Prattville Lions Claim Division Title at Southern Coast Cup in Foley

Junior Austin Ledkins had already accounted for his third goal and third assist of the tournament when Prattville closed out South Carolina's Wren High School 4-0 on the final afternoon in Foley, capping a three-day run through the Southern Coast Cup that ended with a division title and a defense that gave up exactly one goal across the entire event.

The Lions opened the tournament with a tight 2-1 win over St. George's, then found their footing with a 1-0 shutout of Brentwood, Tennessee on day two. By the time Wren arrived as the final opponent, Prattville was playing its most complete soccer of the spring.

Ledkins, a junior, was the tournament's engine in attack with his three-goal, three-assist line. Three players anchored the back end through all three matches: sophomore center back Will Cook, sophomore right wing back Bryson Francis, and junior left wingback John Marshall. That combination held opponents to a single tally across nine periods of play, a number Head Coach Trevor Ledkins pointed to immediately when assessing the tournament.

"Playing a strong early season schedule against top ten teams prepared us for the tournament," Ledkins said. "Our team has improved a lot defensively and only gave up one goal during the tournament. My team has the heart and conditioning to finish games strong."

The Lions arrived at Foley having already tested themselves against Class 7A's second-ranked Vestavia Hills, fourth-ranked Thompson, and sixth-ranked Hoover, plus Homewood, the top-ranked program in Class 6A. That schedule left marks on the record, but it also left the team ready to compete under pressure at a regional tournament.

Ledkins said the trip delivered beyond the scoreboard. "Playing three competitive games at the beginning of spring break was very important," he said. "It allowed us to get three matches in before our guys rest and recover for spring break. It also allowed our guys to do a lot of fun team building activities since it was an out of town tournament."

Prattville enters the back stretch of the spring at 9-5-3 overall and 2-1 in Class 7A Area 5. Three area matches remain: Thompson, Tuscaloosa County, and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa. Each one carries direct postseason weight. "Our remaining goals for the season are to keep our focus on the next practice and the next game and not look ahead," said Ledkins.

A program that has steadily climbed the Class 7A competitive ladder now carries a division title and a shutout-caliber defense into the stretch of matches that will decide whether Prattville controls its own destiny in Area 5.