PREP BOYS SOCCER
Aberdeen 2, Hoquiam 0
The Myrtle Street Rivalry lived up to its billing, with Aberdeen pulling out a 2-0 victory in a tense, physical game on Thursday at Stewart Field.
Hoquiam didn’t convert on any of its goal-scoring opportunities despite getting off to a strong start in the first 15 minutes of play.
The Grizzlies put two shots on Aberdeen goalie Luis Soto from outside the box, but couldn’t convert on the chances.
Soto gave credit to his back line for making his job easy in the early part of the match.
“My back line defended me really well, especially in the first half,” he said. “They held the line so nothing would get past them and if it did, they cleared it out.”
After holding off the initial surge from the Grizzlies, Aberdeen broke the scoreless tie when a shot from Enrique Cuevas ricocheted off a defender in the box. Antonio Torres cleaned up the rebound from deep in the box and put a shot past scrambling defenders to give the Bobcats the lead.
Aberdeen’s Logan Sias shields the ball from Hoquiam’s Cavan Estrada in the second half on Thursday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
Aberdeen did well controlling the play for the remainder of the first half, putting five shots on goal in the first 40 minutes.
With the Bobcat’s offense finding a rhythm late in the first half the game came to unexpected pause with a fracas near midfield in the 33rd minute.
A slide tackle by Aberdeen’s Romeo Sanchez resulted in a foul being called. The physical nature of the play caused an argument that lead to players on both sides exchanging words and a few shoves before referees intervened.
Aberdeen’s Sanchez and Dillen Espana and Hoquiam’s Antonio Torres and Rigo Alvarez were all given yellow cards for their roles in the midfield dispute.
Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming was not sure the play was fairly adjudicated.
“There were a few slide tackles from them that were cleats up and I asked the ref to watch it, then Romeo got all ball, had his foot on the ground and he got a foul,” he said. “He got a yellow supposedly for talking to that kid, but he got up and walked away. We didn’t let that get us down, but it was frustrating.”
Hoquiam head coach Fidel Sanchez gave credit to Fleming for helping deescalate the situation and reminded his own players to keep the game in perspective.
“It’s a rivalry game, but it’s a non-league game. Coach Fleming did a good job calming his guys down and we appreciate that so we wanted to make sure we calmed our guys down,” he said. “We don’t want a card, they don’t want a card. We have our own leagues to go forward with.”
Hoquiam and Aberdeen players confront each other after a slide tackle from Aberdeen’s Romeo Sanchez in the 33rd minute. Two players from each team received yellow cards after the incident. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
With both team settled down in the second half, Hoquiam began playing more aggressively on the offensive end.
The Grizzlies made Soto work and put six shots on goal in the final 40 minutes, including two one-on-one opportunities.
Soto said he had to remind himself to be aggressive to come up with saves in those situations.
“I’m not going to lie, I was intimidated, but I knew it was my job to stop those goals, so I just went after it.”
Aberdeen picked up a key insurance goal in the 53rd minute with a low shot from Hulizes Chavez who was about five yards outside the box. Cuevas picked up his second assist of the night on the play.
Coach Sanchez said he was disappointed that the players he expected to score couldn’t close the gap in the second half.
“We have players who can score at will, but tonight you didn’t see that. We have four or five players who are going to be really good for us but they have to make things happen for us,” he said. “We’re just coaching from the sidelines, they have to go get it.”
Though he would have liked to see better offensive execution, Sanchez was pleased with his goal keepers. Jonny Smith started the game and was subbed out for Titus Larimer, who came up with some diving saves to keep the game close down the stretch.
Hoquiam will try to get its first win of the season when he Grizzlies head to Vancouver to face King’s Way Christian at 6 p.m.
Aberdeen will also head to Vancouver in hopes of pushing the winning streak to three when the Bobcats face Union at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Fleming likes the direction his offense is taking and expects to take another step forward when his players start connecting on their crosses.
“When we got it we started running circles around them up front. We really looked good,” he said. “When guys start learning to send it to the end line and cross it instead of going to the middle, we’ll score more.”
