Alisal, which is 2-1, beat Gilroy last week by a touchdown
It couldn’t have been a more evenly matched game but in the end
it most likely wound up costing San Benito High a league title.
Alisal, which is 2-1, beat Gilroy last week by a touchdown
It couldn’t have been a more evenly matched game but in the end it most likely wound up costing San Benito High a league title.
After suffering a gut-wrenching 28-21 overtime loss to Palma last Friday night at home that knocked them out of first place in the Tri County Athletic League, the San Benito High football team will look to right the ship tonight against the Trojans of Alisal High.
While stopping Alisal this week should be a much easier task than it was trying to shutdown the Chieftains last week, that’s not to say that the visiting Trojans, which ousted Gilroy High last week by a 29-22 margin, won’t give the Balers some difficulty tonight at Andy Hardin Field.
This season, the Mustangs, Balers and Trojans each have identical 2-1 records in the TCAL and are sitting in a three-way tie for second place – a game behind the Chieftains with just three games left in the regular season.
As it stands now, Alisal holds the edge since they beat the Mustangs last week. San Benito doesn’t play at Gilroy High until the regular season finale on Nov. 9, which should make for some interesting playoff seeding ramifications in this year’s Prune Bowl.
In tonight’s showdown look for the Trojans to come at the Balers with a balanced offensive attack that has proven enough fire power to put up more than 50 points this year in two different contests.
When the strong Baler defense has the Trojans in passing situations look for quarterback Andrew Suarez-Lopez to try and hook up with his favorite receivers Sammy Muniz and David Alejo.
This year the two players lead the Trojans with nearly 200 yards receiving a piece and a pair of touchdowns. In all this season five different Alisal players have hauled in touchdown catches, which shows the Trojans ability to spread the ball around.
If the effective Baler defense is able to contain the two prime receivers look to Suarez-Lopez to hit Jason Taylor and Rene Rubalcaba with quick outlet and screen passes.
This year the two running backs have both been effective on the ground. Taylor has nearly 650 yards rushing this season and has made nine trips to the end zone – seven on the ground and two via the air.
Rubalcaba’s numbers aren’t as impressive as Taylor’s but he’s proven to be extremely effective in short yardage situations. This season he has five rushing touchdowns and has caught a touchdown toss as well. On the ground he has 204 yards on 46 carries.
When the Trojans are on defense Muniz has proven just as effective at shoring up the Alisal secondary. This season the senior cornerback leads his team in interceptions.
Defensive specialists Edgar Lomeli, who leads the Trojans in sacks with 2, Alfonso Valdez and Jorge Mendoza will be looking to stop the Balers running attack and keep pressure on junior quarterback Ronald Fhurong.
In last week’s loss against Palma, Fhurong completed 4-of-8 passes for 86 yards, which included one touchdown toss and a pair of picks.
This week, the Balers are expected to use the passing game sparingly as well as they look to jump start the ground game behind senior Tim Lango, who had 11 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort. So far this season Lango has rushed for more than 600 yards and has made his way into the end zone six times.
When Fhurong, who is equally effective as a runner, does go to the air tonight expect him to look for Carlos Ramos, Dru Blake, Ricky Sanchez and Jordan Klindt.
Last week Klindt has nearly 100 combined rushing and receiving yards to go along with his third-quarter touchdown.
Defensively, the stingy Baler defense is lead by senior linebacker Johnny Sanchez, who leads the team in tackles with 72 and had a whopping 16 in the loss against Palma.
While Sanchez leads the line-backing core, junior Kevin Burley is expected to wreak havoc on the defensive line the same way that the team’s interception leader, Zach Canez, who has five this season, should shore up the Baler secondary.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
