Eagles seniors reflect on season after concluding at home

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Eagles (2-6) finished their season at home against Oroville, where they fell 0-54 by the end of the night. Despite the loss, the Eagles were still proud of the efforts that they put out and are happy with the season they had. 

“It got off to a little rough start, but we were picking it up,” said Eagles senior Fransisco Ortega. “Sucks we couldn’t stick through it, but honestly, it was still fun.” 

Oroville remained dominant throughout the game, scoring on each drive and holding the Eagles scoreless. The Eagles were also encumbered by injuries that occurred throughout the season and that continued to plague the team up until the final minutes of Thursday’s game. 

Even though the game didn’t go the way they had wanted, Ortega said he felt the Eagles gave their all for this last game. 

Soap Lake senior Abram Cox said the Eagles came into the matchup knowing Oroville was one of the top teams in the division, so they knew that the main goal would just be to play their hearts out and have fun to finish out the season with their teammates. 

Eagles Head Coach Garrett Devine said it was a tough end to the season, having played two of the top teams in the league back-to-back in the last two weeks, but he was proud of how hard the team fought despite the circumstances.  

He said the hardest part of Thursday’s game was the fact that it meant he would have to say goodbye to the two seniors, Cox and Ortega. The toughness, hard work and dedication that they brought to the team made a major impact on the field throughout their tenure. 

“In this day and age, it’s pretty hard to find those qualities,” said Devine. “They’re just high character kids, I trust them, they’re honest with me... and I’m just really going to miss them just as people. They’re good people and I’m really proud to have coached them.” 

Ortega said it was a bit of a shock realizing that this would be the last game he would get to play with his teammates, but he enjoyed every moment of it and cherished every game this season. 

“It was a pretty fun season,” said Cox. “It was our last, so we had to put everything out on that field.” 

Cox plans on continuing his career with football going forward, as he will be heading to Pacific Northwest Christian College to play at the collegiate level. He said it is exciting to move forward to the next level and wants to continue building up and get to a higher level of skill.  

For Ortega, he is still unsure of where he will go next with his life, but he is also ready for the next chapter to begin.  

“I’m just excited to see where life takes me, and you never know what’s going to happen the next day,” he said. “It’ll be a fun journey.” 

    Eagles quarterback Chris Heaps runs with the ball past the line of scrimmage during Thursday’s game against Oroville. It was a muddy matchup, but the Eagles played their hardest to end the season.

    Running back Brodie Maharjan runs with the ball during the third quarter against Oroville on Thursday.
  

    Soap Lake’s defensive line gets ready to go head-to-head with the Oroville offense as they try to make a stop during Thursday’s matchup.