As the calendar flipped over to November, both Franklin High (FHS) and Macon Middle (MMS) schools completed their boys’ soccer programs. While the results varied, the season produced another championship and continued progress.
When former MMS boys’ soccer coach Sam Vargas took over the FHS girls’ soccer program, he handed the reins to his able-bodied and much-experienced assistant, Bryan Wilkinson. And what did the new coach do? Win another championship, which the team accomplished via a two-game playoff with a 2-0 shutout over Hendersonville-based Rugby Middle School in the Blue Ridge Conference championship, Oct. 30. The team finished a perfect 14-0.
Focusing justified credit upon his predecessor, Wilkinson reflected on his first year as head coach.
“This first season as head coach of MMS exceeded my expectations in so many ways. Coach Vargas left the program in fantastic shape, winning back-to-back conference titles, and I’m thrilled with how well the team came together — not only in terms of our record, but also in how they’ve grown as individual players and teammates. The most important lesson I continually learn is that building trust and confidence within the team is everything. Creating an environment where players feel supported, respected, and motivated to give their best is essential for success.”
Wilkinson observed that heading into the season, he had high hopes for a strong showing, but was still more than a little surprised by how well the team performed, especially in light of their home field not being usable due to construction of the track surrounding it.
“We faced continuous challenges, the greatest being not having the opportunity to play matches or practice at the middle school, which required us to bus to practice daily,” he revealed.
While the long days required resilience and determination, Wilkinson commented that the team demonstrated skill, teamwork, and a drive to succeed.
“One of our primary goals, aside from results, is developing player character and technical ability …,” sits Wilinson. “I believe that if we win games but don’t improve each player’s skill and teamwork, we have missed the mark.”
As for star players, the coach quickly spread his praise across the team, stating that several players showed their growth during the season.
“Coming off back-to-back championships can be a formidable challenge, but some players I initially saw as role players stepped up as key contributors, making big plays when it counted most … What I value is that we scored 85 goals and conceded only four over 14 matches – a testament to our team effort, with contributions from 10 different goal scorers, and an outstanding goalkeeper,” explained Wilkinson.
With the momentum from this year, expectations are high again for 2025.
“I hope to build on our success and continue developing players’ skills and team dynamics,” he concluded.
FHS builds success through challenging schedule
In FHS men’s soccer, reigning Mountain Seven Conference (M7C) Coach of the Year Matt Kolodzik has steered his players through a challenging, up-and-down season. The season started off with four matches (and losses) against top-100 high school teams in the country.
However, Kolodzik pointed out the positive.
“It’s always tough balancing playing against good competition while trying to win. The goal as a coach is to prepare the team to play at the highest level and to expose them to the best teams. This also increases our overall strength of schedule. The hope with this is that you can find and address weaknesses in order to be ready for conference play.”
Considering that the FHS men’s soccer program has experienced significant success in recent years, this season presented obstacles beyond schedule hiccups caused by Hurricane Helene. Kolodzik told his players they were blessed in comparison to so many just to the east of Franklin who were affected by the storm. And, as is usually the case, results this year have been attributed to numerous factors.
“We lost some seniors who were very creative and exceptional offensive players … and we have found ourselves down early in many matches … With the exception of Pisgah, we have won all of our conference home matches after losing to those same teams on the road. We have struggled to find those victories on the road,” said Kolodzik.
He also added, “In sports, winning breeds winning. This group of young men is beginning to figure it out. The overall level of play has been increasing steadily throughout the conference season. My hope is that will translate into more victories in the future!”
Despite the challenges, numerous players stood out to the coach this season as major contributors.
“We have had quite a few players step up their play; our senior captains, Graham Caldwell, Miguel Cruz, and Josiah Mascorro have been pivotal and great examples for our many underclassmen. Sophomore Kevin Torres and junior Greg Karcher are the leading goal-scorers, although we’ve seen output from others. Our sophomore starters on the back line, Cameron Lyons and Malik Walker, have improved tremendously!”
Kolodzik pointed out that even though their record is not what he would like at this point, because they have scheduled tougher teams to play outside the M7C, it bodes well for them come playoff qualification time as teams are graded on the strength of their schedules and how good their opponents’ records are.
Reflecting on next year and the seasonal success of MMS’ soccer program, Kolodzik views the future as bright. “Transition from middle school is always a change and a challenge for many of the players. We also have an exceptional junior varsity program. This year’s MMS team, under the guidance and leadership of Coach Wilkinson, had an amazing season!”
He also offered that some years, MMS players move straight to varsity from middle school but cautioned that development of the student athletes overrides “success” on the field. “Our hope is to evaluate and place these players on the right team, which will allow them to shine as they develop physically and mentally to the next level,” he said.
Pictured above: The Macon Middle School boys’ soccer team recently earned another championship. The team finished the season with a perfect 14-0 record.