Karson Klauer to the right, Klauer to the left and then when in
doubt Klauer up the middle.
By John Coscia Staff Writer
San Jose – Karson Klauer to the right, Klauer to the left and then when in doubt Klauer up the middle.
It was without a doubt the Karson Klauer offensive show Saturday afternoon as the San Benito Haybalers cruised to an easy 39-6 victory over the Independence 76ers in the CCS semifinal at San Jose City College. When Klauer wasn’t doing it with his arm (9-for-13 for 153 yards and four touchdown passes) he was doing it with his legs (88 yards on 12 carries, one touchdown).
“I can’t say enough about the whole team’s effort. My O-Line gave me all the time in the world to throw and the receivers made the plays. It was just all clicking for us today,” Klauer modestly responded. “I’ll tell you the biggest thing today was our defense. They’ve been coming up big all year long and they gave me so many short-field situations that it made my job that much easier to score.”
And Klauer couldn’t have been more on the money.
The final score gives the initial appearance that this was a cake-walk for the No. 2 seeded ‘Balers but truth is, that was far from the case.
It was the tenacious defense that kept the ‘Balers from getting way behind early and allowed the offense the chance to get warmed up.
“We made a lot of mistakes on special teams and that could have really cost us early,” ‘Balers head coach Chris Cameron said. “But our defense kept us close and that made all the difference in the world. We can’t make those kind of mistakes against Oak Grove and expect to win.
It was Independence that struck first, capitalizing on one such special teams mistake, a fumbled punt return that the 76ers jumped all over and put six points on the board when quarterback Marces Womack hit Eric Richard for a 46-yard touchdown. The ‘Balers blocked the extra point and Independence held what would be its only lead of the game.
Then Klauer and the offense went to work. First he hit Jeff Weltz on a 12-yard touchdown pass, then it was an 8-yard touchdown run that he kept himself. He then found Eddie Gutierrez for a 15-yard pass play before hitting Art Esparza for a 24-yard touchdown. His biggest connection of the day, however, would be his last, a 48-yard strike to Jeremy Burns that put the icing on the cake.
Even Klauer’s backup, Travis Ross, got into the act with a fourth quarter run of 35 yards that finished off the scoring.
With the victory San Benito earns a spot in the CCS championship game against No. 1 seeded Oak Grove. The game will be a rematch of last year’s championship game which Oak Grove won 24-20.
