Fall sports previews: Next man up for the The Dalles Riverhawks boys soccer

“We had a great season last year. The boys put in a lot of work, and they made it far in the playoffs,” said Granados, whose squad begins preparing for the 2024 season with their first practice Aug. 19. “It was awesome that we made it that far, but it was unfortunate that we didn’t reach the finals. We have a lot of big shoes to fill though after losing so many seniors. We’ll have lots of new players in our starting lineup this year for sure.”

Led by Tri-Valley Conference (TVC) first team all-league junior forward Hulises Najera (20 goals, seven assists), the Riverhawks were 6-1-3 in league and finished second behind Madras (7-2-1 TVC). The Riverhawks earned an OSAA No. 8 ranking, and they won a first-round playoff road game 2-1 over No. 7-ranked Pendleton.

“I think we have a chance to win the league title, but there’s some pretty solid teams that we’ll be competing with this year,” said Granados. “Madras is usually a pretty strong team year after year and they’ll be tough again, but anything can happen, and I feel like we’re one of the top contenders again this year.”

Five of six TVC teams — The Dalles, Crook County, Madras, Gladstone and Estacada — qualified for the state playoffs last year. The Dalles won 2-1 in the quarterfinals over visiting Crook County before losing 3-1 in the semifinals at Cottage Grove.

Najera, the Riverhawks’ leading scorer, junior midfielder Juan Camarillo (second team all-league), and sophomore Ivan Santana (TVC honorable mention) will be focusing on helping the Riverhawks reach the state playoffs a second straight year and the third time in the past four years. Other returning seniors are Marcos Quiroz, Anthony Santana and Abel Figueroa.

The Riverhawks open their 13-game season Aug. 29 at Pendleton, followed by their home opener Sept. 10 versus La Grande. The Dalles begins a 10-game TVC schedule with a Sept. 24 home matchup versus Crook County.

“I feel very strongly that we’ll be a playoff team again this year,” said Granados. “It’s up the boys to put in the work during practice and I know that they’ll devote themselves to helping our team to improve. We have some key positions to fill though, but we have some younger guys who I believe are capable of stepping up and filling in the gaps left by the graduated seniors.”