Sometimes the scoreboard can lie.
That’s basically the message San Benito High football coach Chris Cameron gave to his players after a 41-0 win over visiting Silver Creek on Friday in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff quarterfinal.
Sure, the No. 3 seed Haybalers (7-4), who advance to a semifinal showdown at No. 2 Alvarez (8-3) next week, won handily in the category that matters most—the points column. However, had the Balers been playing a tougher opponent, the outcome wouldn’t have been nearly as one-sided.
Simply put, No. 6 Silver Creek literally gift-wrapped the Balers’ first two touchdowns, and it committed six turnovers that led to 21 San Benito points.
“We’ll take it,” Balers linebacker Tyler Biersdorff said. “There have been some games this year where we’ve given away points, and it’s not a good feeling. So we’ll move on but realize we still have to cut down on our mental mistakes.”
Biersdorff set the tone on the game’s second series, when he went straight up the middle unblocked and stuffed a Silver Creek punt, and teammate Austin Cascio picked it up in the end zone to give San Benito a quick 7-0 lead.
On the Raiders’ next possession, Balers linebacker Bryan Noble picked up a botched Silver Creek lateral at the 15-yard line before coasting to the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 8 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
Things just got worse for the Raiders, as Andrew Sotelo made a nice interception that resulted in Silver Creek’s third turnover in as many possessions. On the Raiders’ next series, they—you guessed it—turned it over again, as Eli Sernas came on a blitz and drilled quarterback Tony Solis, causing a fumble that Biersdorff recovered at the Silver Creek 27.
Seven plays later, Balers quarterback R.J. Clark produced the highlight-reel play of the night, as he somehow contorted his body to escape the grasp of a Silver Creek lineman before taking off down the left sideline for a 17-yard TD to make it 21-0 with 6:53 left until halftime.
Despite totaling a season-low 43 yards of offense in the first half, San Benito went into halftime with a commanding three-touchdown lead. The second half was more of the same, as San Benito’s Ezzie Lovato scored on TD runs of 13 and 1 yards, and Marcus Guevara capped the scoring with a 2-yard TD run with 1:06 to play.
San Benito finished with just 214 yards of total offense, but on this night, it didn’t need to be stellar offensively. That’s because the defense stood tall, limiting the Raiders to just 176 yards, including a paltry 76 yards in the second half.
“Coach (Tod) Thatcher (the defensive coordinator) really prepared us and got us ready,” Biersdorff said. “It feels good to shut down an offense that we had practiced all week for.”
Now it’s on to Alvarez and a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which San Benito won handily, 37-7. However, the Eagles exacted some payback on Oct. 17, as quarterback Edric Gamble went off for 223 rushing yards in a 34-27 overtime victory.
“The first thing we need to do is contain (Gamble),” Biersdorff said. “He’s dangerous in the open field, and we’ll have to improve our 1-on-1 tackling while having everyone rally to the ball when he’s got it.”
San Benito seems to rise to the occasion when it matters most, and there’s no doubt it is salivating at the prospect of ending the Eagles’ season for the second consecutive year.
“We’ll come in hungry of course, but even more so because that loss hurt a lot,” Biersdorff said. “We thought we were going to go out there and win, and they shoved it down our throats. Hopefully we can do the same thing to them.”
A 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior, Biersdorff grew up playing football in the Hollister Vikings Pop Warner program. He plays a vital role for the San Benito defense, relaying the defensive play calls from Thatcher to his teammates.
“I love giving all the calls and being in the middle of everything,” Biersdorff said. “As a linebacker, you definitely need a physicality and toughness and nose for the ball.”
Biersdorff is a huge fan of former Oklahoma All-America linebacker Brian Bosworth, who went on to play for three years in the NFL. Biersdorff wasn’t even born when Bosworth was the talk of the nation, but his father, Blair, always told him about the player known as “The Boz.”
Biersdorff watched ESPN’s “30 for 30” episode on Bosworth that initially aired last month.
“That’s when I knew he was my favorite player, just by seeing the impact he made,” Biersdorff said. “It was pretty inspiring, and hopefully I can make some plays for this team that will help us win a championship.”
