Honkers fly past Blazers

Dario Teyes is hardwired for impassioned pep talks — the type of athlete who since his fifth birthday has put his teammates in a circle and let his voice be heard.

Saturday was no different, and with the Yuba City High soccer team in locked arms, the leader delivered the emphatic pregame speech for one of the year's best showdowns.

"We're playing for pride — the best team in the Yuba-Sutter area," he yelled. "Know what you're representing."

They listened, and Teyes needed 27 minutes to resoundingly back up those words. Playing against Lindhurst under the halogen glow of Honker Stadium, Teyes scored twice and Yuba City coasted to a 3-0 win over the Blazers.

"North of Sacramento, we want to know that we're the best in the area," Teyes said. "To be the best you have to beat the best."

He and his team did just that, turning a contest that matched-up two of the Mid-Valley's top programs, into an 80-minute clinic. Heading into the non-conference showdown, Lindhurst (3-1) already recorded wins over larger River Valley and Nevada Union. Their third game playing up is one coach Eric Hoefler would like to erase ASAP.

"As soon as we can forget this game and move on, the better off we will be," he said. "Tonight we didn't show to play and it was evident for 80 minutes."

It was quite the opposite for the Honkers (6-8-1). With Teyes dissecting the Blazers' backfield, they captured a quick lead that proved insurmountable. The spry senior buried a shot 20 minutes in off a Juan Lopez assist and did the same seven minutes later.

Martin Gonzalez added a goal coming off a free kick from 25-yards out in the second half to cap the dominant showing, which had Honkers coach Sean Nelson pulling his top starters with 15 minutes left.

"This is the best game we've had all year," Nelson said to his players after the game. "Let's keep rolling on."

And that type of performance couldn't have come at a better time, Teyes said. On Thursday, the Honkers traveled to Woodland and were waxed. The Wolves have always been an "easy victory" and Yuba City limped away 4-1 losers. It put the team at 1-2-1 in the Tri-County Conference and thirsting for any type of confidence.

Before the 7 p.m. kickoff, Nelson pulled his players into the weight room and showed them a motivational speech video, he said. The gist: "You got to play as a team and back each other up."

Juan Lopez and Daniel Pulido contributed assists, sophomore Victor Alcantar was stellar in goal and a roster-full of role players helped make up for the team playing without one of their top players. Giovanni Padilla, a co-captian with Teyes, had to miss the game for family reasons.

He'll be back for the Honkers' two league games against Natomas and River Valley next week, where he'll be one of 18 players in a circle listening to Teyes.

"It's my character," Teyes said. "I like leading the guys out there."