TIFTON — The Tift County Blue Devils won a 1-0 overtime battle at Camden County and moved to 2-0 in Region 1-7A soccer Friday night.

The Lady Devils were less fortunate, falling 4-0 to Camden. They are now 1-1 in the region.

“It was pretty much a back-and-forth match for the first 80 (minutes),” said head coach Bobby Earls, whose team is 5-1 overall.

Tift scored its lone goal about halfway through the first overtime, he said. Alex Cardoso scored on a rebound by a hard shot by Cris Banda. “We bunkered in and played defense for the last 10 minutes and held on for the ‘W’,” said Earls.

Goalkeeper Paco Ventura posted his second consecutive clean sheet in region games. He had plenty of help, according to his head coach.

“Defenders are playing really well in front of him,” said Earls. Ventura “had to make two really good saves.”

Earls said Tift’s defensive scheme has been extremely effective in 2021. Beto Aguirre, Jayden “Bronx” Arzola, RaJae Mickins, Josue Lopez and transfers Andrew Laska and Eli Harden have gelled.

It also helps that the Blue Devils are more than just a team. They communicate well, he said. “They really like each other.” Teammates hang out on and off the field.

Two consecutive shutouts are a boon in region, at the very least for goal differential. Tift may have already done enough for third place in the state tournament. Everyone in 1-7A has at least one loss. Lowndes is at 2-1, Camden is 1-2 and Colquitt County is 0-2.

It is the first time the Blue Devils have started 2-0 in the region since 2015. If they reach 3-0, it will be a first under Earls. He said he will dangle that carrot in front of them leading up to their next region contest.

This year is a turnaround from last. When the season was shut down last March, the Blue Devils were 0-2 in the region. Earls thought they could have won both games. “I felt we were almost there,” he said. That did not make it less frustrating. “You get tired of the moral victories.”

Now, they’re in control.

“I’m excited. We’re playing really well right now,” he said.

Tift will remain undefeated in the region for at least a few more days. They will take a break from conference competition for a few days — the only game on the schedule this week is at Thomas County Central. Region does not start back up until March 16 against Lowndes. That match will be played at home.

Earls announced Senior Night will be March 19 against Colquitt County.