Down 8-1 at halftime to the top-ranked team in Class 4A, Philomath’s boys soccer team was one goal away from having its season end early on the mercy rule.
The Warriors made sure that goal never came. Philomath held Stayton scoreless over the final 40 minutes Tuesday afternoon, including the last 25 with only 10 players on the field, though the Eagles came away with an 8-1 win in the Warriors’ season finale.
Gallery: PHS boys soccer vs. Stayton (Oct. 27, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s boys soccer game vs. Stayton on Tuesday.
“When they want to compete, they can compete,” Philomath coach Gerardo Garibay said. “It’s just mentality. They’ve got to believe it.”
With the win, Stayton clinched the Oregon West Conference title with a 9-1 league record and extended its winning streak to six games. The Eagles, which also beat Philomath 7-1 in the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 8, will now turn their attention to the Class 4A playoffs and try to repeat as state champions.
Stayton took control early by scoring three quick goals in the first 11 minutes. Philomath had an opportunity early on to find the net when senior Esias Sapp sent a long throw-in from the corner into the box. Senior Jacob Hernandez headed it toward the net, but Stayton’s goalkeeper made the stop.
The Eagles kept scoring and led 7-0 by the 34th minute before Philomath answered in the 38th. Junior Sammy Hernandez put the ball in play on a free kick, and it found junior Dreyton Nuño in the corner. Nuño crossed the ball in front of the net, and freshman Skyler Wilson finished for the goal.
Stayton countered a minute later to take an 8-1 lead into halftime.
Under Oregon School Activities Association rules, a game ends once one team leads by eight goals after a full first half has been played. One more Stayton goal would have ended the Warriors’ season early.
“We didn’t want to get mercied,” Sapp said after coming out of an emotional final postgame huddle with his teammates and coaches. “We didn’t get mercied, so that’s the plus side of it.”
Garibay made adjustments at the break, moving Sammy Hernandez back to center back and dropping Nuño back as well.
“We slowed down,” Garibay said. “We changed up our formation a little bit. … We forfeited a little bit of our attack to help us on defense.”
Garibay said the bigger change was mental. He pointed to Stayton’s reputation as a factor in Philomath’s slow start.
“We know who Stayton is, right? They’re the defending state champs,” Garibay said. “They’re a good team. They’re going to make a run again this year, and we just didn’t want to compete that first half. … They went in there and played hard the second half.”
Jacob Hernandez said the message at halftime was simple.
“Coach told them to play for the seniors, play their hearts out, and that’s what they did,” Hernandez said. “The goal was just to last as long as we could in the second half and hold them to a tie with the state champs from last year.”
The task got harder about 15 minutes into the second half when Sapp received a red card, leaving the Warriors to play the final 25 minutes with 10 players.
“We picked it up, and we played amazing defense at the end of the game,” Sapp said. “We were down a player — I got sent off — and our defense did great without me on the field.”
Philomath’s defense came up big several times to keep Stayton off the scoreboard. Sophomore Oliver Demasi made a couple of key plays late, and junior goalkeeper Quinn Wood came up with a handful of saves.
The Warriors had a chance to pull one back in the 79th minute when Sammy Hernandez took a penalty kick, but his shot hit the left post.
Garibay also received a yellow card during the game. He said he will always stand up for his players.
“I think we’re a very emotional team, and you can see that based on our results,” Garibay said. “When it goes good, it goes good, and when it goes bad, it goes bad. … I understand what team we are. I’m always going to try to de-escalate.”
Philomath finishes the season with records of 5-9-1 overall and 4-6 in league play, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
The Warriors will lose four seniors — Sapp, Jacob Hernandez, Cameron Herbert and Kayden Boynton — all starters. For the second year in a row, Philomath will need to replace its entire back line.
“We’re going to miss them,” said Garibay, who completed his first season leading the program. “They’re big parts of our program.”
For Jacob Hernandez, the finale was his last high school game alongside his brother, Sammy.
“It was my last high school game with my brother and teammates,” he said. “But I was proud of the second half.”
Asked what he’ll take away from four years in the program, Hernandez pointed to the relationships.
“Team bonding and just how close we grew together,” he said. “And just learning to grow myself as a person and become a team player.”
Stayton 8, Philomath 1
Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Philomath HS
Teams (Record) 1 2 F Stayton (13-1, 9-1) 8 0 8 Philomath (5-9-1, 4-6) 1 0 1
FIRST HALF—1, Stayton, Dessieux (Ceballos), 3rd minute; 2, Stayton, E. Perez (Klampe), 7th minute; 3, Stayton, Ceballos (Klampe), 11th minute; 4, Stayton, Klampe, 15th minute; 5, Stayton, E. Perez (Kerrigan), 24th minute; 6, Stayton, E. Perez (Dessieux), 33rd minute; 7, Stayton, E. Perez (B. Navarro), 34th minute; 8, Philomath, Wilson (Nuño), 38th minute; 9, Stayton, B. Navarro, 39th minute.
