Chris Cameron wouldn’t admit to being downright giddy as the Central Coast Section Division I playoff bracket came out, but one couldn’t blame the longtime San Benito High football coach if he was spotted jumping up and down in celebration.
Simply put, the No. 3 seed Haybalers (6-4) got the best draw imaginable for a number of reasons. One, they open up with No. 6 Silver Creek (8-2), which finished in a tie for second place in the Santa Teresa Division, a B-league. Two, there isn’t a powerhouse team in the field—Salinas is the top seed but the Balers were a 24-yard field goal away from sending the teams’ Oct. 3 game—a 17-14 Salinas win—into overtime.
If the seeds hold true to form, San Benito would play No. 2 Alvarez in the semifinals and Salinas in the finals, two teams it narrowly lost to during Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division play.
However, the Balers could’ve easily been on the winning end of both contests, and they’ll have the intangible factor working in their favor should those rematches occur.
“You always want to have another chance to play someone you’ve lost to,” Cameron said. “Of course we would like to play them again, but we have to get by Silver Creek first, and they have to win their games. We’re not going to look past anybody because there have been times we might have looked too far ahead down the road.”
Cameron said that might have been the case in 2006, when No. 8 Piedmont Hills shocked the top-seeded Balers 21-14 in the opening round. However, Piedmont Hills was part of a Mount Hamilton League that was arguably the best A-league in the section that season to the vaunted West Catholic League.
Silver Creek is no Piedmont Hills—not the 2006 version, anyway—but Cameron said his team can’t afford to be overconfident in an elimination-type game. Indeed, the Balers have looked careless at times handling the ball, and they committed three turnovers in last week’s 40-6 win over North Salinas.
Despite the turnovers, Cameron feels his team is playing as well as it has all season. Two weeks ago, the Balers dealt rival Palma its only loss of the season, and there isn’t a team of Palma’s caliber in the Division I field.
“Offensively, I feel we’ve come around the bend,” Cameron said. “We’ve been playing really physical the last several games, and that’s always a good thing.”
Cameron said Silver Creek is a solid team that throws to their tight end, which is an underutilized position in the high school game.
“You don’t see many teams throwing to their tight end on a consistent basis,” Cameron said. “
Last week against an overmatched North Salinas squad, San Benito allowed a season-low three first downs and 68 yards of total offense. The Balers piled up 423 yards, 366 of which came on the ground.
Fullbacks Hunter Nye (90 yards on 12 carries) and Justice Felice (87 yards on 12 carries) led a ground game that punished North Salinas throughout. R.J. Clark was 3-of-5 for 57 yards while running for 41 more, and Diego Fisher and Bryan Noble highlighted the team’s outstanding defensive tour de force with an interception each.
Chris Blake had touchdown runs of 6 and 2 yards, and Nye had a pair of TDs in the second quarter, the first on a 16-yard reception and the second on a 22-yard run.
