Prune Bowl game Friday in Gilroy
With the Live Oak Acorns in the rearview mirror, the struggling
Gilroy Mustangs on the horizon and its offense finally clicking,
the San Benito Haybalers seem to be on the road to recovery.
Prune Bowl game Friday in Gilroy
With the Live Oak Acorns in the rearview mirror, the struggling Gilroy Mustangs on the horizon and its offense finally clicking, the San Benito Haybalers seem to be on the road to recovery.
In front of a lively Andy Hardin Stadium crowd last week, the Haybalers opened the Tri County Athletic League season with a 28-14 victory over the Acorns, highlighted by running back Trenton Young’s 146 yards.
Tomorrow San Benito travels to Mustangs Stadium to butts heads with Gilroy in the 71st annual Prune Bowl game.
“It’s a big game. They have some pretty good players,” said Haybalers quarterback Lee Osborne, who finished the game with two-of-seven passing for 16 yards. “Lately they have not been doing so good.”
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
The Mustangs are in a downward spiral. They have just won one game since a 27-26 meltdown against the Aragon Dons in the first round of the Central Coast Section playoffs last season.
Things seem to be getting worse for the Mustangs. Leading receiver and best all-around player Isaiah Gonzales quit the team, leading rusher J.L. Mangono was injured and the Salinas Cowboys handed it a 28-0 beat down.
That was just in the last week.
When kickoff comes tomorrow though, the Mustangs look to flip the page on what is turning into a nightmarish season for head coach Darren Yafai.
A few weeks ago the Haybalers, with its sputtering offense and porous defense, would have been the right medicine to cure the ills of the Mustangs. An unfortunate injury to the Haybalers starting quarterback, the emergence of its backup QB and the rebirth of a smash-mouth defense however, has changed the facets of the game.
Instead of the slow-footed Gordon Ross taking snaps, the Mustangs will have to contend with Osborne, a proven runner on the men’s track-and-field team. Osborne has seamlessly made the transition from standout running back to steady signal caller for the Haybalers.
With Osborne’s fleet-feet creating a distraction, Young is given the opportunity to use his strength to bully the confused linebackers for extra yards, another phase of the game the Mustangs have to deal with.
Live Oak could do little to stop the forward momentum of Young. His 34-yard burst through the gut of the Acorns defense accounted for the first Haybalers score of the evening.
On a second-and-eight Young, after gaining two hard-earned yards on the previous play, received the handoff from Osborne and chugged through a gaping hole opened by his offensive line. Once past the linebackers, Young cut a diagonal beeline across the field toward the endzone with the Acorns defensive backs in hot pursuit.
Following the made extra point, the Haybalers struck again on the ensuing kickoff. Acorns return man Mike Wolfe coughed up the ball after being rung up by Jake Buzzetta. Mike Silva caught the ball midair and sprinted to the endzone for another Haybalers’ touchdown.
The extra-point made it 14-0 before the Acorns could catch their breath.
San Benito landed another gut punch to the breathless Acorns early in the second quarter running back Armando Larez reeled off a 32-yard touchdown run.
“We got off to a nice start. We turned it up in the first half but kind of slacked off in the second half,” said Osborne. “We have to work on playing for all four quarters.”
Down by three touchdowns, the Acorns waited too long to put together solid drives. It wasn’t until the Acorns pounced on a fumbled snap by Osborne late in the second quarter that its slumbering offense woke up.
After an incomplete pass by Acorns QB Orin Catrett, Wolfe caught the Haybalers napping for a 69-yard gain. Provided with the perfect blocking scheme, Wolfe danced through a sea of hands and helmets at the line of scrimmage and broke free into the Haybalers’ secondary.
Wolfe juked the safety out of his shoes and chewed up yardage before being dragged down at the San Benito 12-yard line. Running back Daniel Salinas closed the deal with an impressive 12-yard touchdown run.
The Acorns added another score in the third quarter when Salinas abused the Haybalers’ defense for a 60-yard touchdown run. The two big plays were a smear on what was an otherwise stable performance by the San Benito defense.
“We needed them and they pretty much stepped up and played big,” Osborne said in reference to the defense. “They always come to play.”
Catrett was constantly hassled by the Haybalers and completed only 3-of-13 passes for 13 yards and one interception. The loss dropped the Acorns to 0-5-1 overall and 0-1 in league, while the Haybalers improved to 3-2-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Friday the Acorns host the North Salinas Vikings, who put a scare into the Palma Chieftains last week. The Chieftains escaped with a 21-13 win after driving the length of the field following a missed Vikings field goal later in the fourth quarter.
In the Prune Bowl, in order for the Mustangs or the Haybalers to be successful two things must happen. First, the team that establishes a dominant running game early probably wins. In the TCAL, a run-first league, setting the tone is important.
Second, the team that gives up the fewest big plays through the air will also increase its chances of walking away with the Prune Bowl trophy. The Haybalers are susceptible to the long ball. If Mustangs’ quarterback Ben Hemeon can find a way to expose this weakness, it may come away with a victory.
The Mustangs won last year’s match-up in Gilroy 37-21.
