UNIONVILLE, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (0-1-2) held on to a 0-0 road draw despite the relentless attacking nature displayed by the Community Vikings (2-1-1) in the first “Battle of Bedford” on Friday night to open the District 9-A slate.

Neither team was able to put the ball in the back of the net, but that’s not to say there were not any chances created. Community peppered shots towards Cascade keeper Ayden Woodard for 80 minutes, but ultimately failed to put one past him. 

After a first half that saw a few half-chances from the hosts, the Vikings nearly broke the deadlock in the 41st minute when a Alejandro Catalan volley from outside of the box was saved by Woodard. Four minutes later, the Champions nearly found a goal of their own when Logan Haddock’s shot attempt screamed just past Community keeper Cody Duff’s left post. 

Cascade then settled in defensively, and for the next 20 minutes they frustrated Community while both playing a high line and also disrupting play in the middle third of the pitch. The gusting wind also played a factor as any long ball the Vikings played over the top was pushed in the air closer to Woodard, allowing him to fall on the ball a half-second before a Community player could get a touch.

In the 68th minute, Brody Ray found some space outside of the Cascade 18-yard box, firing a shot that went about 10 inches over the crossbar. 

Five minutes later in the 73rd minute, Catalan finally was able to get on the end of one of the Vikings’ long forward passes, controlling the ball just inside the right side of the penalty area. He was quickly closed down by the Cascade backline, but Catalan went down with a shout for a penalty. However, the official waived it off, drawing the ire from the Community faithful in the stands. 

Community senior midfielder, Tyler Rodgers, was put in the books in the 75th minute by being shown a yellow card as the Vikings became more and more frustrated about being unable to break down the Cascade defense. 

In the final seconds, the hosts were awarded a free kick just inside the halfway line on Cascade’s side of the pitch. With the clock ticking below 10 seconds, senior defender Shane Deleon quickly fired one last shot-on-goal with assistance from the wind, but Woodard was able to time his jump and smother the ball as the clock expired in the 80th and final minute, securing the single point for both teams.

The second matchup between the two teams is set for Thursday, April 3rd in Bell Buckle with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Community improves to 2-1-1 (0-0-1) and will continue their homestand on Thursday, welcoming in Franklin Classical School for a non-district matchup. 

Cascade picks up their second consecutive draw of the season following their 1-1 result with Tullahoma on March 10, moving to 0-1-2 (0-0-1). Their next game is scheduled for Monday at Fayetteville with kickoff set for 6:00 p.m. as district play gets into full swing.