The players weren’t happy. Not even after a convincing 45-30 home win over Wilcox Friday night. Such is the lofty standard of the San Benito High football team this year, when a postgame atmosphere that normally would be festive resembled more of a funeral.
“Talking to these guys it looks like they lost the game,” Haybalers coach Bryan Smith said. “But absolutely, they’ve set a high standard, and that’s a good thing.”
San Benito improved to a perfect 4-0 in advance of its Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division opener against Alvarez. But afterward the mood took on a somber tone as a result of Wilcox rallying from a 31-0 halftime deficit to make things somewhat interesting late in the contest.
The bottom line is this: When the San Benito starters were out on the field, they dominated their Wilcox counterparts. When the second-stringers came in, the Chargers were able to mount some serious offense.
“The momentum shifted when we got our 2s in (late in the third quarter),” Smith said. “Things started occurring defensively when we lost our assignments. The 2s don’t get in as many reps in practice throughout the week … It’s a great sign we need to get our backups that much better.”
Here’s the reality: the Balers are off to their best start in several years, anchored by a tough and rugged offensive and defensive line. The offensive line, led by Evan Weatherly and Danny Pasillas, paved the way for another huge game from Hunter Nye, who had 182 yards and a career-tying best four touchdowns on 22 carries.
Nye ran with his usual ferocity, breaking tackles and making some strong runs up the gut and off the edge. Hunter Raquet was 7 of 11 for 105 yards, and the defense was stingy yet again, limiting Wilcox to just 47 yards of total offense in the first half. Linebacker Eric Fernandez recovered a fumble and made a touchdown-saving tackle on punt coverage late in the first quarter.
It was a tremendous effort, and helped pave the way for a dominant first half from the Balers, who received a 38-yard field goal from Nik Hernandez as time expired in the second quarter to make it 31-0. San Benito gouged the Chargers for a number of big running plays, including TD runs of 52 and 16 yards from Nye and a 44-yard TD run from Eddie Moran, a play that got Smith so excited he started sprinting down the sideline.
Even though Wilcox probably isn’t as formidable as it was a year ago, it still had plenty of size on the lines and talent at the skill positions. However, the Chargers lacked discipline, committing four turnovers that led to 14 San Benito points. Last season, Wilcox handled the Balers easily, 34-14.
This time, the Balers were ready.
“They really took it to us last year,” Smith said. “So we focused a lot on assignment football.”
San Benito was ready for Wilcox’s offense, which features a dive back, the quarterback and the pitch back. As a result, the Balers finished undefeated in non-league play for the first time since the 2009 season.
