New field. New result. The San Lorenzo Valley Cougars broke out
of a three-game, three-year slump against the San Benito Haybalers
Saturday, kicking their way to a 25-8 triumph in non-league
play.
Felton – New field. New result.
The San Lorenzo Valley Cougars broke out of a three-game, three-year slump against the San Benito Haybalers Saturday, kicking their way to a 25-8 triumph in non-league play.
“We got flat-out outplayed. I mean, that’s the bottom line,” Head Coach Chris Cameron said. “We were lucky they didn’t get up on us in the first half. They had countless opportunities and we held them to three field goals. So we’re lucky in that aspect.”
The ‘Balers have held SLV in check in years past, winning 30-10 in 2006, 28-21 in 2005, and 13-7 in 2004.
However, the ‘Balers are now 0-2 overall, and will look to break out of their skid this week when they continue with the second game of their four-game road trip, visiting Wilcox on Friday.
“It’s real bad,” Cameron said of the loss. “We haven’t been 0-2 in quite a while.”
Despite a ‘Baler defense that kept SLV out of the end zone until midway through the third quarter, the Cougars, playing on their brand new field for the first time, opened a 9-0 halftime lead behind the right foot of placekicker Michael Eisner, who went 4-for-4 from distances of 28, 40, 23 and 31 yards on the afternoon.
‘Baler quarterback Ronnie Fhurong threw 5 of 13 for 50 yards and one interception, while on the ground, the senior carried the ball 17 times for 87 yards.
“It was hard to make good reads because of good coverage,” the ‘Baler quarterback said.
Cougar Ian McGinnis, who was constantly rolling right and left and keeping the ‘Baler defense guessing, was 15 of 29 for 193 yards and a touchdown, and ran 12 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
“We knew they’d do that, but he’s a pretty athletic kid and he was able to break contain,” said ‘Baler defensive coordinator Tod Thatcher. “He threw it on the buck or was running it up the field for a first down.”
Thatcher felt his defense improved from one week ago against Milpitas, as the ‘Balers held a bend-but-don’t-break stance in the first half, keeping SLV to just three field goals.
“There were a lot of areas we could improve on, but I definitely thought we improved in a lot of areas as well,” the defensive coordinator said, whose run defense allowed 94 yards on 25 carries. “I thought our run defense was still pretty good … Obviously, there were a lot of breakdowns, but it was a lot better than last week.”
Penalties may have stifled the offense, though, as San Benito was called for 14 penalties totaling 141 yards, compared to SLV’s seven penalties for 55 yards.
In one instance, after SLV took a 3-0 lead in the first, the ensuing drive saw San Benito march down to the Cougar 30-yard line. However, three straight penalties backed the ‘Balers up to their 45-yard line, and eventually led to a blocked punt.
“Obviously, they weren’t positive,” Cameron said of the penalties. Added Thatcher, “I think anytime you get a lot of penalties, the flow of the game is disrupted. It wasn’t a high-tempo game, and I think that was the result of a lot of penalties.”
The ‘Balers did get down into SLV’s territory late in the second quarter. On second and goal from the 2-yard line, the ‘Balers fumbled after the snap, however, turning the ball over to SLV.
In the third quarter, SLV jumped out to a 16-0 lead when McGinnis connected with Daniel Stevenson for a 2-yard score.
The ‘Balers kept the game in reach on the next possession, as they cut SLV’s lead in half. After a 12-yard rush by Fhurong and an 18-yard rush by Anthony Padilla, Fhurong connected with David De La Cruz for 37 yards. From there, Abel Jacquez ran straight up the middle from two yards out for San Benito’s first score.
Going for the two-point conversion, Fhurong connected with tight end Miles Sanchez, and San Benito suddenly was trailing 16-8.
But SLV orchestrated an 80-yard drive that ended with McGinnis rushing for a 20-yard touchdown, and essentially closed the door on San Benito, who had four turnovers in the game.
“We have all the respect in the world for the San Benito program, so it was a big win for us,” Cougar Head Coach Doug Morris said. “There were some lows that we made it through, so it was a real learning experience.
