Published: May 10, 2008 11:42 pm         

Rapids swift in victory

Last fall, Andrew Blair and Aaron Dunbar bided their time on the senior-dominated Woodrow Wilson soccer team.

But Saturday it was their turn to shine at the Darrell Moore Memorial Tournament.

Blair scored two goals and assisted on two others while Dunbar scored twice as the West Virginia Rapids 17-under team downed Greenbrier Valley 7-0 in a first-round game at the YMCA Youth Sports Complex .

They had a combined two goals between them in reserve roles for the Flying Eagles.

“We got some good passes on the wings,” said Dunbar, a striker for the Rapids but a sophomore defender for the Flying Eagles. “I’m much rather play striker.”

Blair, a center midfielder, eluded a defender and scored in the fifth minute to give the Rapids a lead that would never be threatened.

He also scored in the 59th minute to make it 5-0.

“It was one of the better games I’ve played in a while,” said Blair, who will be a senior this fall for Woodrow. “I’m hoping to score as many as I can, but assists are as good as goals.”

Dunbar lofted a shot over Greenbrier goalkeeper Rhys Rogers in the 53rd minute to put the Rapids up 3-0. He also scored their final goal in the 69th minute.

“I played all right, but I missed a couple of shots and got a couple of unlucky offside calls,” he said.

He could be forgiven the offsides, since the Rapids controlled the game from the outset.

They had 13 shots on goal to none for Greenbrier, which was playing its first match of the travel season.

Playing on a windy day, the Rapids stuck to their game plan of keeping the ball on the ground.

“We worked it all around,” coach Jason Logan said. “Andrew and Aaron are exceptional players and the team is loaded with a lot of offensive power.”

Jonah Moore, Reid Landis and Caleb Mullins also scored goals for the Rapids.

Mullins is from Oak Hill while Cody Tankersley and Jason Lester are from Shady Spring. The remainder of the squad plays for Woodrow.

“They’re fitting in great,” Logan said. “That’s what we’re trying to do at the Rapids — bring all the (top players) together on one club team.

“We (want to) make every high school a better team and make all these great players stand out at their high schools.”

Aaron Utterback gave Greenbrier Valley its best chances of the game with two late charges, but was forced to shoot early each time.

The Rapids defeated Forest Hills United 5-0 later in the afternoon to advance to today’s 12:30 p.m. championship game.

n The Darrell Moore Memorial Tournament, which honors the memory of a strong youth and high school soccer supporter and coach, has special meaning for the Rapids’ Dunbar and Jonah Moore.

“This is our uncle’s tournament,” Dunbar said. “He’s the one who got us started in soccer. We hope to win it.”

— E-mail:

dstillwell@register-herald.com