BLYTHEWOOD –Blythewood boys varsity soccer team has had a statement-making opening to the 2026 season. After a dominant 7-0 region win over Sumter on Tuesday, the Bengals now sit at 9-1 in the early season. They remain undefeated in region play.

The Bengals’ hot start began on Feb. 25 with a battle on the road at Chapin. After a 2-2 tie through regulation and overtime, Blythewood clinched a 4-2 win in the shootout. Daulton Purcell, Cayden Berzins, and Kyle Whisenant netted goals for Blythewood.

A quick turn to a two-game tournament stretch, Blythewood cruised past Nation Ford 4-0 with goals from Purcell, Berzins, Ryan Hall and Henry Rohe on Feb. 26. They dropped their first game of the season on Feb. 28 with a narrow 1-0 finish against Wando. Junior goalkeeper Brandon Hart kept the Bengals in the game with a six-save performance.

After the loss to Wando, Blythewood returned home for back-to-back 1-0 shutouts against AC Flora and Rock Hill. Senior Carter House scored the game winner against Flora, and junior Joshua Lewis scored to down Rock Hill

Blythewood opened region play on March 10 with a 7-0 shutout of cross-town rival Westwood. House, Daulton Purcell and Junior Boateng each netted two goals. Whisenant scored one.

The Bengals found their first region test their on March 13 at Spring Valley. Blythewood led 2-0 at the half, but the Vikings tied it up by the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. Purcell proved to be the difference-maker, netting his second goal of the night to give Blythewood the 3-2 win.

Blythewood blanked Lugoff-Elgin 6-0 on March 17, led by two goals each from House and Purcell. Hall and Lewis scored one apiece. They continued their shutout stretch with a 1-0 win over West Florence on March 20 with a goal from Boateng.

Tuesday’s 7-0 outing against Sumter put them at 5-0 in region play, cementing their status as the team to beat in the region.

Goalkeeper Brandon Hart, a junior, has anchored a defense that has allowed only five goals in 10 matches, racking up six shutouts along the way.

Blythewood looks to maintain their perfect region record as they head into the middle stretch of the regular season. They’ll travel to Ridge View on Tuesday, March 31, then cross I-77 for a game at Westwood on Thursday, April 2 before playing in a spring break tournament.