Red Demons do it again in WAC boys’ soccer

Dodge City goes unbeaten for sixth straight title

For Saul Hernandez, coaching boys’ soccer at Dodge City High School isn’t just about winning and losing.

It’s also about the joy of the journey and having fun.

Make no mistake, the Demons are having more than just a little fun.

Hernandez’ squad swept through the Western Athletic Conference with a perfect 8-0 record, which can be a bit misleading as four of those wins came by just one goal and one of those was an overtime triumph.

In his 10 years at the helm of the boys’ program, Hernandez has established the Red Demons as one of the premier teams in Kansas.

He takes on the best of the best each year, scheduling teams from Wichita to Kansas City during the regular season to test his squad and then work on whatever improvements are necessary to compete in the postseason.

“I think a lot of our success can be credited to discipline and paying attention to detail,” said Hernandez, himself a Dodge City graduate and soccer player who competed in the school’s infancy years of the late 1990s and early 2000s. “When I got here (2015) I looked to see what was missing. The talent has always been here.”

Hernandez says he developed his coaching philosophy by the way he wanted to be coached.

“You have to have discipline with the players and hold them accountable,” Hernandez said. “But us coaches have to be accountable as well. I try to also make it fun and joyful for the boys.”

While in past years, the Demons always seemed to have one superstar, Hernandez says his 2024 team doesn’t have one.

“The chemistry has been as good as any we’ve had,” Hernandez said. “We’ve had to grind out some wins while in the past we just scored a lot of goals. It hasn’t come easy this season, yet it’s been a fun one. Just trying to figure things out is both a challenge and an opportunity.”

While perhaps not garnering as much respect as it should in Class 5A and 6A soccer across Kansas, Hernandez said the WAC prepares his team for the rest of the Demons’ schedule.

“It’s a tough, tough conference,” Hernandez said. “It’s very difficult. There’s a lot of respect for each other and the style we play prepares us to compete at state.”

Hernandez always schedules a back-to-back doubleheader against some of the top teams in eastern Kansas, often going to the Kansas City area but also welcoming them to Dodge City.

“There are different styles of play and when we get to see that, it helps us when we see those teams in the postseason,” Hernandez said. “We get to see our weaknesses and it gives us time to fix those.”

Hernandez enjoys the journey as much as he enjoys the destination, working with the team both on and off the field.

“It’s been a fun season, even trying to figure things out when we know we need to make some changes to improve,” Hernandez said. “This particular group has passed the ball so well and we haven’t had any selfishness. Before the season I thought we’d be alright, but not sure I would have expected going undefeated. But this group worked so hard in the summer.

The 2024 team has been a mixture of all four high school grades, Hernandez said, making it especially challenging but also gratifying on how well the group has meshed.

“It’s just a great group of hard-working kids,” Hernandez said. “The main thing is to work hard, enjoy what you’re doing, and the results usually take care of themselves.”

Hernandez’ success is unparalleled in any other team sport n western Kansas.

During his decade-long run, the Demons have won a pair of Class 6A state championships (2016 and 2020, going undefeated both times); they have only missed the state semi-final/final stages twice in that span. They have three third-place finishes, and a pair of fourths through the 2023 season.

They swept through their two regional contests and then won a quarterfinal match-up to reach the semifinals once again. This year, they came up one match short of a third state title, dropping a 1-0 heart-breaker to Shawnee Mission East in the state championship match on Nov. 2.

“This team is not as prolific as the 2023 team on offense (130 goals for a school record), but our defense has been solid all year,” Hernandez said.

His career marks, both in the WAC and overall, are legendary. He now sports an overall career mark of 1855-19-1 (.908) while notching a 76-4-0 record in the WAC, a .950 winning percentage. Including the four postseason games of 2024, Dodge is 18-10 in the postseason under Hernandez.

Liberal’s Moncayo voted top WAC player

Suain Moncayo of Liberal has been on the varsity roster of the Liberal Redskins since his freshman season, having made contributions even then in his rookie high school season.

