Bayless Blasts MRH, Claims Second Straight Soccer District Championship

MAPLEWOOD – Neither Mother Nature nor the Maplewood-Richmond Heights Blue Devils could stop the Bayless Bronchos boys soccer team, as it stormed its way to its second straight district championship Thursday night at MRH High School Stadium.

The Bronchos fought through treacherous cold, wind, rain, sloppy field conditions and the MRH defense for a sensational 8-1 victory over the Blue Devils, that earned Bayless another trip to the MSHSAA state playoffs.

“Maplewood played us kind of tight this year,” Bayless head coach Dave Pozzo said. “And I think the boys knew that if they came out and scored a goal, they might be able to hold us off. So we wanted to kind of come out and set the tone. And I think we did that.”

Boy did they ever.

The Bronchos got two goals from junior leading scorer Fazlo Alihodzic midway through the first half to go up 2-0, then really poured it on in the second half, with six goals scored in nearly every way imaginable by six different players.

Bayless, which won its district semifinal game over Carnahan High 10-0, wound up winning the district championship by outscoring its two opponents 18-1.

“We have a lot of skilled players,” Pozzo said. “But (Alihodzic) really is that one that has that combination of speed and touch, and can create on his own. You know, we’ve been pretty balanced in our scoring. But as you can see, he’s kind of led the way.”

With Bayless controlling possession for most of the night, MRH had a difficult time generating offense.

The Devils had just one legitimate scoring chance in the first half, and didn’t really get many chances in the second either—at least not until Bayless had turned the match into a blowout.

“It was a tough night for us,” MRH head coach Chris Meyer said. “It should’ve been a little closer I think. But they’re a really good team. And it showed tonight.”

It showed especially in the second half, when Bayless posted six straight goals on continuous attacks down the field against the MRH defense.

Senior Mahir Omeragic got the scoring going in the second half, when he blasted one past MRH’s Austin Golden at the 36:09 mark, to make it 3-0.

Teammate Demir Tankosic slammed home a penalty kick at 32:28, to make it 4-0, and was followed by Armin Mehic’s corner kick header at 28:43 to give the Bronchos a 5-0 lead.

Alihodzic added his third goal of the night, and 24th of the season, on a blast from the right flank at the 23:35 mark, that made the score 6-0, and seemed to be the tally that left no doubt about what Thursday’s outcome would be.

The one bright spot for MRH was senior Sam Martin, who scored the Devils’ lone goal on Thursday, to raise his season total to 40.

Martin came into the game already leading the area in scoring, and is currently the only player on either side of the river with 40 goals this season.

The victory for Bayless lifts the Bronchos’ season record to 20-4-1.

And they’ll get the chance to improve on that mark in the state sectionals next Tuesday, November 8, when they’ll face longtime playoff nemesis St. Pius X High of Festus, MO.

St. Pius is the champion of Class 1 District 1, which it won Thursday afternoon, 6-1, over Saxony Lutheran High.

MRH finishes its year with an 8-16-1 record, and was the fourth place team in the South Central Athletic Association standings this year. 

Scoring Summary

First Half

B: Fazlo Alihodzic (22)  –  20:56.

B: Fazlo Alihodzic (23)  -- 19:05.

Second Half

B: Mahir Omeragic (4)  –  36:09.

B: Demir Tankosic (11)  --  32:29.

B: Armin Mehic (2)  --  28:43.

B: Fazlo Alihodzic (24)  --  23:35.

B: Enis Brdarevic (6)  --  23:00.

B: Abdullah Karim (3)  --  18:35.

MRH: Sam Martin (23)  --  12:42.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified who scored MRH's goal. We are very sorry for the error.