On most Friday evenings in the fall, high school football takes center stage in the Tennessee Valley, but this Friday the Samantha Green Show was the star attraction at Hixson High School.
The Lady Wildcats forward scored an eye-popping six goals as Hixson defeated East Ridge 7-0 to win the District 6-A/AA soccer championship. The junior scored her first goal less than a minute into the game and netted her final score with under a minute remaining.
Hixson never let up against an undersized Lady Pioneers team, avenging last season's district final loss to the same school on the same field.
"I was just coming in here working hard," Green said earning the district MVP honor. "I just kept thinking that we needed to keep pushing forward and keep scoring. After what happened last year, I just told my team at halftime you can't give up and just have to keep passing the ball around and moving forward."
She took 22 of Hixson's 40 shots, including nine on goal. The Lady Wildcats outshot East Ridge 40 to 10.
"It's unbelievable. She's a coach's dream," coach Jeff Dean said of Green. "I mean, there's no coaching (needed) with Sam. You just sit back and watch. That's all you have to do.
"Before this game, she walked up and said, 'We're not losing.' She had that in her head, and she's had it in her head all week. Once she gets focused, just step back."
Morgan Dupree assisted on three of Green's goals and netted the other goal of the match with 8:42 remaining.
East Ridge coach Jeremy McIntyre said the Lady Pioneers were drained following their semifinal win over Red Bank that was decided on penalty kicks after regulation and overtime, but he was happy with how they performed in the second half, when Abby Sweatman and Kayla Deck just missed on scoring chances.
"I thought we attacked a little more in the second half, but in the first half we came in real flat," he said. "They scored in like the first five seconds, so we were flat.
"The emotional win on Wednesday ... might have worn us out a little bit, but that No. 7 (Green), she's amazing. I think I put every girl to try to mark her and no one could mark her. She's just that good."
Both teams will play Tuesday in Region 3-A/AA semifinals, with East Ridge traveling to Boyd-Buchanan while Hixson hosts Grace Academy. The Lady Wildcats again will be looking to get revenge on a team that has beaten them.
"Grace is a phenomenal team," Dean said. "They were our first game of the season, and they pounded us pretty good.
"After that game we said we wanted another shot at Grace. Well, now we've got it, so this is their chance to go back and see what we can do with Grace."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.