NATCHEZ — Soccer stars are generally thought of as fancy dribblers who use their foot skills to breeze past several defenders and rack up multiple goals each game.

Goal scorers get much of the glory on the soccer pitch, but it takes 11 players to make a winning soccer team.

For this year’s Adams County Christian School soccer team, it was one of the back-end defensive players that made as much impact as anyone on the team and also received the most honors for his play.

Senior Johnny Smith played defensive fullback for the Rebels, and although he scored just one goal all season, he was the team’s vocal leader and key defensive stopper.

Having strength in the backfield, both in leadership and on-field performance, led the Rebels to a strong season and a playoff berth.

“Johnny was one of the backbones of our team this year,” ACCS head coach Jim Allgood said. “His main goal was to run the defense from the back line, and he stepped up in many games where his fantastic defense created many of our offensive opportunities.”

Smith’s accomplishments this season also drew him individual honors. He was named to the MAIS Division II South All-District team and also made the MAIS South All-Star team and will play in the All-Star Game on March 8.

Smith said he was excited to learn about making the team, and he is looking forward to playing with some of the best soccer players in the state.

“(I’m looking forward to) just the chemistry of playing with higher skill players,” Smith said.

Smith said he also looks forward to the two practices he will have with his new teammates before the game. He said he hopes to use those practices with high quality players to improve his passing ability.

Allgood said the difference in ACCS soccer from last year to this year is night-and-day, and he said Smith’s leadership is one of the catalysts for that change.

“The ACCS boys came from probably one of the worst teams in the state last year that was new to the sport and the district, and the powerhouses we play in our district beat us like a drum,” Allgood said. “In one short year with kids like Johnny Smith was gave it back to those other teams.

“His leadership skills evolved in the last seven weeks.”

Allgood said Smith spent many nights at his house going over strategies and game plans for the team to use each game.

Smith said getting revenge on some of the teams that beat ACCS last season was sweet for him this year.

“Beating Brookhaven 3-2 in a (penalty kick) shootout (was one of my best moments),” Smith said. “And also beating Oak Forest 3-2 on the road.”

Smith said he, along with his defensive teammates and goalie Dylan Galbreath, took pride in the dominant defense the Rebels played early in the season.

“At the beginning of the year we had a bunch of shutouts, and that made me feel great,” he said.

Smith’s play this season earned him an offer to play soccer at Hinds Community College as a preferred walk-on, and he said he is excited about joining Hinds’ winning tradition.

“They have (won) the (The Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges) championship like nine of the past 13 years,” Smith said. “I just want to be a part of that and hope to be a part of winning a title.”

Smith said he would continue to play defense for Hinds once he gets on campus.

“I like the back line,” he said. “On defense you can control the whole field from the back.”

Smith also played football and is currently playing baseball for ACCS, and he said he has been going non-stop all year.

“We started football in the summer, and it’s like a cycle,” Smith said. “The last football game was November, and I went straight into soccer. Then we came into the playoff game and the day after that we played Parklane (Academy) in baseball.”

Smith said he will only focus on soccer in college, and that will provide him more free time after the season is over. He said he hopes to study engineering at Hinds.

Smith said he hopes that he leaves ACCS soccer in a position to continue to improve its program.

“I hope they take the sport more serious now that we’ve made our mark on it,” Smith said.