Boys soccer: Richmond-Burton, Joe Kyes cruise past Winnebago for regional title

RICHMOND – Joe Kyes waited six weeks for his moment.

Kyes, a Richmond-Burton junior, missed the last six weeks of the regular season with a stress fracture in his heel. The injury left him helpless on the sidelines as all he could do was watch the Rockets struggle to win.

So when Kyes returned Tuesday in the Class 1A Richmond-Burton Regional championship match against Winnebago, he let out six weeks’ worth of frustration. Kyes scored his first career hat trick and led R-B to an 8-0 win, the Rockets’ first regional crown since 2019.

“I was just dying to play,” Kyes said. “It felt terrible not being able to play. I’m just so glad to be back.”

[ Photos: Richmond-Burton defeats Winnebago in IHSA Class 1A Regional Final soccer ]

R-B (15-10) made it clear early that it would have little trouble knifing through Winnebago’s defense. The Rockets scored on their first shot on goal when Sean Rockwell managed a bobbled ball and got it past the Indians’ goalkeeper with 31:45 left in the first half.

The Rockets just missed out on scoring two minutes later on a shot that bounced off the crossbar, but Dalton Youngs made it a 2-0 lead when he knocked in a rebound with 23:15 left in the first half.

That’s when Kyes got involved, running on a fast break and getting past Winnebago’s defenders to make it 3-0 with 17:13 left in the first half. Kyes added his second goal with 11:57 left to make it 4-0 and finished his hat trick with a goal in the second half.

Forest Wells scored toward the end of the first half, and Rockwell and Maddox Meyer added goals in the second half.

Kyes’ comeback story is what R-B coach Casey DeCaluwe said he loves about high school sports. After watching Kyes lead from the bench, walking around in a boot, he was proud to watch him make such an impact in his first match back.

“We knew if we could get the [No.] 1 seed that we could do damage,” DeCaluwe said. “It all just came and clicked together.”

The Rockets finished the match with 17 shots on goal, and R-B goalkeeper Piotr Chmielowski made two saves.

DeCaluwe liked the way his defense has fed into the offense in their two regional matches, where R-B has outscored Rockford Lutheran and Winnebago 14-0.

“I think defensively, we’ve been really strong, not giving up goals,” DeCaluwe said. “That gives you freedom to go at a team, try to play down the flanks and get into dangerous areas.”

R-B will play either Westminster Christian or Genoa-Kingston in a Class 1A Oregon Sectional semifinal Saturday morning. The Rockets lost to G-K at the end of September with many of their players out with injuries.

“I was just dying to play. It felt terrible not being able to play. I’m just so glad to be back.”

—  Joe Kyes, Richmond-Burton junior

DeCaluwe is hoping to bring back some of the magic from 2019, when R-B last won a sectional. The Rockets also went to the Oregon Sectional and surprised everyone by winning the title.

The Rockets are ready to keep the winning rolling just like they did four years ago.

“At this point, we won a regional,” DeCaluwe said. “Let’s play with house money and go after teams.”