East Surry’s Jacob Lowe (2) celebrates with teammates after scoring against North Surry.
Cory Smith | The News
The N.C. Soccer Coaches Association (NCSCA) recently released its All-Region and All-State selections for the 2021-22 boys soccer season.
1A All-State
The NCSCA 1A All-State Team consisted of 14 selections from 11 different schools. Only six players from traditional 1A public schools were recognized on the team, and two were from Surry County.
Mount Airy junior Elkin Lopez was named to his second All-State team, with his first selection coming in the 2020-21 season. Lopez finished the year with 45 goals, 15 assists, 105 points and 205 steals.
Lopez’s 105 points are the most of any player in the state’s 1A division, the fifth-most in the state among all classifications and tied for No. 41 in the country. His 45 goals are tied for the most in Mount Airy soccer history, the most of any 1A school in N.C., tied for fourth in the state overall and tied for No. 36 in the nation. Lopez was also named Northwest 1A Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Another county student-athlete honored on the 1A All-State team is Elkin High School senior Thomas McComb. Individual statistics for McComb were not available on MaxPreps, but the goal keeper recorded five shutouts on the year. The Buckin’ Elkins finished second in the Northwest 1A Conference with a 9-3 record and finished the year with a 13-7-1 record. McComb was also named NW1A Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Mount Airy’s Holden Hurley who recognized as State Assistant Coach of the Year. Hurley has received this honor twice before in his career, and this is the fourth time a Granite Bear assistant has been named Coach of the Year since 2012.
Hurley helped guide the Bears to a 26-1 overall record and set the following school records: total wins and consecutive wins with 26, regular season wins with 22, conference wins with 12, home winning percentage at 100% and goals scored with 156.
2A All-State
The 2A All-State team featured 21 selections from 20 different schools.
The only local player selected for All-State was Forbush’s Axel Garcia. No individual statistics were available on MaxPreps for Garcia. He was named Foothills 2A Conference Offensive Player of the Year and helped the Falcons win the conference championship with a perfect 12-0 record. Forbush finished 17-5 overall and reached the second round of the 2A State Playoffs.
1A All-Region
Region 10 for the 1A classification features schools from the NW1A and Northwest Piedmont 1A Conferences. Member schools include:
NWPC: Bethany Community, Bishop McGuinness, Carver, Cornerstone Charter, Millennium Charter, NC Leadership Academy and Winston-Salem Prep
NW1A: Alleghany, East Wilkes, Elkin, Mount Airy, North Stokes, South Stokes, Starmount
The following players were selected to the 1A All-Region team for Region 10:
Alleghany: Michael Myers
Bishop McGuinness: Michael Herzberger
Elkin: Carlos Espinosa, Mark Habana, Thomas McComb, Adam Settle
Mount Airy: Sergio Garcia, Noah Hart, Carson Hill, Elkin Lopez, Angel Osorno, Edwin Ramirez
N.C. Leadership Academy: Zach Donath, Anakin Leister, Cade Shoemaker, Scott Stanley, David Truhe
South Stokes: Trey Seagle, Tyler Whitaker
Starmount: Christian Maya, Diego Zuniga
Region 10 Coach of the Year: N.C. Leadership Academy’s Craig Shoemaker
2A All-Region
Region 10 for the 2A classification features schools from the FH2A and Mid-State 2A Conferences. Member schools include:
FH2A: East Surry, Forbush, North Surry, North Wilkes, Surry Central, West Wilkes, Wilkes Central
MS2A: McMichael, Morehead, North Forsyth, Reidsville, T.W. Andrews, Walkertown, West Stokes
The following players were selected to the 2A All-Region team for Region 10:
East Surry: Jesus Estrada, Jacob Lowe, Nick Lowery
Forbush: Axel Garcia, Clegg Johnson, Juan Ramirez, Ryan Zachary
Surry Central: Jordy Avila, Johnny Garcia, Eliazar Gonzalez, Daniel Juarez
North Forsyth: Axel Bernal, Jonathan Berrera, Aldo Gutierrez, Noe Sandoval, Kael Trinidad
North Surry: Jair Gonzalez, Dallas Raya
West Stokes: Myles Knox, Peyton Spainhour
Wilkes Central: Joey Andreski, Johnie Randy
Region 10 Coach of the Year: Forbush’s Seth Davis