Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The boys soccer team is adding many new players this season to support a core of nine returnees, including two seniors.
With the new blood, Coach Al Grove is reticent about who will play which positions and varsity slots are still up in the air in many cases. With no preseason jamborees, he hasn’t had a chance to see the team in action yet.
But that changes this week as the Huskies get started on the fall season.
The returning players, “put us in a good place,” Grove said. “They’ve been working hard, playing well as a team. Our goal is to see continued improvement.”
Improved play will convert to wins, he said.
The team lost several games by a single goal, while tying four contests and winning one.
Around the Val-Co, Central is the perennial powerhouse, Grove said. The Panthers made the state playoffs last year.
Returning an all-state player, Philomath will be at or near the top of the league, he said, but he is hoping the Huskies can play competitively with the Warriors and get wins there.
The season opens with non-league games against teams from the Cowapa League, including Tillamook, Yamhill-Carlton, Scappoose and Seaside, a second-round state playoff team last year.
The Huskies don’t really have any standout players yet, Grove said. “It’s really a team.”
Two new players to the program are sophomores Isaiah Blake and Chad Linville, and Grove expects them to give the program a boost. Linville is a transfer from East Linn Christian Academy and Blake also attended East Linn before spending nearly all of last year in Hungary, where he played soccer.
Veterans include seniors Blake Roberts and Chris Farris; juniors Brock Crocker, Matthew Grove, Mitchell Grove, swing player Eric Munts and Andrew Winslow; and sophomores Alex Santana and swing player John Trahan.
Joining them are freshmen Bret Adams, Chris Carpenter, Eric Garcia, Raul Hernandez, Jake Johnson, Bryce Roberts, Dakota Snow and Kyle Winslow; sophomores Tito Ibara, Gabriel Morgan, Mykle Riggle, Robert Rubidoux, Brady Severns and Taran Tyler; juniors Luis Garcia and Justin Wales; and senior David Worthen.
The younger players likely to comprise the junior varsity are playing well as a group, Grove said. They’re coached by newcomer Michael Rolph, a special education teacher at Sweet Home High School.
Some of the freshmen, possibly Bryce Roberts and Snow, will probably play up at varsity, and the Huskies will mix it all up and fine tune their game before league play starts, Grove said. All of the athletes are learning to play more than one position.
At this point, Grove is looking to Worthen to fill the goalie spot, he said. Santana will probably play goalie too, but Grove may want to use him up the field.
Their strength this season will be speed, “if we can play together as one unit,” Grove said. He knows they have the talent to be competitive, he said. Now it’s just a question of whether they can put it together.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re working on it,” he said. “It’s a great group of kids working hard. I think our strength will be team unity at both levels.”