An up-and-down season for Hollister football closed on a promising note. After a one-year playoff absence, the Balers returned to the post-season. And they showed well.
In a 5-7 campaign, the Balers started strong and racked up some big wins, hit a mid-season slump amid extensive injuries and then finished strongly. In a Central Coast Section Division III playoff opener on Nov. 15, the Balers defeated Capuchino of the Peninsula Athletic League 44-40.
In the CCS semifinals, Hollister battled unbeaten Carmel in a rainstorm at Monterey Peninsula College. Hollister led 21-14 at halftime and extended the Padres deep into the game before falling 40-21.
The Balers’ performance shined in perspective, as Carmel drilled Aptos 62-35 in the title game and beat Acalanes for the NorCal 5-AA title and moved into a CIF State championship game on Dec. 13. Given that Carmel, now 14-0, led San Mateo 42-13 at halftime of their playoff opener, it can be concluded that Hollister was Carmel’s toughest CCS playoff foe.
Highlights of the regular season included an amazing comeback for a 27-21 win at Branham, routs of Oak Grove by 35-0 and Alisal by 27-7 and a 35-14 win over Aptos.
The season opener at Branham provided one of the more remarkable rallies of all time. In the second quarter, the Bruins led 21-0 and were driving for another score. A backward pass went awry and Baler linebacker Toure Ajamo Jr. covered the loose ball. And everything changed.
After being outyarded 195 to 14 and in that three-touchdown deficit, Hollister totally turned the tables.
Over the next quarter and a half, the Balers gained 292 yards and scored 16 points while holding Branham to five yards and no points.
In the fourth quarter, Hollister added a field goal and a touchdown for a 27-21 lead. Branham charged down the field for a potential winning score in the final minute but the Hollister defense forced a fumble and Baler Westin Aviles pounced on the ball to seal the win.
“I was running up to the quarterback,” Aviles said. “He tried to keep it but they dropped it and I dove onto it. I made sure I had it and we celebrated. It means a lot to come back and win.”
Savion Loza played a huge role in the comeback, scoring on 35-yard and 45-yard passes from Daniel Martinez.
“Loza is a special player,” coach Bryan Smith said. “He is explosive and has great footwork and agility and stamina. And Christian Lujano on the defensive line and Carmelo Arias at linebacker were great.”
The Balers utilized two quarterbacks most all season, the senior Martinez and junior Cruz Raquet. Against Oak Grove, Raquet scored on runs of 55 and 56 yards, Stephen Seymour hit paydirt on a 36-yard jaunt, Andre Montes scored from 15 and the defense picked off two interceptions, with the special teams’ punt defense collecting a safety.
Other highlights of the year included another long Raquet scoring run, from 43 yards, against Wilcox. Against Monterey, Ajamu scored on a pick-six in the Monterey game and Seymour ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
On a foggy night at Rabobank Stadium against Palma, Martinez and Cruz both threw touchdown passes.
The Aptos game featured rock star play from Loza and Martinez, among others. Loza had two red zone interceptions—the first of which he returned 100 yards for a touchdown.
Martinez scored from 8 yards on a run and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Mendoza. Salvatore Tripp Felice scored when the Balers blocked a Mariners punt and he covered the ball in the end zone.
“All three sides of the ball played well,” Martinez said. “We ran a lot to open up the pass. I’m proud of our offensive line. They played great.”
Regular season play in the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division will always be fierce and that toughened the Balers. Soquel and Palma were both defending state champs, and Soquel and Salinas both reached the top eight in CCS, the Open Division/Division 1 playoffs. Palma Aptos reached section finals and Monterey competed in a semifinal.
For the season, Seymour led the HHS rushing attack with 109 carries for 607 yards and seven touchdowns. Myles Statua packed the pigskin 49 times for 221 yards and three scores. Raquet contributed 183 yards and five touchdowns on 28 carries. Nathan Alves produced 118 yards on 19 carries and Matthew Stoner added 17 rushes for 116 yards and one score.
Raquet completed 40-of-77 passes for 528 yards and four touchdowns. Martinez threw 34-for-62 for 500 yards and five touchdowns.
Loza caught 24 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Anthony Bolin produced several big plays, accumulating 163 yards on just seven catches for a yards-per-catch average of 20 yards. Mohammad Farhat caught 14 passes for 124 yards. Bolin, Farhat, Michael Lopez Jr. and Mendoza each grabbed a touchdown pass.
The defense sparkled, especially against Oak Gove, Alisal and Aptos. Arias and Aviles led the unit with 95 tackles. Felice shined with 91 tackles, Ajamu Jr. added 84 and Cayden Garibaldi had 78. Loza was a big force in the secondary with four interceptions. Arias, Aviles, Felice and Ajamu Jr. all finished in the top nine of league tackle stats.
Second-team All-League honors went to Aviles on the defensive line and a trio of linebackers in Arias, Ajamu Jr. and Felice. Honorable Mention plaudits went to Loza and defensive lineman Thomas Hawkins.
In the home playoff game against Capuchino, the ground game was rolling. Statua ran for 68 yards and three touchdowns, including a crucial 10-yard scoring run with 1:58 to play. Seymour ran for 74 yards and one touchdown.R
Raquet threw for 113 yards and two touchdowns, with a big score on a 25-yard play to Farhat. The defense yielded points but also contributed key turnovers, including an interception by Loza and a fumble recovery by Felice. Again, the victory required all three units, as the special teams crew blocked an extra point and foiled two two-point conversions.
The playoff performance produced a positive end to the season, especially for the seniors. Excitement for the future comes from the return of stars such as Raquet, a junior, and Seymore, a hard-running sophomore.
Also, both Hollister Youth Football teams, feeders to the high school program, won league titles. The PeeWees (ages 9-12) and Midgets (ages 12-14) won their respective conferences with 10-0 records and the older group won the MBYFL Super Bowl.
