Visiting team has a 3-0 league record while SBHS is 1-1
If tonight’s football game at San Benito High between the Palma
Chieftains and the Haybalers were an NFL contest it would probably
have a 14-point spread in favor of the visitors.
After all Palma is 5-1 overall and has a perfect 3-0 in league
play while the Balers have struggled this season
– posting a 2-4 record overall and a 1-1 mark in the Tri County
Athletic League.
Visiting team has a 3-0 league record while SBHS is 1-1
If tonight’s football game at San Benito High between the Palma Chieftains and the Haybalers were an NFL contest it would probably have a 14-point spread in favor of the visitors.
After all Palma is 5-1 overall and has a perfect 3-0 in league play while the Balers have struggled this season – posting a 2-4 record overall and a 1-1 mark in the Tri County Athletic League.
Palma is also coming off a 49-7 win over Alisal, and the team’s defense has given up just 13 points in league play this year.
In contrast, the Balers suffered a disappointing 24-7 loss last week to the Vikings of North Salinas High School and have struggled all season to put points on the board.
“I’ve thought a lot about this game, but not like other years,” said San Benito High coach Chris Cameron. “Normally, this game can determine the league title. I just want to see us go out there and play better. We’ve worked very hard this year but we keep making the same mistakes over and over.”
Cameron’s biggest concerns heading into tonight’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Andy Hardin Field are his team’s substandard play on special teams that has led to a number of touchdowns by the opposition as well as his team’s struggles to score offensively.
“We’ve probably given up more touchdowns on special team this year than a number of other seasons combined,” he said. “Offensively, we’ve been shutout twice – against North Salinas and Bellarmine, and in other games we’ve scored only one touchdown. We’re not putting a lot of points on the board so it comes down to a number of execution issues.”
Despite being heavy favorites this is one game Chieftain’s Head Coach Jeff Carnazzo never overlooks.
“It’s always one of those games that we circle on our schedule,” said Carnazzo, whose team played Concord’s De La Salle, the 19th ranked team in the nation early this season. “Throw the records out for this one. They are well coached. They got a good defense. I’ve seen them on film. They’ve been right there in the majority of their games they’ve just had a lot of bad luck.”
The Chieftains have had some trying times this year as well. Three weeks ago, they lost starting senior Conner Farotte – one of the top ranked quarterbacks in the Central Coast Section – after he suffered a life-threatening concussion that left him unconscious for 12 hours and in the ICU unit in Salinas for two days.
In his place the Chieftains have plugged in backup quarterback David Fales, who has responded to the challenge by throwing for nearly 300 yards and three touchdown passes.
The Chieftains will look to halfback Nate Ramirez and fullback Chad Davis to ignite their ground game. So far this season Ramirez has scored eight touchdowns and rushed for nearly 400 years. Davis, an All-League linebacker who plays on both sides of the ball, has racked up 251 rushing yards this season and scored a pair of touchdowns.
The Balers will rely heavily on the strong defense play of linemen Kevin Burley and Sam Doty to key in on the Chieftain ground game and shutdown their high-profile backs.
“Defensively, they play really well,” said Carnazzo. “The strength of their team is defense. They have struggled but there have been times when they came in struggling and beat us – and it sparked their playoff run. They are much better than their record.”
Offensively, the Balers will look to use the strong running skills of Abel Jaquez, Nick Acosta and Mitchell Cook to keep the chains moving while mixing things up periodically with quarterback Trevor Fabing, who will look to connect with the team’s top receivers Evan McFadden, David Dela Cruz and tight end Miles Sanchez.
“We’re going to have to gear up and get ready for a physical game tonight,” Carnazzo said.
Despite having a good defense and a solid running game, Cameron knows that his team will need to play its best, mistake-free football to come away with a win tonight.
“Their front seven is strong. They have the two best inside linebackers that I’ve seen – probably the best in the section. And their D lineman are very good,” he said.
