“Sam’s just a quirky kid, with a quirky sense of humor and a very quirky style of play,” Abbey said. “Before I put him in, I told him, ‘I want you to go back to the old Sam. You just play (like) Sam Eimiller.'”

The freshman forward didn’t disappoint.

Quirky style and all, Eimiller headed in a corner kick off the foot of junior Kevin Ruhlman with 58 seconds remaining before intermission to give the Red Dragons, the state’s fifth-ranked team, a 2-1 lead, an advantage that stood up the rest of the way against No. 18 Westfield/Brocton.

The win not only improved Maple Grove’s record to 13-0 overall and 9-0 in the division, but it also secured the league title. Meanwhile, the loss, the second to the Red Dragons by a goal this season, dropped Westfield/Brocton’s record to 9-4 overall and 7-2 in the division.

Maple Grove’s Alex MacCallum blocks a Westfield/Brocton pass during CCAA Central Division action Thursday afternoon at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

“Winning the league is hard,” Abbey said. “Right after tryouts (on Aug. 15), we were sitting in my classroom (at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School) and we talked about what our goals were for the year and what we wanted to accomplish. They said they wanted to win the league, (but) that’s hard.”

Yesterday was no picnic either.

Playing on a very muddy field, the Wolverines gave Maple Grove all it could handle despite not dressing five regulars, including three starters, due to injury or illness.

“I think the ultimate equalizer for us today was the field conditions,” Wolverines Jay Pikiewicz said. “It took a lot away from Maple Grove … (but) I think we fared well. We still had a lot of effort. … (They) were just deeper on the bench.”

The Red Dragons opened the scoring at the 18:42 mark of the first half when senior Jack Novotny headed in a direct kick from sophomore Nick Golando. The Wolverines tied it 2¢ minutes later when Cole Holland found the back of the net off an assist from Elber Lopez.

Westfield/Brocton’s Cole Holland heads a throw-in. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

The score remained deadlocked until Eimiller knocked in Ruhlman’s corner kick which eluded Westfield/Brocton goalie Mike Johnson (nine saves).

“Jack Novotny has been amazing for us, just a rock, and he gets the first one,” Abbey said. “Then ‘baby’ Sam Eimiller gets the second. It’s perfect.”

It wasn’t quite perfect for the Wolverines, but Pikiewicz left Maple Grove with his figurative glass half full.

“(Johnson) is an excellent second-year keeper,” Pikiewicz said. “He misjudged one ball (on Eimiller’s goal). It happens. What are you going to do? … He had a great game. … That’s the great thing about Chautauqua County. We know the competition. Maple Grove is solid, they’ve always been solid. They have a good team, a lot of club players, too, so they have talent. We held our own. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Sam Cummings earned the win between the pipes for the Red Dragons and was credited with two saves.

“(Westfield/Brocton) is a great opponent in our league and in Class C,” Abbey said. “They’re well-coached and they know what they’re doing.”

Pikiewicz hopes the Wolverines follow the same blueprint moving forward as they did in 2017.

“I’d like a repeat of last year,” he said. “If anyone recalls, Maple Grove beat us in the regular season, but we took it to them in the playoffs.”

For Abbey, the 2018 Red Dragons have achieved their first goal by clinching the league championship.

“That takes a month and a half of hard, gritty work,” she said.

Then she looked at the playing surface and smiled.

“Maybe it’s more soft and muddy,” she said. “But it’s October. That’s what happens in October.”