Still a couple of weeks away, it’s hard to not think about a boys soccer showdown between No. 1 Stayton and No. 2 Philomath. The winner will not only get the upper hand in the Oregon West Conference but establish itself as a strong contender for a Class 4A title.
“It is something that you keep looking it,” senior Blaise Pindell said after Philomath’s 8-0 victory Thursday over Sweet Home. “It’s important that we don’t get our heads in the clouds. We’ve got to go into every game with a mindset that we’re just focused on the game we’re going into.”
Sisters represents that next game — although not until Sept. 28 — and will be hoping to derail the Warriors a couple of days before Philomath’s trek to Stayton.
“The boys are humble … it hasn’t been hard to keep them focused,” PHS coach Dave Ellis said. “We’ve suffered for a few years. I think everybody’s enjoying it but nobody’s getting carried away. A few weeks ago there was some talk about rankings and this and that and we shut that down really quick.”
Philomath basically took care of business in Thursday’s win over Sweet Home, an opponent the Warriors were heavily favored to defeat. The tone of the afternoon was established in the game’s first six minutes when Philomath sprinted out of the blocks for a 3-0 lead.
Pindell scored his first two high school goals in the win — the first in the game’s third minute in traffic after a corner kick. On the play, junior Chase Ringwald put the ball in play and senior Mark Grimmer was in position to attempt a header. Sweet Home’s goalkeeper and another defender both went for the ball but it bounced into the path of Pindell, who buried it in the net for a 1-0 lead.
Grimmer finished in the fifth minute with an assist from junior Mateo Candanoza. Just one minute later, Grimmer set up freshman Silas Pittman for another goal and the quick 3-0 advantage.
Philomath’s defense faced Sweet Home scoring threats on only a handful of occasions in the game with the Warriors controlling possession. The game remained 3-0 through halftime.
Early in the second half, Pittman scored his second goal of the game with an assist to Candanoza. A few minutes later, Grimmer had another goal after taking a Candanoza pass and dribbling down the middle of the field to defeat the keeper for a 5-0 lead.
Pindell scored his second goal in the 49th minute with an assist to senior Dylan Bell.
“Dylan had a free kick, it hit the wall and he dribbled it and did an awesome cross,” Pindell said. “It was the main reason I scored; I headed it in off the cross.”
Grimmer got the hat trick in the 60th minute off a corner kick by junior Seth Arthurs. Philomath ended the game on the mercy rule in the 74th minute on junior Ben Hernandez’s goal, an assist to Grimmer on the play.
For Grimmer, it was his third hat trick of the season — his other two coming against Blanchet Catholic and Cascade. He’s scored in every game and has 12 for the season.
Philomath (6-0) now takes a break from competition for a 12-day stretch with that Sept. 28 home game against Sisters up next on the schedule.
Philomath 8, Sweet Home 0
Thursday, Sept. 16, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS (RECORDS) | 1H | 2H | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Home (1-3, 0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philomath (6-0, 2-0) | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| SCORING SUMMARY |
|---|
| First Half: 1, Philomath, Blaise Pindell (Chase Ringwald), 3rd minute; 2, Philomath, Mark Grimmer (Mateo Candanoza), 5th minute; 3, Philomath, Silas Pittman (Grimmer), 6th minute. Second Half: 4, Philomath, Pittman (Candanoza), 43rd minute; 5, Philomath, Grimmer (Candanoza), 48th minute; 6, Philomath, Pindell (Dylan Bell), 49th minute; 7, Philomath, Grimmer (Seth Arthurs), 60th minute; 8, Philomath, Ben Hernandez (Grimmer), 74th minute. |
Conference Standings
(As of Sept. 16)
Oregon West Conf Pct. All Pct. PF PA Philomath
Stayton
Sisters
Newport
Cascade
Sweet Home2-0
2-0
0-1
0-1
0-1
0-11.000
1.000
.000
.000
.000
.0006-0
6-0
3-1
3-2
2-2
1-31.000
1.000
.750
.600
.500
.25030
22
14
15
11
72
3
8
9
19
14
Tuesday, Sept. 14
Philomath 9, Cascade 1
Stayton 6, Newport 3
Thursday, Sept. 16
Philomath 8, Sweet Home 0
Cascade 4, Estacada 3
Stayton 5, Sisters 0
Tuesday, Sept. 21
Stayton at Cascade, 4:30 p.m.
Sisters at Sweet Home, 6 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Philomath 3, Corvallis Freshmen 1
Thursday, Sept. 16, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS | 1H | 2H | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corvallis Freshmen | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Philomath | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| TEAM NOTES |
|---|
| The Philomath JV team notches its first win to go to 1-1-1 on the season. … Junior Jesse Erickson, junior Kellen Houchin and sophomore Sawyer Ainsworth scored goals for the Warriors. … The team’s next game on the schedule is Sept. 27 at East Linn Christian. |
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