Following 34-13 defeat to Oak Grove, Balers continue tough
schedule at home against Wilcox
Losing to Oak Grove last Friday may just be a good thing for the
San Benito Haybalers, although any positives to come out of a 34-13
defeat won’t be truly seen until the end of the season.
Unlike the Week 0 matchup against Andrew Hill, in which the
Balers controlled a 34-0 lead at halftime en route to a 55-0
victory, last week’s loss to Oak Grove exposed many chinks in San
Benito’s armor.
Following 34-13 defeat to Oak Grove, Balers continue tough schedule at home against Wilcox
Losing to Oak Grove last Friday may just be a good thing for the San Benito Haybalers, although any positives to come out of a 34-13 defeat won’t be truly seen until the end of the season.
Unlike the Week 0 matchup against Andrew Hill, in which the Balers controlled a 34-0 lead at halftime en route to a 55-0 victory, last week’s loss to Oak Grove exposed many chinks in San Benito’s armor.
“It was a nice eye-opener,” head coach Chris Cameron said of the loss. “We did a lot of things poorly and they played real well.
“It exposed a lot of weaknesses for us that I know didn’t come out in that first game, and we’re working on fixing those.”
More specifically, Cameron feels the team’s tackling needs to improve, as well as its pursuit angles and perimeter force on the defensive side of the football. Oak Grove, aided by its sizable offensive line, speedy running backs and ability to get to the outside, ran for 277 yards on 39 carries last week, or more than seven yards a carry.
The Eagles also scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions of the game, and converted on five of seven third-down situations.
On the offensive side, Cameron added, a better knowledge of assignments, including motions and knowing who to block, all need to improve as the season progresses.
Consistency appeared to be a bit of a problem as well. The Balers had just one three-and-out and managed to rack up 271 yards of total offense — 51 yards more than their game against Hill — but didn’t find the end zone until 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
“There’s quite a bit,” the head coach said, “stuff you didn’t see in the first game because we didn’t have any of those problems in the first game.
“It’s not gonna be perfect (come Friday), but you can make some strides and start to turn a corner and those are the things that you have to be conscious of as the season goes along.”
In the short term, last Friday’s loss should at least provide a greater sense of urgency for the Balers, who, after two weeks of playing on the road in San Jose, will enjoy their home opener Friday against an undefeated Wilcox team.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
The Chargers (2-0) enter fresh off a pair of victories — a 34-20 win at Menlo-Atherton on Sept. 4 and a 27-14 victory against Terra Nova last week. For what it’s worth, though, Menlo-Atherton and Terra Nova have a combined 0-4 record this season, and have been outscored by a 65-138 margin.
In other words, neither of Wilcox’s opponents have been Oak Grove.
“But they’re big up front,” Cameron said of the Chargers. “They’re always a tough, physical football team, and the game is usually decided in the fourth quarter.”
San Benito and Wilcox have met up at least once each season for the last 11 years, Cameron said, and the team’s reputation as a run-first football power often precedes it. For the last two years against San Benito, at least, the Chargers have run the ball 67 percent of the time.
They even favored the run for 70 percent of their plays during last season’s convincing 31-7 victory by the Balers in Santa Clara.
“They’ll open their sets up, but they want to pound the football,” Cameron said of Wilcox, which has a strong play-action attack based on its run-conscious approach. “We need a lot of the things that we didn’t have last week, like a good perimeter force.”
Or, in other words, properly defending outside runs. Like San Benito, the Chargers’ offense is option-oriented and is always looking to get around the corner and toward the sidelines — something Oak Grove did all too easily with frequent sweep formations.
Senior running back Michael Roman will be Wilcox’s go-to option. As a junior last season, Roman compiled 25 yards on just two attempts against San Benito, while this year he ran for 185 yards on 26 carries against Menlo-Atherton, according to MaxPreps.
“He’s a good back,” said Cameron, who noted Wilcox’s other running options, which include Jordan Gibson, Kris Dipko and quarterback Nick Morehead.
“They all hit the hole hard and get to the line of scrimmage really fast,” the head coach added.
As for San Benito’s offense, the team will be without tight end Jake Hunter, who suffered a broken leg during last week’s game against Oak Grove. The senior receiver, who missed several games last year with a high-ankle injury, is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
