there. That’s the number one thing. I’m happy. I can truly say I’m happy with what I’m seeing on the field.”

While it was a disappointing night for the Tigers, they are still in good shape in the region with a 3-2 record.

If Troup wins at Central-Carroll on Friday, it will secure one of the region’s four playoff spots.

“We didn’t pay well tonight. It happens,” Troup coach Micah Alba said. “They played well, and we didn’t play well at all. It’s the simple things. We couldn’t complete passes, stuff we’ve been doing all year long. But it’s over. The playoff game is Friday. If we win, we’re in. If we lose, now it’s up in the air, and you have to wait and see. If we win, we’re in.”

LaGrange broke through the first goal with 16:35 to play in the first half.

Alex Bowie found himself in close to the goal, and he managed to get the ball past the keeper and the Grangers were up 1-0.

“It was really big,” Bowie said. “I feel like if you’re the team that gets the first goal, you’ve got an advantage for the rest of the game.”

Bowie nearly scored again with seven minutes left in the half, but his shot hit the top of the goal post, and LaGrange took a 1-0 lead to the break.

That’s the way it remained until, with 23:37 to play in the game, Winston Herrera scored to give LaGrange a critical insurance goal.

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