For the last several seasons, Region 7-Class I soccer has come down to Loyd Star and Franklin County.

The 2024-2025 campaign has been no different and on Thursday, the Hornets took a pair of huge matches on the road at Franklin County.

In the opening girls’ matchup, the Hornets (14-4) won 1-0 and avenged an earlier loss this season to the Bulldogs (11-4-1). The Loyd Star boys’ (14-1-2) kept their region record unblemished with a 2-1 win in the finale against Franklin County (10-5-2).

When the teams met back in December for the girls’ match, Loyd Star led 1-0 at halftime before FC came back to tie things up. When the game went to a penalty kick shootout to decide the winner, Franklin County and coach Jeff Long prevailed 4-3 on those kicks.

Senior Chloe Rodriquez scored the lone goal of the match on Thursday. Rodriquez now has 19 goals on the season, trailing only sophomore Adi Holcomb who has scored 24 times this year for head coach Jordan Lea.

Franklin County is now done with Region 7 play with a 7-1 record. Loyd Star is 6-1 in the division and has one region match left against Wesson in a game that has been moved from Tuesday to Friday, Jan. 24.

Loyd Star is the defending region champion in both girls’ and boys’ soccer and Franklin County has been the long-time gold-standard in the local Class I region which combines 1A, 2A, and 3A programs into a single class.

“Since the last time we played them, we’ve been looking forward to a rematch against the Franklin County girls,” said Lea. “They came into our house and beat us in our backyard. Tonight, it was our turn. We worked on a specific game plan all week in practice and the girls executed it to perfection when it was do or die. With the pressure on us, we didn’t cave and now we control our own destiny. We haven’t clinched our region yet, but we are one step closer to that goal. I’m so proud of the girls for rising to the occasion tonight. We still have work to do, but we will enjoy this win.”

Loyd Star sophomore goalkeeper Samantha Reed picked up the shutout win over Franklin County and then followed that up with another shutout on Saturday in a 7-0 win for Loyd Star over 5A North Pike.

Reed and the LS defense have not given up a regulation goal since that loss to Franklin County on Dec. 12 and have a streak of seven scoreless matches currently going.

Rodriquez scored three goals against North Pike as did Holcomb while junior Emm King, the third leading scorer on the team, added one goal herself. King and Holcomb had one assist each while senior Ady Locke had a pair of assists in the North Pike win.

The victory clinched the region championship for Loyd Star in the boys’ division. Juniors Cooper Creel and Jamisyn Kelly each scored a goal in the triumph that made the Hornets repeat region victors.

“Last year, we went all the way down to the wire before we could clinch our region. Tonight, we were able to clinch it with one game left and now can enjoy that upcoming match against Wesson without any stress and just play ball,” said Lea, who like Long, coaches both programs at his school. “We were pressured tonight by Franklin County and didn’t play to our standard early. After going down 1-0 after FC nailed a penalty kick, my boys never wavered. They came through when it mattered the most. We knew what was on the line coming into our game and we didn’t let it slip through our fingers. I’m just so proud of these boys for continuing to fight when it wasn’t easy. They won the first district championship in soccer last season and now they’ve added a second one. Couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to coach.”

Loyd Star then topped 5A North Pike 4-2 on Saturday, getting two goals from Kaleb Waldrop and one each from junior Zac Reid and Kelly. Creel and senior Mason Smith had one assist each in the win.

Waldrop currently leads the team with 24 goals on the season. Junior Dawson White starts in goal for Loyd Star and has helped the Hornets to build their current 11-match winning streak.

Loyd Star still has that remaining region match against Wesson that won’t be played on its original date of Tuesday due to the threat of snow and ice in the forecast.

The Hornets also have non-region home dates next week scheduled against Wayne County and Yazoo County ahead of the Class I postseason that begins the first week of February.