San Benito looks to enter bye week with above .500 record
Limiting penalties and coming out with a greater sense of
urgency, two of the problems that marred San Benito’s 21-14 victory
against Alisal last week, are very easily fixable. However, as the
Balers’ schedule continues to ramp up with each passing week, so
does the need to fix those problems quickly.
San Benito (3-2, 1-0 TCAL) will host Salinas (1-3-1, 0-1 TCAL)
on Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium, a team that will very much
mirror the Balers on offense and defense. Whichever team makes the
fewest mistakes, the fewest penalties, could very well emerge as
the victor in what is expected to be a tightly contested Tri-County
Athletic League.
San Benito looks to enter bye week with above .500 record
Limiting penalties and coming out with a greater sense of urgency, two of the problems that marred San Benito’s 21-14 victory against Alisal last week, are very easily fixable. However, as the Balers’ schedule continues to ramp up with each passing week, so does the need to fix those problems quickly.
San Benito (3-2, 1-0 TCAL) will host Salinas (1-3-1, 0-1 TCAL) on Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium, a team that will very much mirror the Balers on offense and defense. Whichever team makes the fewest mistakes, the fewest penalties, could very well emerge as the victor in what is expected to be a tightly contested Tri-County Athletic League.
“We had our mistakes and penalties,” San Benito head coach Chris Cameron said of last week’s win against Alisal, which saw the Balers flagged for 11 penalties for 95 yards, which prevented the offense from finding any rhythm.
A recent rash of bumps and bruises to the front line didn’t help, either.
“We had two different offensive lineman playing, and we may have three this week,” Cameron said. “It effected us. I thought the new guys came in and worked their butts off and did a good job, but you can’t take a hit like that every week, replacing three of your five offensive linemen.”
Nevertheless, the Balers managed to stay afloat last week by withstanding a late rally from the Trojans, who fell behind 21-0 with 5:47 left in the fourth quarter. Although Alisal posted 14 points in the final three minutes of regulation to cut the deficit to a one-score game, it was unable to recover an onside kick late in the contest.
Afterward, players believed a similar performance against Salinas would not yield a similar result.
“We’re gonna have to come back harder and be focused all week. We need to be all week,” fullback Cody Hendricks said after last week’s game. Hendricks, after rushing for 120 yards on 18 carries last Friday, currently leads the TCAL with 459 yards on 68 attempts — a 6.7 yards-per-carry average.
“We’ve just got to play a lot harder than this,” he added. “This was a horrible night.”
Playing harder against Salinas will likely only be part of the solution. As Cameron points out, the Cowboys’ 1-3-1 record is not reflective at all of the team’s performance.
“Their record doesn’t tell what kind of team they are,” the coach said. “The hardest part of their schedule is way behind them right now.”
Salinas’ one victory came Sept. 18 against Santa Teresa, which has just one loss on the season. In fact, Salinas’ five opponents boast a combined 16-3-2 record. San Benito’s five opponents, meanwhile, are currently 9-12-1.
“We will definitely not win the ‘look test’ when the two teams are out warming up,” said Cameron, referring to Salinas’ size.
It was less than a year ago when San Benito and Salinas battled in the Central Coast Section Division I semifinals. In that game, the Cowboys grabbed a 13-0 lead at halftime behind a 76-yard rushing touchdown from Alvin Jelks, although the Balers pocketed 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to swipe a 14-13 victory and a ticket to the D-I championship.
Jelks has since graduated from Salinas, much to San Benito’s benefit as well as the rest of the TCAL. In his place this season, though, is Josh Estassi.
Estassi is fourth in the TCAL with 412 yards on 88 carries, although he was limited last week to nine attempts and 51 yards in a 14-0 loss against Palma — considered the favorite to win the TCAL crown. Along with Myles Coleman (44 att., 159 yards) and Raymond Cerda (52 att., 210 yards), though, the Cowboys have a three-pronged running attack that also boasts quarterback Matt Leighton (19 of 44, 153 yards, 5 INT, 1 TD).
Leighton’s rushing attempts are limited — 23 carries for 58 yards — but he does have two touchdowns on the year.
“They have good backs,” said Cameron of Salinas, which has run the ball 83 percent of the time this season, slightly less than San Benito’s nearly 85 percent run-to-pass ratio.
Since allowing 277 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Oak Grove in Week 1, though, the Balers have not allowed more than 96 yards rushing against three opponents.
“Big, strong and physical,” Cameron said of the Cowboys. “We will have to play our best football game of the season to beat them.”
