MONTESANO — Hoquiam’s game plan to control possession worked perfectly on its way to an easy 8-1 win over Montesano in Evergreen 1A League boys soccer on April 11 at Rottle Field.

Monte (0-2, 0-6-2) seemed to be on their way to at least playing a competitive match in the early going when the Bulldogs got their only goal of the game. Cole Streeter’s lob of a shot made it over goal keeper Jonny Smith and under the cross bar.

The goal briefly gave the Bulldogs something to celebrate but Bulldog forwards weren’t able to generate much after that.

Connor Darras got the equalizer on an impressive through ball from Jose Juarez and beat Waymn Thoemmes on the one-on-one opportunity in the 12th minute.

Nazareno Mazariegos put the Grizzlies (1-0, 5-1) ahead when he converted on a direct kick less than a minute after his team had tied the game.

With the rain pouring down in the early portions of the first half, Hoquiam’s offense was just as relentless as the weather and added another goal in the 25th minute when a shot from Darras was sent into the box and Juarez cleaned up the rebound for his second goal of the game and the team’s third.

Hoquiam head coach Fidel Sanchez said it was one of the best games his team has played so far.

“That was one of the best possession games we’ve had in awhile. We moved the ball from side to side into the space we were looking for,” he said. “We have guys that can do things with the ball with their feet. It was just a display of good soccer.”

“We wanted to move the ball around and get those quick releases,” Sanchez added. “That’s exactly what we did. I couldn’t ask for a better performance out of my guys. They executed the game plan really well.”

One player who gave Monte’s defenders nightmares was Carlos Juarez. He scored twice in the second half and helped set the table for a number of scoring opportunities and generally kept the ball away from the Bulldogs.

At one point one of his coaches joked that it looked like he was trying to dance around everyone on the field. Sanchez said he was impressed with way his top midfielders controlled the game.

“He was having fun, he was dribbling, he was attacking well. He did it all tonight,” he said. “That was the best game in his high school career.”

With such a lopsided result, Montesano head coach Rick Denholm plans to just move on from this one and focus on the next opponent.

He wasn’t blaming the loss on any one injury but noted that once center back Jordan King left in the 15th minute, Hoquiam had an easier time in the attacking zone.

“As soon as he went out they started getting a little more possession and attacked us a lot more,” he said. “A couple other bodies got a little hurt and we got them out of the game to protect them but with Jordan gone that really opened things up.”

Forks 3, Monte 1

Unable to make an early goal stand up, Montesano fell to Forks in an Evergreen 1A League contest Thursday at Forks.

The Bulldogs (0-3, 0-8-2) scored in the opening minute, when Luis Muro converted a through pass from Robert Thomas.

The Bulldogs will be idle until April 24, when they visit Elma.