San Benito forces game-winning safety in the fourth quarter,
beats Wilcox 15-13
HOLLISTER
San Benito’s defense has a tendency to swarm.
It’s part of the reason why they boast such a stout rush defense. When an opposing team’s running back thrusts himself into the front line, he is routinely greeted by three, four, or maybe even sometimes five red helmets, all of whom are working in unison, forcing the back to backpedal behind the line of scrimmage.
It’s also part of the reason why they sacked Wilcox quarterback Cory Murphy six times Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium, and none of them were bigger than the two-point tackle that led to a 15-13 Haybaler victory.
Knotted at 13-all, Wilcox sat at their own 10-yard line with approximately eight minutes remaining in regulation. The quarterback Murphy was scrambling in the backfield on a third-and-eight when linebacker Isaak Ramos wrapped up his legs at the goal line. Murphy appeared to falling down in the end zone, but to ensure that there was no doubt about it, linemen Robby Sanchez and Sam Doty swarmed toward the stationary signal-caller and piled on, resulting in the game-winning safety.
Sanchez immediately rose from the pile and slapped his hands together above his head, signaling the two-point tackle.
“It was crazy,” Sanchez said. “We had great coverage in the back … Isaak wrapped him up and then we just cleaned house. It was picture perfect. It was the best feeling in the world.”
With a two-point lead certainly not secure, however, Wilcox had a chance later in the quarter to leapfrog the ‘Balers at the last minute.
Starting from their own 1-yard line – after Evan McFadden’s perfect punt pinned the Chargers deep – Wilcox worked out to midfield on eight plays and sat at San Benito’s 44 with 1:01 remaining. But a false start penalty move the ball back to the 49, and Murphy’s ensuing pass to Ruben Zendejas on the left sideline was jarred loose by ‘Baler linebacker Ricky Canes. Teammate Robert Pinedo recovered the loose ball to seal the victory.
“We blitzed him more than a few times tonight and put pressure on him, but we got good pressure from our outside backers,” said head coach Chris Cameron, who used his outside linebackers to contain and pressure the mobile Murphy. “Anytime they got a little deeper, or if we had some good coverage … then we got a lot of sacks tonight. So it was a combination of getting some good pressure sacks and there was a couple times we got some coverage sacks.”
San Benito held Wilcox to 278 yards of total offense, much of them coming by air. Murphy finished 17 of 24 for 218 yards, two scores and an interception.
The Chargers couldn’t do much on the ground (60 yards on 30 carries), though, while San Benito managed to revert back to its old self.
Looking to establish a run game early, the Haybalers compiled 188 yards on the ground. Easily exceeding the rush totals from their previous two games combined, San Benito hit the ground 38 times with wingback Sebastian Cathirell getting the bulk of the duties, finishing with 90 yards on 13 carries.
“I was happy because we came out and had an attitude that we were gonna run the ball,” Cameron said. “We didn’t run the ball perfectly all the time. It took a while to get it going, but we kept sticking with it. And that’s what you have to do sometimes.”
Back Nick Acosta logged double-digit attempts as well (10 carries, 37 yards) and Anthony Padilla added nine rushes for 46 yards.
San Benito had been nearly 50-50 in the rush-to-pass ratio during their first two games, but ran the ball 76 percent of the time Friday. Although quarterback Kyle Vallejo’s attempts were down, the junior signal-caller made the most of what was given to him, and finished 4 of 12 for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Vallejo’s pass to Evan McFadden (3 rec., 91 yards, 1 TD) late in the first quarter put San Benito on the scoreboard first. Despite it being a short-distance pass, McFadden, a track and field standout, used his breakaway speed and sprinted 66 yards down the right sideline, stretching out like Superman at the pylon to put the ‘Balers up 7-0.
The Chargers cut into the lead on the first play in the second quarter when Murphy found Justin Chapman wide open on a 25-yard touchdown pass, but the point after failed and San Benito held on to a 7-6 lead.
Just before the half, the ‘Balers opened up the passing game once again. Dealt with a third-and-13 on their own 45-yard line, Vallejo pump-faked left, then found a streaking Andre Cornell running vertically up the middle. Vallejo hit the junior wideout in stride, and Cornell took it 55 yards to paydirt, giving San Benito a 13-6 edge at halftime.
