Brandon Mathurin is an "all-time McCallie soccer legend" in head coach Chris Cushenbery's book.
The Montreal native's play in Tuesday's 4-1 road waxing of Baylor certainly proved such a bold statement as Mathurin scored the Blue Tornado's first two goals each off throw-ins from fellow senior and 6-foot-8 two-sport standout Kenneth Chime.
Mathurin has been a constant driving force this season for McCallie, which is now 11-0-1 overall and is ranked inside the top 10 teams in the country by MaxPreps.com. The senior midfielder has sparked the attack with six goals and five assists, while also contributing to a defense that has allowed just eight goals all year.
"Brandon is one of the best I have ever coached," Cushenbery said. "He has the respect of every player and coach in our program and his work rate is incredible. He is a phenomenal teammate and lifts others up. He defends well, is great with the ball and can score. The dude can do everything. He is a great soccer player, but an even better human being."
Mathurin's first goal came six minutes into the fierce rivalry match as he out jumped the Baylor keeper on a misplayed clearance to head the ball into the back of the net. The only other score in the first half came in the 33rd minute as Chime sent in a long throw-in that was redirected toward the back right post to a charging Mathurin who fired in a right-footed score.
Senior forward Dylan Capazario would add to the road dominance a minute into the second half as the Blue Tornado's leading scorer stretched the lead to 3-0 on a night where sophomore defender Darius Otchere was brilliant.
Otchere did not let anything get by him as he contained Red Raiders star forward Alberth Valcarcel.
Baylor (8-3-4, 0-1-2) received its lone goal from a great combination in the 57th minute that junior Philippe Laforge finished off.
However, the damage created by Mathurin and company in the first half would prove to be too much to overcome.
"The small details are what matter in rivalry games like this," said Mathurin, who plays semi-professional soccer in Canada. "We have come a long way since our loss in the state quarterfinals last season. To see our hard work be rewarded has been good, but we have a lot more unfinished business to take care of.
"For Kenneth to help set me up on both of my scores was great. He has made a major impact on the team. He is not just physically imposing, but he is really good with the ball and has finesse too for as big as he is."
McCallie senior Richard Todd had a strong run in the final minute of regulation that was rewarded with his team's fourth and final goal. Meanwhile, freshman Brooks Hilger provided pressure on the attack with shots and senior right back Frierson Brown played solid defense.
Junior keeper Ryan Larrabee also deflected a free kick from inside the box in the first half and turned away several other Baylor chances.
"Our back line is all new this season and they have been great. We have seven shutouts," Cushenbery said. "Frierson has been really good at right back this season and is one of the most unselfish guys on the team. Darius also had so many great tackles tonight and I was so impressed with his play to help us shut down Baylor's best player."
GHSA quarterfinals
Class AAAAA
McIntosh 1, Dalton 0: The Catamounts will miss the state championship game for the first time in six years after McIntosh's Adan Dollens scored nine minutes into the second half. Dalton (15-5-1) won titles in 2019, 2021 and 2023 and finished second in 2022. The hosts improved to 21-0.
Class AAAA
Northwest Whitfield 2, LaGrange 1: The Bruins, the No. 3 seed from Region 7, continued their surprising run as Fredy Lara scored with under two minutes left in the second 10-minute extra session. Northwest (9-7-4) travels to defending champion Johnson-Gainesville for Friday's semifinal game.
Class AAA
Columbus 2, Coahulla Creek 0: The defending champion Colts lost in extra time to end their season 13-5-1.
Class A Division II
Christian Heritage 1, Echols County 1 (Christian Heritage 4-3 on PKs): Carson Russell scored two goals, one in regulation and one during penalty kicks, to lead the defending state champions to the semifinals, where they will host Georgia Military College Friday.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.