The VFW Memorial Trophy will stay in Hollister for a fifth
straight year after San Benito took down Gilroy 29-21 in Thursday’s
annual renewal of the Prune Bowl rivalry.
Gilroy – The VFW Memorial Trophy will stay in Hollister for a fifth straight year after San Benito took down Gilroy 29-21 in Thursday’s annual renewal of the Prune Bowl rivalry.
“It’s getting used to being at our place,” ‘Balers head coach Chris Cameron said of the trophy. “It probably doesn’t know what it’s like to be at Gilroy anymore. If it didn’t come here on the bus, it probably wouldn’t know how to get here.”
The win clinches second place in the Tri-County Athletic League for the ‘Balers and earns them an automatic Central Coast Section playoff berth and likely a first-round home game.
“We’re going to the playoffs strong, with confidence that we can beat anybody,” said quarterback Ronnie Fhurong, who threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Tim Lango on a screen play and had a 50-yard touchdown run with 1:54 left that sealed the game.
The ‘Balers built a 16-0 halftime lead that they stretched to 22-0 in the third quarter.
Fhurong’s TD pass to Lango gave them a 7-0 early lead when they converted the screen play on third-and-8, Dru Blake added a 40-yard field goal early in the second and after a Zach Canez interception, Lango scored on a 5-yard run behind the lead blocking of linebackers Nate Mendoza and Johnny Sanchez.
Lango added a 43-yard scoring run behind more lead blocking by Mendoza and Sanchez to make it 22-0 in the third.
Gilroy trimmed it to 22-13 in the fourth but Fhurong’s late touchdown run sealed the victory.
