By Will Willems/The Lebanon Reporter
Hatford City — Since they were little, Jordan Moody and Aaron Vaughn have been right next to each other on the soccer field.
The recent Western Boone graduates laced up their spikes one last time Thursday afternoon as members of the Class 3A West Team in the PostYourT Indiana High School East vs. West Class All-Star game at Blackford High School. The West lost to the East 6-4, but in the end the result didn’t matter to either player.
“It was a honor,” Vaughn said. “It is kind of hard to put into words. It was fun, it was an honor, it is something I will remember. Overall it was an enjoyable experience that I will remember forever.”
Moody concurred with his teammate and friend.
“It was fantastic,” Moody said. “It was an absolute great time and I had a lot of fun, and it was a great capper for my high school career. I feel like I played pretty well. I controlled the ball pretty well.”
Western Boone saw its season end Oct. 11 in the sectional championship game against Zionsville. That was the last time that Vaughn put on a pair of cleats.
As for Moody, he has been working out since his spring golf season ended, as he will be continuing his career at Anderson University in the fall. He said that he had been playing “about twice a week” and had been working out to stay in shape.
“I was actually pretty nervous coming into the game, as far as overall fundamentals and skills,” Vaughn said. “I was a little rusty. It is a little bit different not being able to use your hands like on the hardwood and then coming out here to the soccer field after not playing for a long time, it was a challenge. But it took 20 to 30 minutes to get going.”
Both players played well in the contest. Not only did the players have to get used to playing soccer again, but they had to get used to playing different positions.
In the All-Star game, both Vaughn and Moody played some defense, different from their forward positions at Western Boone. Both players still made several runs forward and had chances to score. Vaughn eventually put one in the goal.
“It was awesome,” Vaughn said of scoring. “It represents Western Boone. Just to see that Western Boone did something good. That is something to remember, and then, on a personal level, it was fun to get a goal, and I can always say I got a goal in an All-Star game.”
But it was the chance to play together, as All-Stars, that the boys took away from the experience. They both said they will remember how much fun they had playing as a duo.
“It was absolutely awesome,” Moody said of playing again with Vaughn. “Him and I had an absolute ball playing together last year and we grew up playing together throughout high school and it was an honor to play with him again.”
Vaughn said he couldn’t have asked to a better ending for their partnership.
“It was awesome,” Vaughn said. “It is an honor to come and play in an All-Star game and to come with a teammate is pretty special too. Playing with Jordan, I have played with him since I was a little kid, so to cap our career off playing in an All-Star game together, it is kind of a storybook ending there.”
Vaughn will be heading to Ball State in the fall, studying business. He said that he will not be playing soccer, but may try to walk on to the basketball team.
He said he was happy to play one last game on the soccer field.
“Even though it is a fun day and an All-Star game, I also know it is more or less the last soccer game that I will ever play,” Vaughn said. “But it is also a fun game. A little better than (the sectional final against) Zionsville, but a little bittersweet.”
Moody signed to play at Anderson and will play for a team that finished 8-11-1.
He said that the main thing that he wants to work on is his conditioning.
“(I am going) to continue to do a lot of running, cycling and swimming to keep in absolute peak condition for when the season starts,” Moody said.
Since their soccer season ended nearly nine months ago, both players have had time to reflect on being done playing soccer at Western Boone.
Not surprisingly, they both will remember similar things — mainly their teammates.
“I will probably never forget senior night and all our sectional wins and losses,” Moody said, “and coming away at the end of the season and feeling privileged to play with the great group of guys that we have at Western Boone.”
Vaughn said that he will remember helping build the program with Moody the past four years.
“Just playing with my teammates,” Vaughn said when asked what he will remember. “The program is still a work in progress. I will remember the good times with my friends, but I will also remember getting better. When I came out my freshman it was like you weren’t watching a soccer program. By the time we finished up this year, we had taken big steps forward. I will remember getting better and my teammates and having fun, just overall getting better and having a good career.”