During his four years with the Redskins, Moncayo has seen his team have a credible amount of success and enjoying one of the program’s best seasons in recent memory during his 2024 senior season.

The WAC coaches voted Moncayo the Player of the Year as the forward has been instrumental in the team’s regular-season success and a run in the Class 6A postseason.

Moncayo, who plays an attacker on offense, racking up 27 goals this season to go along with 6 assists. He now is the school’s all-time leading goal scorer (71) and holds a single-game record of scoring 7 goals against Hesston on Oct. 10.

On learning about the WAC Player of the Year award, Moncayo responded in much the humble way he responds to other things.

“This means a lot to me and when coach (Carlos Ruiz) told me I didn’t know what to say,” Moncayo said. “I couldn’t believe it. There was shock, but also happiness.”

Moncayo’s Liberal team enjoyed its best season since Ruiz became head coach during Moncayo’s freshman season (2021) as they finished 13-5-1 and reached the Class 6A quarterfinals before being ousted by Topeka-Washburn Rural in the quarterfinals.

“It (winning the award) was a big surprise because Dodge City won the WAC and I just thought somebody from Dodge would win,” Moncayo said. “I feel like that putting in work during the summer and getting stronger and more healthy contributed to what success I had.”

But Moncayo is more about the team’s success than he is about his own personal accomplishments.

“I think my work ethic and trying to be a good teammate are things I’m proud of,” Moncayo said. “Being in the middle gives you one perspective on how the game can be played, but being on the sidelines some and watching also helps. It’s a big field and learning how to work with our formations is important to our success.”

Moncayo credits Ruiz for bringing a hard work ethic to the team’s success during his four-year career with the Redskins.

“His philosophy is about loyalty and bringing us together,” Moncayo said. “We all had one plan and we stuck to it.”

While he was pleased with the team reaching the state quarterfinals, Moncayo said he was hoping for more. 

“I really  wanted to make the semifinals for state,” Moncayo said. “Every good thing has an ending. We weren’t satisfied but I’m okay with it because I know when tried and played our best.”

Moncayo said he has had contacts from coaches at different levels but will wait until next spring to make his decision on where he wants to attend college and play.

“I know I’d like to see if I can play at the biggest level,” Moncayo said. “I’ve had a number of schools recruiting but nothing is set.”

Moncayo’s eyes on the future beyond soccer include possibly being an electrical engineer, or being a physical education teacher while also coaching.

“I’m just waiting to see what the recruiting looks like before making a decision,” Moncayo said. 

His coach had nothing but high praise for his leading attacker.

“I’ve gotten close to Suain and the other seniors since they were my first class when I got here,” Ruiz said. “That group won 5 games their freshman year and now we had one of the best records in school history.

“I’ve seen the maturity and growth in Suain and he’s become a very good leader both on and off the field,” Ruiz said. “It’s a reflection of the quality individual he has become.”

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WAC ALL-CONFERENCE BOYS SOCCER TEAM
2024 CHAMPIONS: Dodge City (8-0)

FIRST TEAM	NAME	SCHOOL	CLASS
1	Zahit Garibay	Dodge City	12
2	Mario Olivares	Dodge City	12
3	Tristan Contreras	Dodge City	12
4	Suain Moncayo	Liberal	12
5	Giezi Gonzalez	Liberal	12
6	Joshua Garcia	Liberal	11
7	Eli Arriola	Garden City	12
8	Ezayen Deatherage	Garden City	12
9	Cooper Johnson	Hays	12
10	Jalen Smith	Hays	12
11	Alex Alonzo	Great Bend	11
SECOND TEAM
1	Yair Vasquez	Dodge City	12
2	Eduardo Solis	Dodge City	12
3	Josue Gallegos	Dodge City	12
4	Gael Ruvalcaba	Liberal	12
5	Jayden Gonzalez	Liberal	12
6	Tristan Bernal	Garden City	12
7	Alfonso De La Rosa	Garden City	11
8	Kenneth Fisher	Hays	12
9	Mason Schleicher	Hays	12
10	Ricardo Cruz	Great Bend	10
11	Eli Contreras	Great Bend	11