Big goals planned for final go-round
The 31st in a series recognizing some of the state’s best spring high school athletes who had their seasons canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Jonesboro boys soccer Coach Justin Cook had high hopes for the Hurricane for the 2020 season.
His top player, Jorge Vargas, was one of the reasons why he believed so much.
Then the coronavirus pandemic put an end to Vargas’ junior season.
Vargas, who had
44 goals in his first two seasons with the Hurricane, had six goals in his junior season before the Arkansas Activities Association instituted an athletic dead period effective March 15. The season was officially canceled April 9 because of covid-19, forcing the end of the soccer, baseball, softball and track and field campaigns.
It was a disappointing feeling for Vargas and Jonesboro’s soccer program.
“It was sad,” Vargas said. “I was hoping to play. But I got to play with my close
friends who were seniors. I was hoping to play a few more games with them.”
Jonesboro was 4-2 when the season was halted, with two of those victories against Searcy and the others against Brookland and Hamburg.
“We were staying in shape,” Cook said. “We didn’t want to miss a beat. But it’s just one of those things. We didn’t get to go back.”
Vargas scored four goals in Jonesboro’s 7-0 victory over Brookland on March 5. He had a goal in matches against Hamburg on March 6 and Searcy on March 10.
His hot start to the 2020 season came despite tearing both hamstrings while running in Mexico in December when he was visiting family for Christmas.
Despite his injury, Vargas was on his way to enjoying another solid season with the Hurricane even though he wasn’t 100%.
“It was different at first,” Vargas said. “I was nervous at the beginning of the season. But I was able to pick it up.”
Cook said that Vargas has been a great player for the Jonesboro program since he was a freshman in 2018.
“It’s been outstanding,” Cook said. “As a freshman, he was the top player with Joe Pacheco [the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s All-Arkansas Preps boys soccer player of the year in 2017]. But he’s a talent that is unseen here in my time at Jonesboro High School.
“He can play anywhere.” Vargas shined in his first season in 2018, scoring 25 goals along with 23 assists as Jonesboro went 25-2 and reached the Class 6A state semifinals, losing to Russellville.
Vargas had 19 goals and 19 assists last season as a sophomore. He had five multiple-goal games, including scoring three against Paragould in a 9-0 victory. But Jonesboro, which finished 17-4-2, lost to Benton in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.
With his junior season cut short, Vargas wasn’t able to show his skills off to college coaches. Cook lamented that fact when thinking about the sudden end to Jonesboro’s season.
“This year was going to be the year,” Cook said. “But we weren’t able to get film. We hope that in his senior year, he won’t be too far behind.”
Vargas said he’s looking forward to redemption in his senior year.
“I don’t want to take this for granted,” Vargas said. “I want to play my hardest. My goal is to win state. We’ve got a good group of players coming back.”
For the 2021 season, Vargas returns along with six other starters. Cook believes Jonesboro can go deep in Class 5A next season.
“We’ve got a great young group,” Cook said. “Our team should be good.”
Cook has always had the message of telling his team to play like it’s the last game they’ll ever play. Of course, the Hurricane players didn’t expect their March 12 match against Valley View to be their last of the season. But Cook’s message rang true, in an unfortunate and expected way.
“We hope they’re resilient,” Cook said. “We want them to build each other up.”