I was flashing back a year, two or three. Hollister High was in
a textbook drive in its second possession of the night against
Palma Friday at the Salinas Sports Complex.
I was flashing back a year, two or three. Hollister High was in a textbook drive in its second possession of the night against Palma Friday at the Salinas Sports Complex.
From the sideline, I could see the Balers’ offensive line get off the ball like it hadn’t all season. The Baler backs hit the hole like they hadn’t before all year – fearless. Quarterback Lee Osborne broke the option around right end for 35 yards. Rarely-used Tommy Martinez, he of slight build, powered his way for a 10-yard gain like he was a 235-pound fullback. There went halfback Armando Larez with a magical 14-yard gain, eluding tacklers twice on spins. There was Larez keeping his balance around left end for nine more yards. Osborne completed the 10-play drive on a two-yard keeper, reminiscent of what his predecessor’s predecessor, Nick Buzzetta, did for three years as the Balers worked their way to three consecutive section title games.
Where had this been the whole year? It was a welcome sight, but the season is gone now. The Balers went down to their last game of the season with a glimmer of hope. Beat Palma for the fourth year in a row and maybe, maybe a ninth straight playoff appearance.
It didn’t happen: 41-20 Palma. Offensively, it was the Balers’ best game of the season, not necessarily statistic-wise. To gain more than 300 yards rushing against Palma is always an achievement. Defensively, I really didn’t think it was that bad. The Chieftains simply executed the blocks they had to and their backs knifed through the holes with breakaway speed. The big plays the Balers had stopped the three years previous, they couldn’t shut down at the line of scrimmage on this night.
Considering the competition, I’d go as far to say that this was the best all-around game the Balers played all year.
The question looms: Will the Balers be back in playoff form in ’03? The key will be in the offensive line. Players like Cameron Murray, who has the frame to be a complete house at tackle, will be back for his senior season. Center Nick Kostielney, who’ll be a junior next year, seems poised to take Clay Peer’s spot. Peer was a two-year starter. Junior guards Ty Doty and Jonathan Lopez gained invaluable experience this year. Lopez sprung Martinez on a touchdown run Friday. Phil Leonard returns for his third year at starting tackle.
These big hogs need to take advantage of Cameron’s weight training regimine. Eighty per cent of the team’s success will ride on them. Why? Because the Balers run the wing-T, which is a running offense. And with Palma returning nearly all of its stars on offense, the Balers offensive line will be pivotal in keeping the ball out of the Chieftains hands.
The starting Baler backfield will have to be replaced except for wingback Nick Bailey, who took Osborne’s place when Osborne replaced the injured Gordon Ross. Fullback Chris Brigantino, who started the last two games as a sophomore, will be expected to carry the ball up to 20 times a game next year. Brigantino has the potential to be a force, but he has to put in the practice time. Junior varsity running back Gabe Gaitan, who showed some good swivel hips in breaking some runs, should have a shot to start next fall. Several freshmen played JV for the Balers this year and will probably be integral parts of next year’s team. That includes quarterback Karson Klauer, who will get first crack at the varsity helm as a sophomore.
Hello offensive line.
This was a season of ifs and buts, breaks and injuries and even the dreaded off-field problems. Trenton Young would have helped immensely in the mud game with Salinas and perhaps even in the loss to the Chieftains, but probably wouldn’t have been the difference between winning or losing.
And Palma’s Luke Lippincott, who helped wreck the Balers on both sides of the ball Friday, including three TD runs, would have looked good in a Hollister uniform. Lippincott was raised in Hollister and played youth baseball here, among other things.
“I went to grammar school with him,” said Osborne.
Young and Lippincott in the same backfield makes one wonder.
The Balers’ final record was 4-5-1.
Let’s review. They should have beaten Alvarez, having rallied to tie the game at 14-14, then failing to do anything with a first down at the Eagles’ 35 and five minutes left. They could have won the North Salinas game, rallying to trail 25-22 and, again, failing to move the ball on two different occasions where a TD could take the lead. Seaside physically pushed around the Balers in a 21-3 win, though Baler players feel that they should have won that game. I didn’t see it that way.
Two of those teams, Seaside and Alvarez, are in the Central Coast Section playoffs. The Eagles are the sixth seed in Division II, while the Spartans are sixth in Division III.
The three remaining Baler losses – to Valley Christian, Salinas and Palma – were to better teams. And not just any teams. In order, those are the top three seeds in Division I of CCS. The pairings were determined on Sunday.
Five of the Balers ’02 opponents are in the CCS tournament. Another, North Salinas, just missed out and was probably a CCS-caliber team. That’s one rough schedule the Balers had and they weren’t that far away from the CCS playoffs. The schedule is expected to be much of the same next year. Though Salinas will lose a ton of quality seniors this year, Valley Christian, which will play in Hollister next season, has most of its skill people coming back. So does Palma.
Which brings us to the wing-T offense. (Just in case you started to drift).
I know two things about the wing-T, which the Balers, under head coach Chris Cameron and offensive coordinator Rick Dukes, run.
1.) It’s a great offense when one is ahead.
2.) It’s a bad offense when one is behind.
In last Monday’s Salinas-Baler gamer, I reported that Hollister didn’t throw the ball its first four plays of the fourth quarter, even though it had the wind and trailed 17-0. After observing a couple of one-yard and negative-two-yard punts into the wind, I deduced that the wind might be a major factor in the game.
I hesitated in including that in the story. Who am I to question these two coaches, who have studied the ins and outs, the X’s and O’s of the wing-T? However, I felt that if the roles had been reversed, if the run-happy Cowboys were down 17 points and did the same thing the Balers did, not throw with the wind at their backs, I would have reported that. If the Balers had marched down for a score at the start of the fourth period with every play via the ground, I would have reported that, too. I would have been remiss as a journalist not to report the situation, which had every thing to do with Mother Nature and philosophy.
That said, I was remiss in omitting an important quote from Osborne. He told me that the “ball was cached and it was hard to grip.” Upon reflection, I believe that was the main reason the Balers didn’t try to pass. Obviously, Osborne told Dukes he couldn’t grip the ball, so Dukes decided to not to bother. And throw (no pun intended) in the fact that the Cowboys’ secondary is the best in the CCS, Dukes figured it wasn’t worth it the hassle. Why make a bad situation worse?
I admit, I’ve questioned a play call or two from Dukes in each of the past four seasons. But, that’s because I don’t know truly know the wing-T, nor do I know the Balers’ personnel like Dukes does. Nor does the fan sitting up in the stands.
The muddy mess two Fridays ago at Andy Hardin eliminated gadget plays from Dukes’ bag of tricks. On a dry field vs. the Cowboys, Dukes would have had to have had his bag of tricks at the ready. Down 27-7 to Palma early in the third quarter, the Balers tried a double-reverse pass. Even though it was intercepted, it was still a great call. The Baler receiver needed to come to the ball more and try to, at least, knock it down, if not catch it.
Sure, I would have liked to have seen more out of Dukes as far as trickery this season. Especially early when the game is in the balance. Penn State’s Joe Paterno said you have to run your trick play before the other guy runs his.
The Balers may still be rebuilding next season. How they fare will depend on the caliber of the opposition. I’m sure Cameron anticipates another rugged schedule of teams that have more speed than the Balers, as well as, more man power.
The Baler players need to gear up now. Get their grades in order. Pound the iron. They won’t be afforded any injuries next season, nor problems of any kind, on or off the field.
They have to give themselves the best chance to succeed. That’s the only way they’ll be back.