Wilcox tied the game at 13-all early in the fourth quarter when Murphy found Zendejas for a 19-yard touchdown.
The ‘Balers had a chance to perhaps put the game away before the safety was even recorded when they drove 50 yards on five plays to Wilcox’ 17-yard line. But a fumble on the hand-off exchange gave the ball back to the Chargers at the 8-yard line, where three plays later San Benito swarmed for the safety.
The ‘Balers, which improve to 2-1 on the year, will play Friday night at Oak Grove, which has outscored its two opponents – St. Francis and Woodside – by a 98-14 margin.
“We’re still a long ways away. They’ve got some special kids and they’re a very sound football team,” Cameron said of the Eagles. “Some of the things we worked on this week we’re gonna have to continue to work on. It’s a season-long journey.”
STATS
Team 1 2 3 4 F
WL 0 6 0 7 13
SB 7 6 0 2 15
PASSING
Kyle Vallejo, SB – 4 of 12, 146 yards, 2 TD
Cory Murphy, WL – 17 of 24, 218 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
RUSHING
Nick Acosta, SB – 10 carries, 37 yards
Anthony Padilla, SB – 9 carries, 46 yards
Sebastian Cathirell, SB – 13 carries, 90 yards
Jeff Bernaldez, SB – 2 carries, 2 yards
Anthony Pohahua, WL – 6 carries, 17 yards
Ruben Zendejas, WL – 2 carries, 4 yards
Cory Murphy, WL – 16 carries, 4 yards
Anthony Herrera, WL – 6 carries, 35 yards
RECEIVING
Evan McFadden, SB – 3 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD
Andre Cornell, SB – 1 reception, 55 yards, 1 TD
Jarrod Lucas, WL – 7 receptions, 123 yards
Justin Chapman, WL – 5 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD
Ruben Zendejas, WL – 4 receptions, 46 yards, 1 TD
Jordan Gibson, WL – 1 reception, 6 yards
TOTAL OFFENSE
Wilcox – 278 yards (218 pass, 60 rush)
San Benito – 334 yards (146 pass, 188 rush)
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity team battled to another tie on Friday night, breaking even with visiting Wilcox 14-14 at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister.
It is the second time in as many games that the Haybalers have tied their opponent. Last week, they equaled Lincoln 8-8.
“I couldn’t get mad at the team,” head coach Luis Espinoza said. “One thing they’ve done in the last two games is that they’ve given it their all. They play with heart and I can’t get mad at that.
“My boys will try as hard to win a game and they won’t give up. They did good. I can’t complain.”
San Benito struck first late in the opening quarter when Nathan Castro found the end zone from one yard out, but Wilcox tied it at 6-all before the half.
In the third quarter, the ‘Balers went back up when Jason Roascio scored on a five-yard rushing touchdown to put San Benito ahead 14-6. But once again, Wilcox equaled the effort and knotted the game at 14-14 with three minutes left in regulation.
San Benito had one final chance, and even worked it to midfield when quarterback Tyler Decker hit James Flook for a 30-yard pass. With 20 seconds remaining, the Haybalers tried for the end zone but the pass was intercepted.
San Benito (1-0-2) will visit Oak Grove next Friday at 4:30 p.m.
“We have to play mistake-free,” Espinoza said.
Frosh Note:
The San Benito freshman football team played the Lincoln Lions for the second consecutive week on Thursday night in Hollister and proved last week’s game was no fluke.
After defeating the Lions 22-0 one week ago, San Benito won comfortably this week 40-14.
Anthony Cervantes has two rushing touchdowns, while Ryan DiSalvo had two touchdown receptions, both of which were thrown by quarterback Ricky Munguia.
Munguia had a rushing touchdown of his own, and Anthony Kaye rounded out the scoring for San Benito with a another rushing touchdown.
San Benito improves to 3-0 on the year.
“It was a game that we should have won, and we did,” head coach Herb Bocksnick said, “but we didn’t play our best football in the process.
“The kids realized they need to improve for next week.”
The ‘Balers will play Thursday at home to Palma at 6 p.m.
