Olivia Newton-John had a blockbuster hit in the ’70’s
called,
”
Let’s Get Physical!
”
After the national anthem is struck up before Friday night’s
non-league test between San Benito and host Seaside, Newton-John’s
epic wouldn’t be the worst song to play immmediately afterwards.
The 15th-ranked Haybalers (1-1-1) and 8th-ranked Spartans (3-0)
plan on some serious hat-laying.
This game will not be for the meek of heart.
Olivia Newton-John had a blockbuster hit in the ’70’s called, “Let’s Get Physical!”
After the national anthem is struck up before Friday night’s non-league test between San Benito and host Seaside, Newton-John’s epic wouldn’t be the worst song to play immmediately afterwards. The 15th-ranked Haybalers (1-1-1) and 8th-ranked Spartans (3-0) plan on some serious hat-laying.
This game will not be for the meek of heart.
“I expect a physical game,” said Spartans head coach Alfred Avila. “San Benito is well-coached as usual. This game could come down to who makes the mistakes and who gets the breaks.”
Last year at Andy Hardin Field, the Balers played well for a half, then the Spartans pulled away for the victory.
“Seaside likes to get on a roll,” said Baler head coach Chris Cameron. “Their players smell the kill and then they play harder. That’s what happened last year. We played decent for the first half, then we got intimidated and folded our tents. We can’t have that happen this year.”
The Spartans, co-champs of the Monterey Bay League in ’02, have outscored their opponents 114-32 in their three games thus far. And they have been passing more than normal, which could give the Baler secondary fits.
“They have a ton of weapons,” said Cameron of Seaside. “They have real good receivers and backs and have real good size. They run about nine different formations and make it difficult for us to defend. They’re a handful, no doubt about it.”
Expect the Spartans to try to maximize their speed at the skill positions, stretching the field as much as possible.
“We plan to spread it out,” said Avila. “We definitely want to use our speed to our advantage. That’s where we have the edge.”
Spartans quarterback Gabe Cruz has completed over 50 per cent of his passes. Keawe Block and John Rivera are formidable running backs. Cruz’ favorite targets are L.T. Walker and Augustine Lewis.
Defensively, the Spartans have one of the fiercest linebackers around in Henry Utumapu (6-0, 220).
“They have a lot of team speed on defense,” said Cameron of Seaside. “They’re comparable to Valley Christian. They get after the quarterback.”
The Balers’ quarterback is sophomore Karson Klauer, who is coming off his best game of the season, which was a 34-12 defeat of Alvarez.
“I’m impressed with Klauer,” said Avila. “He’s their best offensive football player. He doesn’t play like a sophomore.”
Avila feels the Balers’ main strength is its offensive line.
“Their offensive line is disciplined,” said Avila. “We have to find a way to stop the running game. Our strength is run defense, though, we have to play better situational defense than we did last week.”
The Balers have had two weeks off, but spent only this past week preparing for Seaside. Cameron felt there were more important needs to cover at practice the week previous.
“We looked at our fundamental blitz package,” said Cameron. “We worked on shredding blocks at all positions. We also worked on our two-minute drill.”
Cameron and the Balers know that this is the biggest game of the year to date. It has Central Coast Section playoff berth implications.
“This is a big game,” said Cameron. “Seaside is favored to win their league, which would give us an extra point if we win. More importantly, we need to beat a team who is better than us on paper. We need to rise up to the occasion. We have to have a good start on both sides of the football.”
Someone cue Olivia.
Baler bits: Oscar Correa returns at right tackle for the Balers after sitting out with an injury….The 7 p.m. kickoff is a change from the originally printed time of 7:30 p.m. The junior varsity game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. The freshmen game is today at Seaside at 4:30 p.m….To get there, get to Highway 1 north of Monterey and take the Seaside turnoff. School is right there.
