It may not have been the prettiest of victories, but after the
way the Haybalers openend up the season they will take it.
It may not have been the prettiest of victories, but after the way the Haybalers openend up the season they will take it.
San Benito (1-1) defeated San Lorenzo Valley 13-7 on Friday despite being without coach Chris Cameron, who was with his son having surgery.
San Benito’s defense, which was envigerated by the return of Anthony Vasquez and Vinny Sardam, consistanty held San Lorenzo off the board especially when it counted.
With 2:53 left in the game, SLV looked like it would score. The Cougars got down to about the Baler 30-yard line. But on a fourth-and-one, the Cougars tried a reverse that didn’t quite go as planned.
Quick tackle Kevin Jones, who had already combined with Jeff Hawks and Colin Parker for sacks, picked it up and pressured the quarterback. Mark Sullivan broke up the pass, and the Balers were able to run out the clock.
“Hopefully this can pave the way for the rest of the season,” Jones said.
The San Benito kicking game started to show signs of last year’s futility. The Balers missed a pair of field goals in the game.
After San Benito scored its second touchdown with 5:16 left in the third period, the two-point conversion failed. Although it didn’t have an impact on the game, it could have been costly.
San Lorenzo wasn’t able to get anything going on the next drive after recovering a couple of their fumbles.
San Benito had several chances to score and could have easily won by a lot more. On the first drive of the game after the Cougars defered, Chuck Thompson gave the Balers good position, running the ball out to their 39-yard line.
But the drive stalled on the 12-yard line. Karson Klauer connected with Gabe Gaitan, but it was not enough to convert on fourth-and-long.
Klauer had what would have been an eight-yard run to the the eight-yard line called back because of holding. It would have given the Balers a first down.
And then again in the the third quarter, San Benito had a good chance to score. Gabe Gaitan beet his defender and dove inside the pilon, but again holding was called and the run was negated. The Balers missed the following field goal.
But all in all, it was a good way to bounce back against a promising team. Although SLV was returning just three starters, the Cougars are a crafty team capable of quickly erasing momentum like they did on their one-play reverse touchdown.
“We felt like we were well prepared,” said Baler senior Jon Araiza. “We knew the trick play was coming.”
Drive of the game
San Benito got on the board with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
Kevin Jones recovered a fumble at the Cougar 39-yard line.
Karson Klauer completed a pass to Alex Gonzalez for eight yards.
Gabe Gaitan had a one-yard run.
Klauer converted the first down with a five-yard run.
Charles Thompson ran seven yards.
Tim Lango ran one yard.
Klauer, with a fake handoff and run to his left, scored the touchdown from 17 yards out.
Hit of the game
Jeff Weltz leveled Matt Kiel on a punt return with 1:54 left before halftime. Kiel broke a couple tackles but couldn’t break that one and was dropped deep in Cougar territory.
San Benito Player of the game
Kevin Jones
San Benito High senior defensive tackle
Kevin Jones combined for a pair of sacks. He was able to get pressure on the quarterback on the final SLV drive to prevent a fourth-and-one completion.
