State-ranked Apaches success will rely on depth

GONZALES — A three-year program isn’t supposed to be this good, this fast. Yet the Gonzales Apaches boys’ soccer team is state-ranked by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches (TASC) after losing just two starters from their 2016 team that made it to the regional tournament.

The Apaches are well aware of their ranking, with TASC placing Gonzales seventh overall in Class 4A, second in Region IV-4A.

“They are very well aware of [the ranking] and are amazed by it, that’s for sure,” Gonzales’ head coach Greg Ramirez said. “For this being our third season, who would have thought that we would be ranked so high already?”

The Apaches won’t be overlooked anymore as the newcomers to the sport. With this ranking, every game is going to have a playoff feeling according to Ramirez, due to the “target” on their back.

“We are not taking anybody lightly,” he explained. “Every game is going to be like it’s a playoff game.”

It makes sense that the Apaches would be ranked this high. Last year, the team went 9-1 in district, winning the title along with Giddings. In the playoffs, they reached the regional tournament, losing to Progreso, currently ranked third in Class 4A. With just two starters graduated, the Apaches will be putting out a team with a ton of experience as well as some talented youth itching to get playing time.

“This year, my roster is very deep,” Ramirez noted. “This is the most depth we’ve had.”

And with all that experience, Gonzales hasn’t had to start from scratch when it came to training. Ramirez did mention that they started the season with basic skills since “you always need that foundation,” he explained, but instead of spending whole practices to work on said skills, the team has been able to get on individual skillsets, including getting stronger with their kicks and passes.

“We don’t have to spend so much time on basic skills.”

Currently the Apaches’ biggest strength is their offense. They’re able to score goals and score them fast. Their shift to a 4-4-2 formation will give senior Jose Flores some help at center midfield with controlling the ball and running the offense. The last two seasons, the middle was strictly his zone.

“Now with running the 4-4-2,” Ramirez explained, “we have two people that stay in the middle to take advantage of all the passes that we need to do and make it go.”

The two forwards up top will be Santiago Escoto and Rogelio Sanchez. Both players are threats to score at any point and will cause headaches for defenses. Backing them up are freshmen Daniel Cruz and Antonio Hernandez who Ramirez believes will make a big impact on the game due to their skill levels.

“We have subs for [Escoto and Sanchez] that are at their level already,” Ramirez said. “So making a sub change for them when they get tired, it won’t be like we’re losing anything [in talent].”

Cruz has already shown he can score when the Apaches took down Wharton 5-2 in a scrimmage.

“[Cruz] scored a goal against Wharton when we played them. I subbed him in for Santiago,” Ramirez recounted. “Right went we put him in, he went ahead and they did a long pass to him and he scored right off the bat. He’s one to look out for.”

Ramirez also praised Hernandez who Ramirez claimed can put anywhere on the field.

“[Hernandez will] be playing multiple spots. He’ll be all over the place.”

A slot the Apaches are looking to improve is their centre-back position. Due to the switch in style of play, moving more towards a four-man back instead of the use of a sweeper, the Apaches back four will have to step up, specifically his two center defenders, according to Ramirez.

“We’ll still [have a sweeper] depending on what we see out there,” he noted, “but we’re still trying to see if we’d have a sweeper or not or if we’d have just a straight four-line defense.”

A sweeper is an extra defender that comes in and roams the back line. The more modern sweeper also helps out in counter attacks. Though the Apaches will come out in a 4-4-2, they may employ that sweeper in certain situations, giving more of a 5-3-2 look. Senior Daniel Barrientos will man the goalkeeper position with Ancel Atkinson, Jaylen Johnson and freshman Luis Hernandez backing him up. Coaches have an eye on the freshman, with Ramirez calling him a “phenomenal” keeper.

The Apaches will be coming in to this season with high expectations and with good reason too. Even without the state ranking, for a team to get to the regional tournament in their second year of existence is extraordinary. However, that shellacking by Progreso has been stuck in their heads, giving the boys even more motivation to get back to the regional tournament.

“The loss in McAllen really hurt,” Ramirez admitted. “But over the summer and over the start of the school year we all talked, we sat down, we said what we needed to do to make it happen.”

The work ethic is there too. Ramirez boasted that his team “lives soccer.”

“They say life is soccer, [the team does] everything together,” he said.

Ramirez just hopes that wins will soon follow.