The Siloam Springs boys soccer team entered the 2017 season feeling good about its depth.
It's a good thing too, because the Panthers (7-2) have had to dip into their depth quite a bit in the early going.
2017 Panther Soccer Classic
Friday-Saturday
Panther Stadium, Siloam Springs
Friday’s games
Game 1: Siloam Springs JV vs. Fort Gibson, 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: Holland Hall vs. Putnam City North, 5:15 p.m.
Game 3: Jenks vs. Greenwood, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Siloam Springs vs. McAlester, 8:45 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 8 a.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, 9:45 a.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 11:30 a.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 1:15 p.m.
Seventh-place: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 2:45 p.m.
Fifth-place: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4:30 p.m.
Third-place: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6:15 p.m.
Championship: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8 p.m.
Injuries and some eligibility issues have caused the Panthers to go down the bench for some help, but that's OK according to coach Brent Crenshaw.
"We're pretty deep," Crenshaw said. "From our 11th player to our 15th or 16th player, we're able to plug in some guys."
One example has been that of Jose Trujillo, who has moved into a starter at center back for the last five to six games.
"We had to move Jack Bos up into the midfield, and Jose was our next guy up at center back," Crenshaw said.
Crenshaw compared Trujillo's emergence to that of last year's senior Nathaniel Long, who went from being a non-starter before the season started to one of the team's top players by the end of the year.
"He's like Nathaniel," Crenshaw said. "He works so hard and he's always in the right spots. It's been fun coaching him and watching him play."
The Panthers moved Bos into the midfield to get more a physical presence there, Crenshaw said. Seniors Aric Lee and Austin Shull have been doing a good job, he said, but they needed more physicality.
Bos scored two of his three goals on the season against Greenwood on March 16. Bos, Shull and Lee all have three goals, while Shull leads with six assists. Christian Marroquin leads the team with six goals scored.
"Christian Marroquin brings something special to the field," Crenshaw said. "He's a left-footed player and those are hard to find at forward. He's gotten so big and so strong. He is deadly on set pieces. He's scored (several) just on free kicks from 40 yards out."
Crenshaw said Irvin Rios has been strong at left defensive back, while goalkeeper Wyatt Church has been impressive so far.
The Panthers hope to get forward Eli Jackson (hip flexor) back this week. Jackson has missed most of the year so far and could have played against Greenwood before spring break, but was held out.
"I wanted to give him an extra week to rest," Crenshaw said.
Jorge Perez has also battled some injuries as well, he said.
The Panthers return to action on Monday against Muskogee, Okla., at 8 p.m. at Panther Stadium. They'll play at Harrison on Tuesday.
"I think we've gotten better every time we've stepped on the field," Crenshaw said. "Every time we step on the field we seem to be a little more confident, a little more understanding of what each other's roles are."
On Friday, the Panthers will host the first Panther Classic at Panther Stadium. Participating teams are Siloam Springs, Siloam Springs JV, Greenwood and Oklahoma schools Fort Gibson, Putnam City North, Jenks, Holland Hall and McAlester.
The Siloam Springs junior varsity team is playing because of a late dropout in the tournament. They'll play Fort Gibson on Friday in the opening round. The Siloam Springs varsity is scheduled to play at 8:45 p.m. against McAlester.
The tournament is a three-game guarantee and will continue on Saturday.
The games will be comprised of two 35-minute halves and will go to PKs if tied after regulation.
Sports on 03/26/2017