Ryan Herbert’s goal Thursday afternoon didn’t change the outcome. Philomath already led Taft by six with less than five minutes to play.
It didn’t matter to his teammates.
When the sophomore forward tapped in a cross from junior Dreyton Nuño in the 76th minute, the Warriors celebrated wildly. The goal capped a 7-0 victory over visiting Taft and gave Philomath High’s boys soccer team a much-needed bounce-back win after two lopsided losses.
Gallery: PHS boys soccer vs. Taft (Oct. 15, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 7-0 boys soccer victory over visiting Taft on Thursday.
The celebration carried into the postgame. As Herbert answered questions after the game, teammates crowded around with phones raised.
“It’s just a really great experience,” Herbert said. “Being around all the guys, it’s really fun. I just wanted to get in there and be with my teammates.”
Herbert, called up from the junior varsity, played most of the second half in his first varsity action. Philomath’s JV game was canceled, which gave coach Gerardo Garibay a chance to work in younger players against an overmatched opponent.
Each time Herbert got near the ball, he heard encouragement from his teammates.
“We were always wanting him to get in the game,” said Nuño, a junior. “He finally got in, and we’re like, we need to get him a goal. Once he got his goal, we’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s go, Ryan!’ because he’s the hype guy of the squad. … We love him. He’s awesome.”
Garibay enjoyed seeing it.
“It’s a small community, right? It’s a close group of friends, and I loved to see that today, where they were encouraging and helping each other be better and wanting everybody to succeed,” Garibay said. “I think it was a great team win today.”
Herbert’s goal didn’t come on his first try. A few minutes earlier, he missed on a similar play.
“I was a little bit upset,” Herbert said. “I came in and Skyler, Sammy and the other boys were like, ‘We’re going to dribble down the field and let you get a tap-in.’ I missed the first couple. I was a little bit bummed, but I know my teammates are talented. They’re really talented. I knew they could do it for me.”
Herbert was referring to freshman Skyler Wilson and junior Sammy Hernandez, two of the team’s top playmakers.
On the next chance, Herbert finished.
“I went up, the guy kind of went to the left, Dre gave me a great ball, and I raised my right leg and tapped it in,” he said.
The win improved Philomath to 4-7-1 overall and 3-4 in league play. Taft fell to 1-10 and 0-7.
The Warriors entered the game after losing their previous two games by a combined score of 12-1, including a loss Tuesday at Newport.
“We were pretty upset after the Newport game,” Garibay said, a match the Warriors lost 7-1. “Obviously not the result we wanted. Even then, if you watched that game, I’m super proud of the boys. We kept it 0-0 for a long time. It’s just one of those things we’re working on, building a program, right? We need a little more depth to compete against the top teams.”
Philomath beat Taft 6-2 in Lincoln City on Sept. 29. Nuño said the difference Thursday was the team’s attitude.
“The first time we went to Taft, we were kind of sluggish. We let them score on us twice, which wasn’t good,” Nuño said. “But this time we came in with more of a ‘we’re winning everything’ mentality. We’ll be more physical, we’ll be faster, stronger. We’re going to find our guys. We’re going to play simple. We’re not going to try to dribble every time.”
The game stayed scoreless until the 23rd minute. Senior Esias Sapp launched a throw-in over the Taft defense, and Nuño picked up the ball in stride, dribbled in close to pull out the goalkeeper and found the net.
Philomath went up 2-0 in the 30th minute when Sapp sent a long ball downfield. Senior Jacob Hernandez picked it up on the bounce, brought his body under control and finished.
The Warriors put the game away with three goals in the first five minutes of the second half.
Nuño scored 1:20 into the half. A Taft defender got a foot on a ball intended for Jacob Hernandez and cleared it across the field, but Nuño was in position to pick it up and finish for a 3-0 lead.
Just over a minute later, Nuño set up Sammy Hernandez for a 4-0 lead. Ninety seconds after that, Sammy Hernandez scored again, unassisted, to make it 5-0.
Sapp added an unassisted goal in the 59th minute before Herbert’s shot late.
Nuño finished with two goals and two assists. Sapp had a goal and two assists, and Sammy Hernandez scored twice.
Several younger players saw varsity action, including freshman goalkeeper Jasper Turner. In the 73rd minute, Taft sophomore Ezekiel Wilson found a path toward the net and sprinted in close for a shot, but Turner made the save.
Taft had another chance with a couple of minutes remaining, but the shot hit the crossbar, bounced straight down and was cleared to preserve the shutout.
Philomath now turns its attention to Cascade, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road.
Philomath 7, Taft 0
Thursday, Oct. 15, at Philomath HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 F Taft (1-10, 0-7) 0 0 0 Philomath (4-7-1, 3-4) 2 5 7
FIRST HALF—1, Philomath, Nuño (Sapp), 23rd minute; 2, Philomath, J. Hernandez (Sapp), 30th minute.
SECOND HALF—3, Philomath, Nuño, 42nd minute; 4, Philomath, S. Hernandez (Nuño), 43rd minute; 5, Philomath, S. Hernandez, 45th minute; 6, Philomath, Sapp, 59th minute; 7, Philomath, Herbert (Nuño), 76th minute.