Aberdeen 1 1 — 2
Hoquiam 0 0 — 0
Top Players: Aberdeen — Chavez (G, 53rd minute), Torres (G, 18th minute) Cuevas (2 A); Montesano — Larimer (5 saves)
Rochester 5, Montesano 1
Montesano had trouble dealing with set pieces in a 5-1 loss to Rochester on Thursday.
Rochester started the night off with a goal in the 10th minute and never looked back to hand Montesano (0-2) its second loss of the season.
The Warriors scored four of its five goals off corner kicks and direct kicks and Monte head coach Rick Denholm said the Bulldogs also had trouble marking up on throw-ins .
“They had a kid that could throw the ball on throw-ins from a long way out, and that’s how they got some of their scoring chances,” he said. “Rochester also got four goals off of set pieces, so that’s something we’ll have to work on.”
Montesano got its lone goal in the 15th minute when Jordan King beat the keeper from about 10-yards out after receiving a through ball from Luis Muro.
The Bulldogs will try to get in the win column when they face Centralia at home at 7 p.m.
Rochester 3 2 — 5
Monte 0 1 —1
Top Players: Montesano — King (G, 15th minute), Muro (A)
PREP BASEBALL
Elma 5, Napavine 3
Down 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning, Elma outscored host Napavine 4-1 over the final four innings to earn a 5-3 victory on Thursday.
Cobey Moore’s RBI single scored Noah Huttula to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning.
Elma (2-1) took the lead later in the frame when Brady Johnston scored on an error.
Eagles sophomore Justin Elliott gave Elma some insurance with a line-drive single to right field, scoring Brady Shriver and Tysen Richardson to give the Eagles a 5-2 lead in the sixth inning.
Napavine (0-2) scored a run in the seventh inning on a single by Dawson Stanley, who then represented the tying run at first base.
But Moore, who was in relief of starter Shriver, got Seth Butler to fly out and Ben Woodrum to ground out to end the game.
Shriver picked up the win, scattering five hits and allowing just one earned run while striking out nine in 5 1/3 innings of work.
Moore picked up the save, allowing an earned run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
“I thought our pitchers did a great job controlling the game and did a better job with their pitch location,” Elma head coach Jim Hill said.
Elma takes on Black Hills at 4 p.m. on Friday at Black Hills High School.
Elma 001 202 0 — 5 7 3
Napavine 101 000 1 — 3 8 3
WP — Shriver (5.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 9 K, 2 BB); LP — Vandrum (2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K, BB); SV — Moore (1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, K)
Top Players: Elma — Elliott (1-3, 2 RBI); Shriver (2-3, 2B, 2 R); Napavine — Butler (2-4, R, RBI)
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
PREP TRACK & FIELD
South Bend earns top marks at home meet
South Bend’s boys and girls track teams earned top marks as the Indians hosted Naselle, Winlock, Wishkah Valley and Willapa Valley in a 2B Pacific League meet on Thursday.
South Bend’s girls won the team event, scoring 66 points to edge Wishkah by two points.
Willapa Valley placed third with 60 points followed by Naselle (52) and Winlock (6).
On the boys side, the Indians placed second with 91 points behind Winlock (97.5).
Wishkah placed third with 33 points followed by Naselle (31) and Willapa Valley (20.5).
South Bend’s girls team was led by senior Hannah Byington, who won the 100-meter sprint (13.40), the 200 (27.90) and the long jump (15-09). She also placed second in the triple jump (31-04) behind Wishkah’s Kaitlyn Ferry (31-07).
Other South Bend winner were Lucinda Bucio (800m, 3:06.40) and Jessica Sanchez (javelin, 105-09).
The South Bend boys were led by Preston Lawhead and twins Nick and Logan Stamos.
Lawhead swept the sprint events, winning the 100- (11.90), 200- (24.30) and 400-meter (57.00) races.
Logan Stamos took the victory in the 300-meter hurdles (46.50) and the triple jump (38-10) while brother Nick took the victory in the long jump (18-07.50).
Other South Bend winners were Nathan Ashley (1600, 5:13.60) and Hayden Williams (shot put, 37-03).
“All of our kids competed really well today for the first meet,” South Bend head coach Steve Lazelle said. “They all did a really good job for us and, overall, I thought we had a really good meet.”
Willapa Valley’s Franks, Layman win individual titles
Willapa Valley’s track and field team earned three event victories on Thursday in South Bend.
