Blazing to the summit

It seems like Luis Martinez and Moises Oseguera have been playing soccer together forever.

They started out as teammates in elementary school, and last fall, they guided Lindhurst High to the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. VI championship, after stumbling in the Section title game the previous season.

For their efforts last year, Martinez, the Blazers' high-scoring forward, and Oseguera, Lindhurst's stingy goalie, have been named the Appeal-Democrat's co-Outstanding Players of the Year.

But just because their prep careers are over, it doesn't mean the tandem are going their separate ways. They have been playing soccer for the same competitive club team and are headed to college together.

"I've talked to the coaches at Chico State and they want me to come play for them," Martinez said.

"I'm going to Chico as well," Oseguera added.

Martinez scored 35 goals, tied for fourth in the state. He also recorded 25 assists. Oseguera, meanwhile, allowed 19 goals in 20 games, recording nine shutouts and coming up with 88 saves.

Martinez really came to life when he moved from midfield to forward at the start of league play and teamed with his cousin, Miguel Vasguez, to form a one-two scoring juggernaut.

"We always seem to know where the other is going to be on the field," Martinez said.

Martinez said his best game of the season came in the Section title contest when he scored bookend goals of Lindhurst's 3-2 win over Waterford. The game-winner was a header off a cornerkick with 12 minutes left in the game.

"We always knew we had the offense to score goals," Oseguera said.

The key to Lindhurst's success this year was the play of its defense and the back line, Martinez said, as well as Oseguera.

Oseguera said his best game also was the championship tilt in which he made 14 saves. One of his more spectacular saves came with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and Lindhurst protecting its 3-2 lead. A Waterford player headed a ball right in front of the goal and Oseguera had to leap straight up to make the save.

"I really worked on coming out and being stronger," said the 5-foot-10 Oseguera. "I also worked a lot on leaping high to grab the ball."

While Martinez praised the defense and Oseguera lauded the offense, both agreed it if wasn't for a total team effort, Lindhurst probably would not have won the Section crown.

"Our biggest motivation is we wanted to get it done after not doing it last year," Martinez said.

Members of the Appeal-Democrat 2007-08 All-Area team are:

FORWARDS

LUKE HOLLINGWORTH, Jr., Wheatland: Hollingworth scored 22 goals and registered 12 assists, finishing with 56 points on 55 shots in 22 games.

LALO PAREDES, Sr., Yuba City: Paredes scored 23 goals and assisted on nine others for the Tri-County Conference champion Honkers.

MIGUEL VASGUEZ, Sr., Lindhurst: Vasguez scored 25 goals and had seven assists for the Blazers.

MIDFIELDERS

FRANCISCO BRIONES, Jr., Sutter: The exchange student from Chile scored 19 goals, accounting for 34 percent of all goals scored by the Huskies.

RENE CUELLAR, Sr., Live Oak: Cuellar scored 10 goals and recorded five assists for the Lions, who won the Northern Section Div. II championship.

MARCO FERNANDEZ, Sr., Yuba City: Fernandez played center midfield for the Honkers. He was named to the TCCs all-league team. He finished the season with nine goals and 14 assists.

CARSON RISENHOOVER, Sr., Faith Christian: Risenhoover scored 20 goals and recorded 12 assists for the Lions. He also had 247 steals.

DEFENDERS

JOSE CABRERA, Sr,, Pierce: Cabrera anchored the Bears' defense, which helped lift the team to a Northern Section Div. III championship.

GIOVANNY GUZMAN, Sr., Yuba City: Guzman played sweeper for the Honkers, who allowed just 17 goals all season. He received a scholarship to play soccer at Simpson College this fall.

DAVID USVAT, Sr., Lindhurst: Usvat played center midfielder a year ago and switched to sweeper for Lindhurst this past season, helping the Blazers' defense shut down opposing teams.

GOALIE

LUIS RAMIREZ, Jr., Live Oak: Ramirez allowed just 27 goals in 23 games for the Lions, while recording five shutouts.

Contact sports reporter Richard Myers at 749-4714 or rmyers@appeal-democrat.com