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Bethesda-Chevy Chase forward Willy Koue's retina-burning yellow head of hair was a reminder that it was time for his team to turn it up a notch.
"It's playoff time, baby," said the senior forward. "Baron pride. This is it; got to go out on top."
The defending Class 3A state champions took a big first step in their quest to go back-to-back, topping visiting rival Watkins Mill 2-1 in the 3A West Region quarterfinals Tuesday. The No. 1 seed entering the draw, the Barons (8-1-4 overall, 5-0-1 Montgomery 3A/2A/1A East) will host Paint Branch — which ousted Damascus, 2-0 — Friday at 5 p.m.
They got there because of a familiar face in an unfamiliar place. Senior Ethan White, who committed to University of Maryland based predominantly on his skills as a defensive midfielder, scored both B-CC goals in one of his first appearances at striker.
The Barons utilized senior David Williams, ordinarily a target man up top, as a roaming midfielder, giving White, a 2007 All-Gazette first-teamer, the opportunity to play the role of finisher.
It was a smooth transition, to say the least. Sixteen minutes, 51 seconds into the action, White caught up to a lofted header from striker Ben Fernandez, one-touching it over streaking Wolverine goalkeeper John Escobar into the vacated net.
He was dangerous throughout the first half; 5 minutes later, he outraced three Watkins Mill defenders to draw a point-blank shot on goal, which Escobar narrowly saved.
White struck again in the 63rd minute, putting the lead seemingly out of reach. After receiving a short pass from Fernandez at midfield, he used his speed to blow by a defender and circle around the right side of the box, powering an uncontested shot upper-90.
A key cog in his team's title run a year ago, White battled several injuries this year, missing nearly half the season. Now healthy, he expects B-CC's legacy to continue.
"If we do what we did tonight, we think we should win every game," he said. "I don't think we're [overconfident]; we don't come in thinking ‘Oh, we're so much better than whoever we play.' But we do think we should always come up with a win. We've just got to keep our composure."
That could have applied to both teams Tuesday, as an ugly incident transpired in the game's waning seconds. In stoppage time, just after Watkins Mill (5-8-2, 2-3-1) midfielder Henry Fuentes blasted a 25-yarder top-shelf to cut B-CC's lead in half, several players from each side got into an altercation by the Wolverine bench.
Both benches emptied, and punches appeared to be thrown, though no one was ejected. Each side was ordered to its respective bench for 5 minutes before the action resumed. When it did, the Barons effectively possessed the ball, salting away the final minute of extra time.
