The Sedona Red Rock High School Scorpions walked into their Thursday, Oct. 5, senior night game against area rival Camp Verde undefeated and walked out undefeated.

“The win 7-1 was pretty good, as well as the energy. I think that’s the most fans we’ve had in the [stands] since our home games started,” senior goalkeeper Misael Sanchez said, attributing the turnout to a strong showing by the players’ families and excitement over the undefeated season.

Head Coach Sam Blom said he was optimistic about the team’s prospects of success for the remainder of the season and post-season because they will have 19 players on the team compared to 14 last year.

“All these teams are gunning for us because they want to beat the unbeaten team from Sedona,” Blom said. “There’s a lot of teams that would love to be — knock us off our perch. We have to take each game serious, especially [the Thursday, Oct. 12 game against Chino Valley], which is going to be probably one of the more competitive games that we played. We have to really bring our A-game from start to finish.”

Senior striker Carlos Gonzalez, who scored four goals during the senior night game, is hoping for a replay of one of his favorite memories with the Scorpions. 

“Beating Chino Valley last year on their senior night was pretty great,” Gonzalez said. “Then making it to the state finals was great, obviously we didn’t win … I want to get to the finals again and I want to win it. That’s my motivation.”

Returning to the finals is the goal of everyone on the team and is driving the players to practice harder, senior captain and midfielder Noah Horton said.

“We have the skill to do it,” Horton said. “Everybody individually is taking it more seriously this year and people are practicing on their own. I just want to keep playing good soccer and win every game so that hopefully we’re going into the postseason with a clean sheet and hopefully take state.”

“My favorite part of going to finals [last year] was the experience of understanding the pressure of being in that kind of environment and like playing at such a high level with the competition,” senior midfielder Reif Stevens said. “Outside of the soccer field [what I’m most looking forward to this year] is finishing up high school … [and] after high school I’m gonna go to trade school [to be] a specialized auto mechanic.”

“We’re gonna give it our all to bring it home this year,” senior captain and midfielder Luis Beltran said. “My freshman year we were down 2-0 against Payson and we needed to win that game to make [the] playoffs and then I scored two goals and we came back 3-2. That was a crazy memory because everyone was swarming because we made the playoff. It was under the lights and it was kind of raining … it was just a great feeling.”

“One of my favorite memories of this team was our semifinal game [last year] that we hosted here against Show Low, where we beat them 1-0,” senior captain and midfielder Isaac Montes de Oca said. “Just the feelings and the emotions, having worked so hard throughout that season, and being able to make it for the first time to the state finals for the first time in 20-something years was really a great accomplishment for the team. So that’s what stood out.”

Montes de Oca said emotions were running high on senior night.

“I’m sad but then also I’m happy,” he said. “Sad that’s this one of my last home games I am going to have here in Sedona, but I’m happy because I love playing soccer and I enjoy being out here on the field. There’s a whole bunch of emotions that are showed and felt throughout the game and that’s something I love.”

Blom praised the passion that the seniors have for soccer.

“They just love playing soccer,” Blom said. “They’re all [in] for every game [and] give it 100% from the beginning to the end. … [Being] 10 and 0 took a lot of work, a lot of practices. But having three assistant coaches really helped out with some new ideas and new blood. The seniors took right to them. In fact, when I introduced one of the new coaches, [the team] clapped and that applause was started by the seniors, which was pretty incredible.”

Senior goalkeepers Uriel Parra Landaverde and Misael Sanchez both singled out a game against Payson as their favorite memory from playing for the Scorpions, with Landaverde pointing to his love of the position as the factor keeping him on the field.

“My first year, our very first match was against Payson, and that match got stopped at halftime due to a rainstorm. We were down 1-0,” Sanchez said. “I believe we were still 1-0 when the second half started and it was about 10 minutes into the second half and [Payson] got a penalty kick, and I stopped that penalty kick. That was one of my best memories.”

Tickets for potential postseason Scorpion soccer games can be purchased at gofan.co.

2023 Scorpions Seniors
Luis Beltran
Michael Calderon
Carlos Gonzalez
Noah Horton
Uriel Parra Landaverde
Isaac Montes de Oca
Yahir Gama de la Rosa
Joan Diaz Rodriquez
Misael Sanchez
Reif Stevens