The Philomath High School boys soccer team placed six players on the all-Oregon West Conference team, including senior goalkeeper Jake McGaughy, junior forward Jacob Hernandez and sophomore midfielder Sammy Hernandez on the first team.
McGaughy caught the attention of everybody around the league for skills that went beyond his work in net.
“Jake is a bit of a unique goalkeeper because of his skill of shot stopping and his leadership but also his ability to contribute to the attack for our team with his long free kicks and ability to create attacks everywhere,” Philomath coach Dave Ellis said. “We scored a handful of goals from punts that just turned into breakaways because of just the sheer distance he could launch the ball.”
Jacob Hernandez added a range of skills to the Philomath offense that opposing teams had trouble defending. Teams also often had trouble maintaining possession given Hernandez’s abilities at creating turnovers.
“Jacob was the battering ram at the front of our team,” Ellis said. “He ran tirelessly, he punished defenses, he made them uncomfortable. Jacob was worth two players just because of the amount of ground he could cover.”
Sammy Hernandez contributed in several ways to Philomath’s attack and had a number of goals and assists throughout the season.
“Sammy is probably one of the most technical players in the league,” Ellis said. “He’s creative, he’s inventive, he does things that you haven’t taught him and that he hasn’t necessarily planned. His vision and his creativity and his ability to hit every ball, every way you can imagine is a huge asset for the program.”
Also earning all-conference recognition were seniors Zach Grapoli, Caleb Babcock and Lukas Hernandez.
Grapoli was on the second team at midfielder.
“I don’t know that anybody ran more this year than Zach and worked harder and got less praise and individual recognition,” Ellis said. “But he always did his job and he showed up and did everything asked of him. He deserves every bit of recognition he can get.”
Defenders Babcock and Lukas Hernandez were honorable mention picks.
“Caleb and Lukas were the heart of our defense — one of the best in the state,” Ellis said. “Caleb with his ability to both hit long balls and get us out of trouble and pace to cover (ground), and then his athleticism at the front to be able to go score goals” made him invaluable, Ellis said. “Lukas was our leader and our organizer and kept everybody defensively focused and in the proper spaces. He was incredibly composed and made good decision after good decision.”
The Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards were swept by Stayton. Eagles senior Isaiah Dixon and coach Chris Shields earned those honors.
Philomath just missed the playoffs as the fourth-place team in the Oregon West Conference and with an overall record of 8-4-2.
“We were ranked ninth in the state and scored 42 goals and conceded 12, and we didn’t make the playoffs,” Ellis said. “I’m not saying we would have won it, but there’s every expectation we would have gone deep if they would have put us in the playoffs.”
Interestingly, two Oregon West teams will battle for the state title Saturday when No. 1 Stayton meets No. 10 North Marion. The Warriors played both Stayton and North Marion to 2-1 games on the road and Philomath tied North Marion in a home game, 0-0, late in the season.
“We’re probably the best team to ever not make the playoffs,” Ellis said.
All-Oregon West Conference
Player of the Year — Isaiah Dixon, Sr., Stayton
Coach of the Year — Chris Shields, Stayton
FIRST TEAM
Field — Isaiah Dixon, Sr., Stayton; Johnny Garcia, Sr., Stayton; Avery Chandler, Jr., Newport; Jaden Romero, Jr., Newport; Nick Pelayo, Sr., Stayton; Damian Vallejo, Jr., North Marion; Sam Hernandez, So., Philomath; Jacob Hernandez, Jr., Philomath; Julian Cabrera, So., Cascade
Defenders — Jose Navarro, Jr., Stayton; Becker Willis, Sr., Newport
Goalkeeper — Jake McGaughy, Sr., Philomath
SECOND TEAM
Field — David Albavera, So., Newport; Josiah Dessieux, Jr., Stayton; Greyson Hurst, So., North Marion; Juruen Delgado, Jr., North Marion; Oliver Peralta, Sr., Newport; Zach Grapoli, Sr., Philomath; Miguel Ceballos, Jr., Stayton
Defenders — Yael Gonzalez, Jr., Stayton; Christian Delgado, Jr., North Marion; Elias Rivera, Sr., North Marion
Goalkeeper — Jaiden Ortiz, So., North Marion
HONORABLE MENTION
Field — Anthony Lopez, Jr., Cascade; Felix Lopez, So., Sweet Home; Marcos Mejia, Sr., North Marion; Ruben Bell, Jr., Stayton; Liam Clausen, So., Cascade; Keeghan Gittins, Sr., Sweet Home; Kace Stevens, So., Sweet Home
Defenders — Caleb Babcock, Sr., Philomath; Emmett Schrader, So., Newport; Lukas Hernandez, Sr., Philomath; Joseph Burnell, Jr., Cascade
Goalkeepers — Ty Williams, Sr., Stayton; Kanten Venemons, So., Newport
