WP Tigers Earned Their Respect

VISTA HERMOSA - The WP Tigers soccer team didn't break any of its own records this fall. After all, this was its first-ever season.

But its tenacious perfor­mance set new benchmarks in the state, and its recog­nition

around the league has been impressive, giving the boys and girls from the Broetje Orchards, Prescott and Waitsburg plenty to cel­ebrate. "You started as the lowest-ranked, 23rd, and finished number one (in the 7/9 dis­trict)," head coach Rick­ie Hamilton told the team members, siblings, parents, community members and school district officials who were gathered at the Vista Hermosa school gym for the awards ceremony.

"Now you have the re­spect of the whole state," he said, while the crowd polished of dinners of fajita meat, rice, beans and lettuce. "This is my 31st year of coaching soccer, and you are my best kids ever."

The Tigers went 18-1, en­joying a perfect season until they were knocked out of the playoffs by the more experi­enced Crusaders from Shore­line Christian. They ranked number one in the state in 2B/1B. Four players - Lino Diaz, Jairo Gonzalez, Pedro Mendoza and Omar Virgen - made First Team All State. Jose Esquivel made Third Team All State and Hamilton himself was named Coach of the Year. To top the accolades, the Tigers were selected "the most exciting team of the year" with their 18-game winning streak, 115 goals and eight shutouts. All four seniors, Gonzalez, Esquivel, Cesar Munguia and Miguel Velazco, have been invited by Walla Walla Community College to come down for soccer trials.

"We have a lot to cel­ebrate," Prescott High School Athletics Director Jack Smi­ley said, not just because of the players' athletic achieve­ments but the vast improve­ment in most of their aca­demic performances.

Roger Bairstow, a mem­ber of Broetje's managing board, agreed.

"Some of you went from struggling to becoming real student athletes," he said.

Kevin Ortega, Munguia and Velazco were all elected scholar athletes. Many other players on the team bettered their grades during the sea­son, in part with the help of assistant coach Bart Baxter. Hamilton began the awards by singling out the managers, who nurtured the team with water and took care of scorekeeping: Itzel Sandoval, Claudia Soriano and Juana Valdovinos.

After calling up and rec­ognizing the team's freshmen - Enrique Balderas, Oscar Gonzalez, Alberto Sandoval and Emily Wilson - Hamil­ton went on to describe the sophomores. Luis Torres, he said, became known to the team as "the flea" for be­ing fast, agile and "all over the field." Kyle Garby was appreciated for his depend­ability, while Gabe Escalante made a big difference on the left side of the field despite his smaller physical size.

As a defender, Raul Con­trarez, "never gave up his position," and prompted the same question from op­ponents: "Now, what grade are you in?" They cringed to learn he was only a sopho­more and they'd be facing him again in future games, Hamilton said. He saved Diaz for last, applauding the young man's achievement as the second leading goal scorer in the state and recalling how, at the start of the season, he had complained about the amount of conditioning Hamilton de­manded only to be grateful when it came time to keep up with opponents such as those playing for Spokane's St. George. Hamilton heaped praise on juniors such as Jared Morris, a recent transfer from West Virginia, who didn't back down to anyone and, "played wherever he was needed."

He described Francisco Gonzalez's "rocket left foot," which helped place him among the top eight scorers in the state while he remained selfless enough to pass the ball to a teammate who might be in a better position to score than he was. Hamilton called Ortega "the Terminator" for cover­ing opposing teams' top scorers and shutting them down, a talent he also attrib­uted to goalie Mendoza, who placed First Team All State as keeper. About Omar Virgen, he joked that the junior was always giving everyone di­rections. "I told him I was looking for a general, and he took me seriously," Hamilton said. "Anywhere on the field, he'll play his heart out for you." Virgen placed in the top fiveas a scorer and eighth in assists.

The four seniors were up last, starting with Munguia, who rose to the big time and took control of the right side of the field.

Velazco, Hamilton said, was responsible for a high percentage of goals the Ti­gers put in the net through his setup skills, which ranked him second in the state in assists, "the most important part of making a goal." Esquivel got the facetious "Mr. Hustle" award because he never stopped until the whistle blew, setting up goal scoring opportunities, pulling back to defense and generally "carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders." Gonzalez was the quiet player who "didn't need to speak to make a statement," Hamilton said. He helped form a "brick wall" the other players rarely broke through, he said. In team awards, Munguia won "Most Improved," Vir­gen "Most Inspirational," Velazco "Most Valuable Player" and Mrs. Baxter, the assistant coach's mother, re­ceived "#1 Fan" with a sweat shirt as a gift from the team.