Much was made of San Benito’s final, game-clinching drive on
Friday night that preserved a 29-15 victory over the North Salinas
Vikings, and for good reason.
HOLLISTER
Much was made of San Benito’s final, game-clinching drive on Friday night that preserved a 29-15 victory over the North Salinas Vikings, and for good reason.
After Jordan Ashford’s 64-yard kickoff return pushed the Balers out to a comfortable 22-6 lead with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter, the Vikings bit back to the tune of nine straight points, and trailed San Benito 22-15 with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter.
A single extensive drive by the offense would all but seal the Balers a victory; a touchdown would be even better.
But consider San Benito’s first four offensive series’ to begin the second half: three-and-out, turnover, three-and-out, three-and-out.
An extensive, clock-eating drive seemed almost impossible late in the game, what with the way the two teams had been playing up until that point.
But despite a first-and-30 at its own 30 — quarterback Trevor Fabing hooked with tight end Jake Hunter on a key 20-yard pass to erase much of that yardage — San Benito marched 62 yards on 15 plays, and ate up six minutes and 31 seconds off the clock.
Nick Acosta provided the dagger — a 2-yard rushing touchdown off the right tackle — and the Balers improved to 7-0 overall.
But let’s not forget what happened in the first half, which saw North Salinas dominate in certain statistical categories — the scoreboard not being one of them.
The Vikings, who opened the game with a 17-play drive, had 44 offensive plays in the first half alone, 72 in the game.
The Balers, on the other hand, had 25 in the first half and 58 for the entire game, which is pretty average.
Furthermore, North Salinas controlled the ball for 15 minutes and five seconds in the first half, compared to San Benito’s 8:55 in the time of possession department.
Those two statistics would perhaps suggest a Viking blowout at halftime, or at the very least, points scored by the Vikings at halftime.
And yet, the Balers led 14-0 at the break.
The reason? Well, there were an obscene amount of penalties committed by both teams. San Benito’s offense, for instance, struggled in the second half because it had a tendency to get called for something on first down.
But on North Salinas’ epic opening drive, the Vikings sat with a first-and-10 at the Baler 20, and were called for a crucial personal foul.
The 15-yard penalty pushed North High back to the 35 and out of field-goal range. It later punted on fourth-and-22 at the San Benito 33.
San Benito head coach Chris Cameron said afterward the Balers defense was becoming acclimated with North High’s overall speed on the opening drive, making the personal foul penalty a bit of a gift.
But once the defense was accustomed to the Vikings’ speed — running backs Michael Benabides and Marquis Brooks were rather impressive Friday night — San Benito held North High in check during the first two quarters; two quarters when the Vikings never seemed to leave the field.
North High was held to just 103 total yards on those 44 offensive plays in the first half, while the Balers took advantage of their measly 25 plays of offense with a pair of touchdowns.
The final offensive drive was great, but San Benito’s all-around effort in the first half may have been the difference.
