This past week, the boys soccer team went against South Panola at home, becoming back-to-back MHSAA 6A Region 1 Champions. The boys shut out the game in the second half, with a whopping score of 10-0. They, arguably, would not have been able to do this without one notable player: Lejay Joyner. Joyner’s hat trick accelerated the boys to their quick win, easily sending them on their way to district. 

Here’s what Joyner had to say about his scores. 

Question: How do you think you did overall? Including your hattrick?

Joyner: I did fairly good. I wasn’t expecting all the opportunities I had. I’m glad my team all worked together to put 10 on the board, and we went home all happy. I’m extremely happy, scoring 3 goals is a big thing, always. 

Question: What was going through your mind when you scored? 

Joyner: First time, honestly, I didn’t even know where the ball was… I felt it hit me, and I just turned around and it was in the goal, and I was like “Oh, okay” [laughing]. Second time, it was a little lay off, and I just boomed it in. And then the third time, of course, I had the ball, one-to-one with the keeper, and I just banged it. I was like “alright I’ve practiced this a bunch of times,” and it was just like practice. 

Question: What/Who is your biggest motivation?

Joyner: Probably…ah, that’s a hard question. Probably Jose, that’s number 12. He’s been training me outside of school and over summer. He’s gotten me real better. This is my first year playing, so it’s crazy to see how far I’ve come. 

Question: Alright, last question—biggest takeaway from today’s game?

Joyner: I loved how we played as a team—we need to keep that up if we are gonna go to state again like last year. If we just keep playing like this, we won’t have a problem. 

Catch Joyner and the boys back in action next week as they continue to dominate in district.