Emma Choate scores the Lady Devils' lone goal Friday.

TIFTON — Tift County’s Lady Devils captured the Region 1 soccer championship and both home teams won barnburners in their last regular season home contests Friday.

The Lady Devils defeated Camden County, 1-0, in the opener. The Blue Devils trailed by two goals with 22 minutes remaining and emerged as 3-2 victors.

“We started the season and we expected to be region champs,” said Lady Devils head coach Zac Martin, whose squad is 5-0 in Region 1 play.

Emma Choate took the ball just inside the box before she lined up her shot. It went into the net at 19:50 in the first half and put Tift ahead by a goal.

The margin stood up for the next 60 minutes, but not without plenty of nail-biting.

Tift goalie Brooke Smith was busy during the first half. She made a sliding save a minute after Choate’s goal. She wasn’t able to cover it up and the ball stayed active, forcing Smith to race back in position. The save was on the left side of the net and Camden was able to get it to the right side, but fortunately, Lady Devils defenders had her back and were able to clear.

At 13:50, Smith had a tricky save, one she initially tipped, then caught. There was yet another close call at 3:30 after a corner kick. Camden kept it within the crease for seemingly an eternity, but Tift’s wall held up against intense pressure.

Meanwhile, the Lady Devils couldn’t penetrate Camden’s goal.

Maggie Clark had a shot go off the keeper’s hands at 15:30 and Tift had few opportunities after during the half.

Choate had an early shot in the second half go wide right. Then, the 1-0 lead became even more tenuous.

Choate went down with 30 minutes remaining, clutching a knee. She was escorted off the field and did not return to action. Fortunately, the injury does not appear to be serious and Choate was able to walk around after the game.

With one of its best players on the sidelines, the Lady Devils had to hold on for 30 more minutes. That duration, Martin said, was “some of the longest times of soccer of my life.”

Tift initially seemed rattled by Choate’s injury, then found its spark again, going back on the offensive.

Though Camden trailed by a goal, the Lady Wildcats had no major scoring opportunities during the second half. And it was Tift keeping them on their toes, with Clark and Claire Kimbrall both attempting multiple shots.

The region crown is assured for Tift, who still has one conference game to go at Lowndes this Tuesday. Martin would like to finish undefeated and he has his sights set higher: he wants a state championship.

“I’m happy, but not satisfied,” he said.

BLUE DEVILS 3, CAMDEN 2

While the Lady Devils wrapped up a region title, the Blue Devils pushed themselves into third place in Region 1 in contest that for the longest, looked to be in the bag for Camden.

Head coach Bobby Earls could not quite pinpoint where the change took place.

Camden had a one-goal lead at intermission, then went ahead 2-0 at 33:26.

Tift changed formations, but then he said “we gave up a cheesy goal.”

Fate seemed to be against Tift.

Richey Hernandez started the second half with a deep free kick that hit off the crossbar and his teammates could not get to the rebound. Hernandez had another shot saved with 24:45 left.

Then the momentum changed in a hurry.

Hernandez poked in a goal in front of the net at 21:38. Not even three minutes later, Jeraldo Zermeno was fouled on his way to the goal. He was awarded a penalty kick, converted it and tied the game at 2-2 at 18:42.

Suddenly, Tift couldn’t be stopped from finding openings. Offsides thwarted a potential two-on-one situation, but the Devils were soon back deep in Camden territory.

A kick save kept the score even for a bit longer, but Jonathan Escobar broke ahead of two defenders just far enough to get one-on-one with the keeper. He kicked it into the left side of the net at 8:54 and was mobbed by teammates.

The Wildcats’ goalkeeper took exception to the celebration and was awarded two yellow cards. Officials stopped the game for a minute to allow both sides to cool off. Emotions continued to run high, however, with more yellow cards issued.

As time wound down, Camden was awarded a free kick near Tift’s goal. The clock was stopped with three seconds left for a yellow issued to a Blue Devils player. Camden took the kick and as time expired, Rosendo Ramirez fell on the ball for the save.

“We showed a lot of resilience,” said Earls. He said the win was a group effort and the team was really coming together.

“I’m super proud of my seniors,” he said.