Anticipating Wednesday’s soccer rematch between Franklin County and Cathedral – a game which would decide the district championship – had kept Green Wave coach Rocky Kettering up at night for weeks worrying.

Sleep tight, coach.

Two goals from Johnathan Elliot helped the Wave overcome a second-half deficit to win 3-1 and clinch Cathedral’s second district title in a row.

&uot;My senior, John Elliot, really stepped up tonight,&uot; Kettering said. &uot;That’s what being a senior’s all about.&uot;

Elliot’s first goal came at 33:46 in the second half after John Erick Myers received a corner kick and set up Elliot for the tying goal.

Seven minutes later, Patrick Biglane took a throw in and led Elliot with a pass to the center of the field.

&uot;Patrick centered the ball perfect and split the defenders,&uot; Elliot said. &uot;I got it and put it in the back of the net. I give all the credit to my assists.&uot;

Biglane added an insurance goal at the 9:39 mark after Christian Leurinda intercepted a Bulldogs pass near the corner of the field. Leurinda made a move to avoid a defender and passed to Biglane in the box for the score.

The Bulldogs’ only goal came just over a minute into the second half when Chris Blackwell got one past Cathedral keeper Brent Tosspon, who finished with nine saves.

A potential Franklin County comeback – a Chance Garner goal at 5:28 – was headed off by an offsides call that negated the score.

Although the first half was scoreless, each team managed a flurry of shots on goal, Cathedral with 18 and Franklin County with 15.

Defenseman Mark Steckler was moved to the stopper position in a &uot;diamond&uot; defense for the first half, a move Kettering was glad he made.

&uot;That turned out to be one of the smarter moves I’ve made all season,&uot; he said. &uot;He really created the tempo. He made big plays on defense and created things on offense.&uot;

&uot;This is a big deal. I like this,&uot; Steckler said of the district title. &uot;I think this will help the younger kids out, maybe get some other kids to play soccer next year.&uot;

Kettering used the two-goal lead to play several of his younger players late in the game.

&uot;We were able to get the young guys some experience and let them see what this is all about,&uot; Kettering said. &uot;We don’t ever want to rebuild, we just want to reload.&uot;

Clinching the district ensures a home playoff game for Cathedral (8-5, 4-1). After today’s game at Wesson, the Green Wave will host North Forest Saturday for a first-round postseason match-up, tentatively scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.