“It’s tough for San Benito, I know. Both teams really needed a win here, but they’re gonna bounce back. They’re a good group of kids.”
The ‘Balers will look to bounce back on Friday when they travel to Wilcox for a 7:30pm game.
JV Note
After a 28-18 win last week against visiting Milpitas, the junior varsity team fell on Saturday to San Lorenzo Valley 22-16.
“We didn’t come out in the first half. We weren’t ready to play,” Head Coach Luis Espinoza said. “We came out in the second half, but I told them, we need to play all four quarters.”
Running back Niko Hebert, who scored three touchdowns against Milpitas, added a 15-yard score in the third quarter. Later in the fourth, quarterback Kyle Vallejo connected with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Sal Ornelas. In both instances, the ‘Balers went for the two-point conversion, and in both instances, full back Wayne Clark Urbina converted to put the ‘Balers behind 22-16.
San Benito got the ball back with 41.9 seconds left after SLV ran the clock down. However, as Espinoza said, “I like the way they played, but too little, too late.”
The ‘Balers will play at Wilcox Friday.
Freshmen Note
The San Benito freshmen squad lost their opening game to San Lorenzo Valley 18-0 on Saturday in Felton, but the score was not reflective of the game itself, Head Coach Randy Logue said.
The Cougars only led 6-0 heading into the fourth quarter until a pair of late touchdowns cushioned their lead.
“It was a close game,” Logue said. “It was actually very competitive. It could have gone either way. They made the plays and we didn’t is what it amounted to.”
Outside linebacker Jake Hunter contributed eight to 10 tackles, Logue said. “We’re going to be a good team. We’re just in the growing process,” he said.
The frosh will play Thursday at Wilcox.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 0 0 8 0 8
SLV 6 3 13 3 25
SCORING
First quarter
SLV – Kick, Michael Eisner, 28-yard FG. 3-0, SLV
SLV – Kick, Michael Eisner, 40-yard FG. 6-0, SLV
Second quarter
SLV – Kick, Michael Eisner, 23-yard FG. 9-0, SLV
Third quarter
SLV – Pass, Ian McGinnis to Daniel Stevenson, 12-yard score (PAT good). 16-0, SLV.
SB – Run, Abel Jacquez, 2-yard score (Conversion good, Ronnie Fhurong to Miles Sanchez). 16-8, SLV.
SLV – Run, Ian McGinnis, 20-yard score (PAT blocked). 22-8, SLV.
Fourth quarter
SLV – Kick, Michael Eisner, 31-yard FG. 25-8, SLV.
STATS
SB Passing
Ronnie Fhurong – 5 of 13, 50 yards, 1 interception
Trevor Fabing – 1 of 1, 11 yards
SB Rushing
Ronnie Fhurong – 17 rushes, 87 yards, 1 touchdown
Abel Jacquez – 8 rushes, 31 yards, 1 touchdown
Nick Acosta – 6 rushes, 12 yards
Anthony Padilla – 7 rushes, 38 yards
Mitchell Cook – 5 rushes, 11 yards
SB Receiving
David De La Cruz – 2 catches, 40 yards
Mitchell Cook – 1 catch, 3 yards
Miles Sanchez – 1 catch, 3 yards
Sebastian Cathirell – 1 catch, 4 yards
Ben Salazar – 1 catch, 11 yards
SLV Passing
Ian McGinnis – 15 of 29, 193 yards, 1 touchdown
SLV Rushing
Ian McGinnis – 12 rushes, 68 yards, 1 touchdown
Lucas Hill – 7 rushes, 15 yards
Beau Gregory – 2 rushes, 11 yards
Michael Eisner – 3 rushes, 3 yards
Sean Carrol – 1 rush, -3 yards
SLV Receiving
Philip Salibi – 6 catches, 107 yards
Daniel Stevenson – 6 catches, 54 yards, 1 touchdown
Matt Davis – 1 catch, 14 yards
Michael Eisner – 1 catch, -2 yards
Lucas Hill – 1 catch, 20 yards
