What a difference a week makes. The San Benito Haybalers caused
four turnovers and quarterback Ronnie Fhurong threw a pair of
touchdowns en route to a 13-6 victory against the Wilcox Chargers
in Santa Clara Friday night.
Santa Clara – What a difference a week makes.
The San Benito Haybalers caused four turnovers and quarterback Ronnie Fhurong threw a pair of touchdowns en route to a 13-6 victory against the Wilcox Chargers in Santa Clara Friday night.
The win give the ‘Balers (1-2) their first win of the year and puts them on a collision course with Bellarmine next Friday.
As for the Chargers (1-1), they put up 42 points last week against Terra Nova, but were held to just six this week against a stifling ‘Baler defense.
The defense especially shined in the last play against Wilcox. Trailing 13-6, the Chargers had the ball at San Benito’s 29-yard line, on fourth and 6, with just 20 second left.
But on the play, Charger quarterback Ivan Rodriguez scrambled left, then back, then right, and was then finally brought down by lineman Sam Doty to seal the game.
“Gigantic,” head coach Chris Cameron kept repeating after the game, commenting on how important the win was for his visiting San Benito team.
“I don’t think anybody has any idea … this was a big win for us,” said exhausted lineman Kevin Burley, who had a pair of sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries on the night. “It’s one of the biggest wins all year. This will propel us next week and the weeks after.”
Wilcox went up midway through the second quarter, when Rodriguez connected for a seven-yard score with Eric Baerga, but place-kicker Kyle Barraclough missed the point after, and Wilcox held a 6-0 lead.
The Chargers would get the ball back with five minutes left in the half, but a Rodriguez pass was deflected into the air and was intercepted by linebacker Taylor Coustette at the Wilcox 39-yard line. Said defensive coordinator Tod Thatcher, “We are the epitome of team defense.”
With good field position, the ‘Balers began to move the ball and with less than a minute remaining in the half, Fhurong hit tight end Miles Sanchez for a 10-yard touchdown. Daniel Pape made the extra-point to put San Benito up 7-6 at the half.
“Tonight,” Thatcher said, “we got some nice breaks and guys were flying around.”
Later in the third quarter, with just a one-point cushion, the ‘Balers padded their lead with a 71-yard drive that resulted in paydirt.
After a 24-yard pass to Sanchez, a 24-yard rush by Nick Acosta and a 20-yard pass to Felix Cortez, Fhurong hit Zach Canez for a four-yard touchdown to go up 13-6.
Wilcox had one last chance late in the game to either tie or take the lead. But, Doty’s sack put an exclamation point on the Baler’s win.
“We were more focused this week,” said Canez, who also picked off a pass in the end zone late in the game. “The first two weeks, we wore our name – ‘We’re the Balers’ – but we’ve got to live up to our name. We pretty much stayed full blast the whole game … We came out fired up and ready to go.”
The Balers will battle Bellarmine next Friday.
“It’s a big jump because we know we can win a game,” said running back Abel Jacquez, “and it’s gonna help carry us to more victories.”
Note: Junior varsity won 28-8 over Wilcox. The freshman team lost 14-0. More details will be reported Tuesday.
