MOUNT VERNON — René Caro plays center midfielder for the Mount Vernon boys’ soccer team, a position he likens to a car’s motor.

If that’s the case, this year Caro helped supercharge the Bulldogs.

Caro scored 12 goals, dished out nine assists and helped the Bulldog offense become one of the most feared attacks in the Northwest Conference. Mount Vernon won the conference championship and made it to the first round of the Class 3A state tournament.

For that effort, Caro has been named the Skagit Valley Herald Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year.

While Caro wasn’t the Bulldogs’ leader in goals or assists, coach Tony Dabbs said his contributions were vital.

“He can be the guy that steps up with the pass. He can finish if he’s asked to,” Dabbs said. “One of my idols was Magic Johnson, and I him saying that he don’t care about numbers, he cared about making teammates better. That works for René.”

While Caro was a captain for the varsity this year, his success may have been rooted in a stint in junior varsity last year. He didn’t make the varsity team after trying out, but used his time with the junior varsity to hone his skills, both in a technical sense and as a leader.

“It helped me get used to the position of having people count on you,” said Caro, who did get promoted to varsity late last season. “It was a good start for me. I saw every day as a challenge and opportunity to get better.”

The work paid off. Caro went from being captain on the junior varsity to being the varsity captain in this, his junior season.

“To from junior varsity to team captain is a huge step,” Dabbs said.

Dabbs said he saw evidence of that leadership early, when the Bulldogs needed to fill the stopper role and Caro volunteered to step in.

“That’s a pretty selfless act,” Dabbs said.

Caro filled the role ably for the two games of the season, and the Bulldogs held their opponents to one goal per game. But the Bulldogs’ offense wasn’t revving like it was expected to, so Caro was moved to his more familiar spot in the midfield.

“That’s my natural position. I’m comfortable with the ball at my feet,” Caro said.

While the Bulldogs lost some talented seniors to graduation, they are expected to bring back much of their squad for next year. Caro will likely be a big part of it.

“I don’t know if anybody felt a loss like Rene did. I saw it in his face and the way he carried himself in practice the next day,” Dabbs said. “He wants good things for himself and for his team.”

• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at .