SEVIERVILLE — Jefferson County took a loss to Sevier County in the District 2-AAA Championship for the second straight season.

The Smoky Bears (152-2) scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of play and never looked back for a 6-1 win over the Patriots (8-5-2), securing back-toback titles.

“The boys gave it their all,” JCHS assistant Michael Berger said. “I’m disappointed in the results, but there’s still time left in the season for us to figure it out. I think they can figure it out, but it’s just a stepping stone learning process. But we have an opponent on Tuesday that we’re worried about.”

Jefferson County was able to put pressure on Sevier County early with two shots, but the Smoky Bears responded with an attack from Sevier County forward Jorge Zelaya. The first shot was blocked by Jose Castro before Zelaya rebounded it for an easy score in the ninth minute.

The Smoky Bears kept the pressure on as Darwin Garcia scored in the 18th minute to take a 2-0 lead. Four minutes later, Garcia found himself on a oneon- one with Castro, who came out of the goal. Castro beat him for a tap-in and a 3-0 lead.

The Jefferson County defense kept the Smoky Bears scoreless for the rest of the half, and Noah Jones rebounded a corner

to to get the Patriots on the board at 3-1 for some momentum before the break.

Any momentum the Patriots held was quickly wiped away when the Smoky Bears cashed in a goal on its first possession and another eight minutes later from Garcia for a 5-1 lead.

“The goal by Noah was impressive,” Berger said. “He’s great in the air. We always want him in the box, if possible. Gave us some momentum going into the half. We came out strong as well, and then made a couple errors, and the game changed.”

The Patriots were able to get some shots off after that, but they couldn’t find the back of the net. Castro netted his fourth goal in the 61st minute to close out the scoring.

The Patriots still advance to the Region 1-AAA tournament, where they find themselves in a similar position as last year.

JCHS fell to Sevier 4-1 in last year’s district tournament but turned around and defeated the Smoky Bears to win the region.

The Patriots’ run in the region starts in Johnson City next Tuesday against Science Hill.

“We need to go back, and ust take this loss in, know how it feels,” Berger said. “We wanted to come out here and win tonight. I know the boys are disappointed, but that’s fuel, and I hope they take that into our next match.”