Last Tuesday, Henley exorcised some demons. This Tuesday, it slayed a giant.
The No. 4 seed Hornets (13-2-2) got goals from senior Brian Leon (35’) and junior Michael Ruelas (59’) for a stunning 2-1 win over No. 1 seed Stayton (15-1-0) in the 4A semifinals. The previously undefeated Eagles had allowed five goals and scored 77 this season, the fewest and most in 4A (Henley had allowed 18 and scored 50).
“They’re as good as we thought they were, probably even better,” Henley head coach Lupe Gonzales said. “We talked about it. ‘They’re going to get a goal, they may get two goals, but we’re going to have opportunities too, and it’s a matter of taking care of those opportunities.”
The first opportunity the Hornets capitalized on came after freshman Ruben Cazares pressured the Stayton back line into a bad pass. Henley intercepted the ball, and Ruelas sent it across the field to an open Leon, who took a touch to the goal, outran his defender and slotted it in at the back post. It was his sixth goal of the season and second in as many games; he also scored the opener in the Hornets’ 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 5 seed The Dalles.
Just seconds after the restart, junior Johnny Garcia equalized on a loose ball in the penalty area. Both teams had additional scoring chances before halftime, but things ended up level at the break.
Gathering his team, Gonzales noticed that the players were disappointed about giving up the lead. He reminded them of the work they had put in during the summer, including competing in tournaments in Newport, Salem and Bend.
“If somebody were to tell you guys, ‘you’re going to be tied 1-1 at halftime in the state semifinal against the No. 1 team in the state,’ are you guys going to be okay with that?” Gonzales asked.
To his surprise, the players’ answer was no.
“We should be winning,” they said.
About 15 minutes into the second half, the Eagles sent one of their defenders to play up in the midfield. The Hornets countered by moving one of their own players into the empty space and began pressuring the back line. The pressure resulted in a corner kick that Stayton couldn’t clear, and sophomore Emilio Pena sent a perfect cross to Ruelas, who collected the ball and scored his seventh goal of the season.
Gonzales credited the Henley crowd, which he estimated to be about the same size as Stayton’s, with helping the Hornets hold on down the stretch–particularly when an Eagles free kick was bouncing around the 18-yard box in the 71st minute.
“Our crowd erupted [yelling] to clear the ball, to put it out,” Gonzales said.
Part of Henley’s game plan, which Gonzales said the players “carried to perfection,” involved playing two of its top scorers out of position: junior Layne Worrell, who leads the Hornets with 15 goals, and sophomore Luke Balzotti, who scored in each of Henley’s first two playoff games.
Worrell was given the task of marking Stayton senior Addison Samuell, who leads all classifications with 40 goals. This largely took him out of the Hornets’ attack.
“For Layne not to be involved in the attack as much and for us to do as well as we did is a credit to him,” Gonzales said. “Every kid wants to be part of the attack, scoring the goals and getting all the glory. Layne is such an intelligent player [that] he knows what the team needs, and he played that.”
Balzotti changed positions twice over the course of the game “based on what Stayton was giving us,” Gonzales said.
The loss brings a crushing end to the high school careers of the Eagles’ seniors–Samuell, Roman Gould, Norberto Navarro, Johnny Garcia (not the goal scorer) and Fernando Joaquin–who never made the 4A championship game despite earning the No. 1 seed three times.
On the other side, the win gives Henley its first state title game appearance since 2013 and sixth in program history. The Hornets have never won an outright state title; they were crowned co-champions with Catlin Gabel in 1989 and 1990 when both finals ended in a tie. Gonzales was a player on each of those Henley teams.
Henley will face No. 2 seed North Marion (15-2-0) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be played at Liberty High School. The Huskies–who knocked the Hornets out of the 2023 playoffs–will be vying for their second state championship in their third title game appearance.