San Benito will return to the ground tonight in order to bounce
back from last week’s loss
HOLLISTER
Despite the opponent, the San Benito football team has plenty to gear up for and a lot to prove tonight when they host Everett Alvarez in Hollister.
Although the Eagles have won just a single game in their last 30 contests – which included a winless streak that lasted 25 games – and are coming off a 57-0 throttling at the hands of the Gilroy Mustangs, it’s the Haybalers which cannot afford to lose another game in the Tri-County Athletic League.
Alvarez hasn’t beaten San Benito since 2001, but the ‘Balers aren’t in a position to take any opponent for granted.
“No, because we just lost,” head coach Chris Cameron said. The ‘Balers, at 2-3 overall, have lost two straight, including a 14-6 defeat in last week’s TCAL opener at Alisal.
San Benito struggled offensively against the Trojans, and although they out-gained the Salinas school 263-200 in total yards, they committed four turnovers, three of which came inside the red zone.
Cameron said the ‘Balers will eye a ground game once again against Alvarez, which allowed 6.1 yards per carry last week against Gilroy.
“We’ve got to be able to run the football,” the head coach said. “It’s my 15th year here and we’ve been known as a tough, physical running football team, and a team that plays real good stout defense.
“Well, that’s not true this year. We have to become a good running football team, and that’s what I want. That’s a big focus for us.”
The ‘Balers have reverted to the pass, more or less, in the last two weeks against both Oak Grove and Alisal, and have had more yards on the ground than in the air in just one game this season – against Wilcox.
“That’s what I said for the Wilcox game, and we got it that night,” Cameron said. “But we haven’t gone back to that. We’ve got to be able to run the football.”
Despite the shellacking the Mustangs delivered last week on the Eagles, Cameron said there was still plenty of football to pick apart.
Whether or not Alvarez felt they couldn’t run the ball on Gilroy – they finished with 34 yards on 36 carries – the Eagles passed somewhat effectively early on, and finished the game with 94 yards in the air.
Alvarez trailed Gilroy 8-0 after one quarter, and Cameron said the Eagles used a healthy dose of play-action passing and even some three-step drops from quarterback Justin Rocamore.
“I think they’re gonna try and come out and three-step us – a quick, short passing game,” Cameron said. “They really hadn’t showed any of that to an extreme in their first four games … but they came out (against Gilroy) and threw a lot of three-step game very, very effectively.”
Rocamore was 15 of 22 for 94 yards and two interceptions last week, and is 30 of 52 for 255 yards on the season. Rocamore’s season also includes a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions.
Wideout Eric Perez is Rocamore’s go-to receiver, having caught 10 balls for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while the Eagles spread the backfield with backs Lalo Melesio (50 carries, 207 yards), Tony Rosa (19 carries, 215 yards) Jacob Jones (17 carries, 132 yards) and Manuel Vega (18 carries, 104 yards).
Alisal managed to grind it out with their run game last week against the ‘Balers, especially in the second quarter, where they owned the time of possession clock and took a 14-0 lead to halftime. But Cameron says the defense, in those situations, needs to be poised for the pass as well.
Alisal’s 20-play, 83-yard drive in the second quarter, for instance, included 16 rushing plays, but it was a five-yard passing play in which they scored on.
“If you can run the football effectively, sometimes you lull the guys in the secondary to sleep,” Cameron said. “We’ve got to mature a little bit more, and hopefully we can do a better job this weekend.”