Nathan Franks won the boys 3200 meters with a time of 13:02.90, a personal-best for the sophomore.
The Vikings’ Hailee Layman took the top spot in the girls discus with a mark of 106-06. The junior thrower also placed second in the shot put behind Naselle’s Ellie Miller (27-01) with a mark of 26-10.
Willapa Valley’s girls 4×200 relay team also took home a first-place medal. Olivia Betrozoff, Brooke Friese, Hannah Cook and Brooke Strozyk took the top spot with a time of 2:01.90.
“It was the first time we’ve been able to get outside and we had some good overall performances,” Willapa Valley head coach Dave Ege said. “I’m happy with where we are at right now.”
Both South Bend and Willapa Valley will compete at the Rainier Icebreaker Invitational on Saturday in Rainier.
For full meet results, visit https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=356250&show=all.
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
North Beach, Ocosta compete at league meet in Westport
The North Beach Hyaks boys and girls track teams placed first and second, respectively, at a 2B Pacific League meet on Thursday in Westport.
North Beach’s boys team won five events to earn 154 points to edge second-place Northwest Christian (151). Ocosta placed third with 110 points. Taholah was fourth with 45 points followed by North River (13).
North Beach winners included Evan Johnson (110m-hurdles, 20.02), Westin Fruh (300m-hurdles, 50.05), Reagan Harnagy (high jump, 5-08), Kyle Fry (triple jump, 33-09) and the 4×100 relay team (Steven Butler, Johnson, Charlie Coburn, Jaden Langston, 49.67).
The Hyaks girls team placed second with 143 points, 15 points behind Northwest Christian. Ocosta placed third (93), followed by Taholah (38) and North River (23).
Lorin Cox led North Beach with win in the 100 (13.56) and 200 (28.69). The junior sprinter also anchored the victorious 4×100 relay team, joining Kaytlynn Corey, Isabella Faris and Brooklyn Neal to cross the finish line with a time of 55.84.
Other Hyaks winners include Neal (110m-hurdles, 20.22) and Felicity Roper, who won the high jump (4-08) and triple jump (28-11).
Ocosta was led by Evan Waara, who won both the boys 100 (12.23), 400 meters (55.63) and long jump (17-06.50).
Kylie Poirier and Katelynn Denny took first-place medals for their respective events. Poirier won the discus with a mark of 100-08 and the javelin with a throw of 108-01.
Denny took the top spot of the pole vault with a mark of 6-06.
Taholah’s Nettie Mall won the shot put with a mark of 32-07, beating teammate Celisha Ralston, who placed second with a mark of 30-09.
Results were unofficial at the time of this writing.
For full meet results, visit https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=359568&show=all.
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Pe Ell, Raymond boys place 1-2 at league meet
Pe Ell’s Andrew Schulz won four events to lead the Pe Ell Trojans to a team victory at a 2B Pacific League meet at Raymond High School on Thursday.
Schulz won the 100 (11.73), 200 (24.21), javelin (131-01) and long jump (20-03) to lead the Trojans to a 124 point total, beating host Raymond, which placed second with 104 points. Life Christian Academy took third with 91 points.
Schulz had help, specifically from teammate Jeremiah Yost. The junior thrower won the shot put (43-07) and discus (121-05) and placed third in the javelin (125-11).
Pe Ell’s Braeden McAllister won the 110 meter-hurdles with a time of 17.90.
Raymond got event wins from Tre’ Seydel (high jump, 5-04) and Shayn Sath (pole vault, 7.00).
Raymond’s girls team, which placed third with 100 points, was led by freshman Kyra Gardner, who won three events in the meet. Gardner earned wins in the 100 meter-hurdles (19.01), the high jump (5-02) and the long jump (14-07).
Raymond Kendall Thompson won the 100 with a time of 14.06.
“Overall, everybody did pretty well,” Raymond head coach Mike Tully said. “Tre’ Seydel did really well running the 300 hurdles for the first time and Gardner had her best height in the high jump.”
For full meet results, visit https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=354311&show=all.
— Ryan Sparks, Grays Harbor News Group
Other Scores
Prep Softball: Rogers (Puyallup) 7, Montesano 6
