By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

They’re state-bound.

The Troup Tigers, bouncing back from a loss to rival LaGrange earlier in the week, got a critical 2-1 victory over Central-Carroll on Friday that wrapped up a berth in the Class AAAA state soccer tournament.

While the Tigers could have lost the game and still made it to state, the only way to guarantee a playoff berth was to win on the Lions’ home field, and they made it happen.

After a scoreless first half, Central broke through for the game’s first goal, but Troup rallied for two goals to win.

Hunter Morgan had Troup’s first goal with about 15 minutes remaining, and Myles Sargent scored the go-ahead goal 10 minutes later, and Central -Carroll was unable to answer.

It was the continuation of what has been a superb season for the Tigers (9-4 overall), who finished their Region 5-AAAA schedule with a 4-2 record.

Troup will finish third in the region, and it will be on the road for the first round of the state playoffs.

LaGrange and Cartersville will be the region’s top two teams, and they will play for the region championship on Tuesday at Callaway Stadium.

While Troup has completed its region schedule, it still has five matches remaining in the regular season before the playoffs begin.

In Friday’s girls’ game, Troup wrapped up its region schedule with a 9-0 loss to Central-Carroll.

The Lady Tigers finished with a 1-5 region record.

Also on Friday, Callaway’s soccer teams were on the road against Lamar County as they continued their Region 5-AA schedules.

In the girls’ game, it was Callaway falling 4-0, while the Callaway boys’ team lost 5-1.

Both teams are still in fine shape in the region at 4-2 as they look to chase down state-playoff spots.