Ash Fork posts wins at Payson, falls to Madison Prep on the road

PHOENIX — But it’s a dry heat. Dry or not, 113 degrees is beyond hot.

That’s what the Ash Fork Spartans soccer team faced when they traveled to Phoenix to take on the Madison Prep Heat Aug. 29.

Coach Martin credited Madison Prep’s “tough defense” for keeping the Spartan offense from putting points on the scoreboard. The Ash Fork team only had six shots on goal throughout the match.

“The boys played tough,” Martin said of his team after the 7-0 loss.

Things were very different in their regional opener against Williams at home two days later. After a slow first half, which ended in a 1-1 tie, the Spartans came alive in the second half. Jesus Ayala scored the lone goal for Ash Fork in the first half.

In the second half, Josue Tellez accounted for two goals, one of which was a penalty kick. Branson Milius and Miclo Ayala added two more goals for Ash Fork. John Cauthen, Jeffery Trovillion, Jesus Ayala, and Miclo Ayala provided assists for the goals. Goalie Javier Vazquez tallied three saves out of the five shots the Vikings took.

The boys soccer team traveled to Payson for the Boys Longhorn Invitational tournament, held at Rumsey Park Aug. 25-26. The boys played against much larger schools, three of which have enrollments of more that 850 high school students, and Benson with 450 students, compared to less than 100 for Ash Fork. Benson

In the first round against Round Valley on Friday, they showed excellent teamwork and emerged with a 4-1 win. Coach Sonny Martin attributed the win to excellent passes from Josue Tellez, John Cauthen, and Brandon Melius, which enabled Jesus Ayala to score all four goals for the Spartans.

Round two, also on Friday, was against the Benson Bobcats. With Benson leading 3-0, the match was rained out.

The next match was with Show Low, at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Martin noted the weather played a big factor in the 7-1 loss.

"Was it ever hot," he said. "The boys struggled the whole game. There wasn't much energy."

The lone goal for the Spartans was scored by Miclo Ayala on a direct kick.

On Saturday, the final game for Ash Fork was with Snowflake. Martin said the boys, "Came out strong, and finished strong."

The result of the hard-fought match was a 1-1 tie. Spartan Josue Tellez scored on a direct kick goal for the lone score for Ash Fork.

"It (the tournament) was a great experience for these young men," Martin said."We hope the rest of the season shows how much of a team these boys are."

The Spartans have a road match scheduled with Madison Highland at the Kroc Center in Phoenix on Tuesday, August 29. The temperature for 6 p.m. in Phoenix is predicted to be 106 degrees.

In action next week, the Spartans travel to Flagstaff to take on Northland Prep. The game will take place Sept. 5.