CLEVELAND, Tenn. — It might not have been the way he wanted it, but for top-ranked Cleveland soccer coach John Brose, a win’s a win.

The Blue Raiders’ Wes Llosa had two goals and Cleveland claimed its second consecutive Region 3-AAA championship, 2-0 over McMinn County, but weather was the real winner, stopping the game with 33 minutes to go in the second half.

A bolt of lightning caused officials to stop the game at 8:04 p.m. By TSSAA rules, a game must be halted for 30 minutes after the first strike.

At 9:25, coaches, officials and both athletic directors met to decide what was going to happen. McMinn, at first, wanted to continue the game either later in the night or first thing this morning. A game can officially be called once the first half ends, but the Cherokees wanted to wait it out.

TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter was called to make sure of the options: to suspend play, wait out the weather or terminate the contest.

“If there is a mutual agreement between the two teams, the game can be called in the second half,” Carter said.

The game was tentatively scheduled to resume at 10 this morning, but at 10:06 p.m., McMinn coaches and athletic director Jimmy Haynie met and decided to end the contest, making Cleveland the champion.

The Blue Raiders (18-0-3) controlled most of the contest. Six minutes in, Llosa took a pass from Drew Muth, weaved through a pair of defenders and knocked in a goal to make it 1-0. It was the first time the Raiders had scored a first-half goal in the past three contests.

“I thought it was big that we got a first-half goal,” Brose said. “It does a good job of relieving the pressure.”

The Cherokees came out pressuring more offensively and had a few good opportunities, but the Raiders turned them away. Cleveland took a 1-0 lead into halfatime.

Llosa got free again six minutes into the second half. A Robby Marcum direct kick was deflected by the keeper, but Llosa, who was wearing teammate Elijah Thomas’s right shoe at the time, retrieved the ball, faked a pass and knocked in the goal — with his heel.

“I guess Elijah gets an assist on that,” Llosa said afterward.

“We came out with more energy than the last couple games,” Brose said. “We had energy, we flowed offensively and had chances.”

The game was called moments later. The Cherokees will travel Saturday to Columbia (9-7-3), which upset third-ranked Riverdale 3-2 in the Region 4 final. The Warriors (15-2-1) will travel to Cleveland for a titan matchup.

“We haven’t seen them play,” Brose said. “It’s going to present a good matchup.”