Season Preview: 6A Boys Soccer

Losing a nine-player senior class left big voids for the Dodge City boys soccer team following a perfect 2020 season and Class 6A championship.

The Red Demons will look to fill those vacancies with a hungry group of returners who have been eagerly awaiting their time to shine.

"They want to take over the team," Dodge City coach Saul Hernandez said of this year's upperclassmen. "They want to make their own mark on their program just like the seniors from last year made their mark.

"I thought they might let off the gas a little bit because they already had a state championship under their belt, but they've worked at it like they haven't won anything yet. I think they understand that the seniors played a major part, and they want to have a bigger role on the team this year."

Dodge City capped off a 20-0 season with a 3-0 win over Olathe East in the 6A title game last year in Topeka. It was the second undefeated season in five years for the Red Demons, who went 21-0 in the 2016 campaign - making them only the second program in state history to post two undefeated seasons (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994, 2009).

The seniors took the bulk of the minutes last year, but Hernandez had some opportunities to get a glimpse into the future by playing his reserves.

"There were some times in the games last year that I would take all the seniors out and just let them relax and get a little time without having to play, and I put the other guys in," Hernandez said. "And the seniors were coming to me like, 'Hey, next year looks pretty good, coach.'

"They could see how much they were improving."

The Red Demons will be tasked with replacing six Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association all-state picks in Alan Lopez, Erik Martinez, Dani Rojas, Carlos Sanchez, Erubiel Duron and Adrian Equihua. Lopez was forward of the year and Sanchez goalkeeper of the year.Senior Daniel Ruiz will assume the starting goalkeeper role this season.

"He's a really good goalkeeper, but when you have Carlos Sanchez, the goalkeeper of the year in the state of Kansas, it's kind of hard to get minutes in front of him," Hernandez said. "I think he's really hungry. This is going to be the season that he gets to be No. 1, and I think he's going to step up. He's a great leader."

Hernandez said he expects junior Irwin Macias and senior Bryan Tonche to be among the players who take charge.

"(Macias) is about 5-foot-2, but when he gets a lot of speed and runs with it, it's kind of hard to stop him," Hernandez said. "He's going to be a really creative player for us."

"(Tonche) has had two seniors in front of him, but he's learned a lot," Hernandez said. "He's really stepped it up in the summer. He's a great distributor with the ball and he has great vision."

Hernandez, who was named coach of the year by the National High School Soccer Coaches Association following last season, said the Red Demons will embrace the pressure as they gear up for their title defense.

"I feel like we're going to have a big target," he said. "I think I know how to approach that a little bit better than I did the first time around (after an undefeated season).

"When the kids come into the program, we stress to them that pressure is privilege. Not very many teams get the opportunity to have that kind of pressure and to have that target on their back. They need to learn to embrace it, because in real life, they're going to have pressure when they're out in the real world, and they're going to have to learn how to be able to deal with it. So this is a great opportunity to learn how to deal with pressure and embrace it."

Traditional contenders, Blue Valley West, Blue Valley, Olathe East, Olathe West and Washburn Rural all figure to be among teams the teams to watch in 6A.

Blue Valley West returns standouts Blake Barrick and Kaden Cripe. Jake Prather will help lead Olathe East after last year's runner-up finish, and Wyatt Arnold is among Washburn Rural's top returners. Rural was fourth in 6A last year, falling in the third-place game to Blue Valley.

Olathe West's Elyes Ellouz got his season off to a rousing start, scoring four goals as the Owls played to a 4-4 draw with Blue Valley Southwest on Friday. West captured the state title in 2019.