Palma will look to pass its way to victory tonight against the
stingy Baler defense
With the No. 1 quarterback in the league calling the shots for
Palma High School this season, it’s no wonder that visiting Balers
of San Benito High are expecting the Chieftains to try and take
advantage of their air attack when the two league powerhouses butt
helmets in tonight’s showdown at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Palma will look to pass its way to victory tonight against the stingy Baler defense
With the No. 1 quarterback in the league calling the shots for Palma High School this season, it’s no wonder that visiting Balers of San Benito High are expecting the Chieftains to try and take advantage of their air attack when the two league powerhouses butt helmets in tonight’s showdown at the Salinas Sports Complex.
“They’ve got some serious, serious weapons,” San Benito High coach Chris Cameron said. “We’re going to have to shut them down as much as possible. They have great kick returners, big receivers, who can run and catch the ball, and a good quarterback with 1,300 passing yards.”
That quarterback is senior Brian Reader. This season the 6-foot-4 215-pound QB has thrown for 1,338 passing yards and 11 touchdowns. His presence on the field will definitely pose the biggest challenge that the tenacious Baler secondary has had to face up to this point.
It will also be a challenge for Cameron and his staff who normally have to game plan for Palma by focusing on its smash-mouth style of play and relentless ground game.
“They have really changed this year compared to previous years,” Cameron said. “Probably 70 percent of their offensive plays have no tight end formation. They are using more seams now and creating more space for their receivers. They still run effectively but they have gotten away from traditional Palma football.”
One of the receivers that Reader will be looking for when he drops back to pass is running back Andrew Reyes, who has 760 combined rushing and receiving yards and 9 touchdowns.
Another threat that the Baler secondary will be looking to make a play on is Brett Taylor, who has 433 receiving yards this season and 5 touchdowns to his credit.
When Palma does look to run the ball Reyes and Chad Davis are expected to get the majority of touches. Reyes has 349 yards rushing this season and has crossed the goal line six times on the ground. Davis has 249 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, the Chieftains have also used a lot of eight man fronts this season, which is designed to stuff the running game of their opponents at the line of scrimmage as well as putting the utmost pressure on the quarterback.
A year ago on Nov. 10 the Balers wrapped up their 2005 regular-season campaign with a 28-24 win over the Chieftains at home – it was a win that helped spring San Benito to a Central Coast Section Championship in the Large School Division.
Despite the loss, the Chieftains still made the playoffs and advanced all the way to the title game in the section’s Open Division before succumbing 35-14 to Valley Christian.
Tonight’s game could ultimately determine the league title.
“This year, we’ve got to play them down there and that’s going to make things a wee bit different,” Cameron said. “We’re going to focus a lot this week on the mental stuff, and game plan for that on both sides of the ball. They are a good team and different this year. We’re going to have to play them differently. You might have identical records from one year to the next, but you might get them a completely different way.”
This week the Balers will be looking to get the win against the perennial powerhouse Chieftains by doing what they’ve been doing all year – playing championship level defense.
That defense is lead by Johnny Sanchez, who not only leads the team in tackles but has also picked off two stray passes this season as well.
Offensively, the Balers will look to Tim Lango and Abel Jacquez to jumpstart the Balers ground attack. This season the two have combined for nearly 800 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
