Roger John Clark—that’s R.J. for those unfamiliar with what his initials stand for—stepped back to pass and saw Chris Blake get a step behind the defense down the right sideline.
The smooth-throwing lefty didn’t hesitate. Clark, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior quarterback, threw a perfect ball that hit Blake in stride at San Benito’s own 40-yard line.
Blake eluded a diving tackle from one Oak Grove defender near midfield before it was apparent he was going to be in a foot race with another Eagles defender to the end zone.
Oak Grove’s Marcil Baker did catch up to Blake and tackle him, but not before Blake reached the end zone. The 90-yard touchdown was the Haybalers’ longest pass play in recent memory, and it showed an exquisite touch from Clark, who is in his first year as the Balers’ starting signal-caller.
San Benito went ahead 14-13 on the 90-yard scoring strike with 8:14 left in the third quarter, and two plays later it added insurance when cornerback Andrew Sotelo returned an interception 18 yards for a TD, sealing a 21-19 win.
As the Balers (3-1) enter their Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division opener against Salinas on Friday, they can take comfort in the fact that the game is slowing down for Clark, who has played the position since he was a 6 year old playing for the Hollister Vikings Pop Warner program.
On the 90-yard pass play, Clark simply did what he does in practice all the time.
“The play is called ‘China,’ and we practice it almost everyday,” said Clark, who completed 3-of-6 passes for 111 yards while rushing for 49 more. “I saw Chris wide open and just threw it in the air because I trust that guy. When I threw it, my heart was pounding. Right when it came down in Chris’ hands, I felt a sigh of relief. It was the best feeling in the world.”
The players on the defensive side of the ball must have had a similar feeling, because they produced a gem of a performance, limiting Oak Grove to just 170 yards of total offense.
Balers coach Chris Cameron was effusive in his praise for the defense, which also stopped Eagles tailback Rasaan Fontenette at the 2-yard line on the potential game-tying 2-point conversion attempt.
“Hell, we just persevered tonight,” Cameron said. “Our defense played great, just outstanding.”
The Balers’ Justice Felice had his best game since early in the 2013 season, rushing for 91 yards on 18 carries. The senior fullback gained valuable yardage going through the gut of the Oak Grove defense.
Felice rarely went down after first contact and chewed valuable time off the clock on San Benito’s best drive of the game from a time-consumption standpoint—a 16-play, 90-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock but ended with a missed field goal because the offense stalled once it reached the Eagles’ 10-yard line.
Clark threw from the right side growing up, but his dad, Roger, a former linebacker at Cupertino High and Gavilan College, taught his son how to throw the football left-handed when he was 3 or 4.
As a sophomore last year, Clark saw limited action as the backup to two-year starter David Stanton. However, Clark didn’t let the year go to waste. He studied film and looked up to Stanton in the way he approached the game, and the way he carried himself even in bad times.
“I looked up to David and he taught me a lot,” Clark said. “Even though I didn’t play much last year, it was actually a good year for me. I was able to learn the offense more and get myself prepared knowing I would be the quarterback this year if I kept on working hard.”
Prior to his 90-yard TD pass, Clark had two fumbles—although the first was a pitch that the Eagles just made a great play on—that led to two Oak Grove TDs.
However, Clark stayed composed, and when he hit Blake with a perfect throw down the right sideline, the San Benito sideline erupted in jubilation.
“Even when things don’t go your way, I try to stay mentally tough, on and off the field,” Clark said.
Despite all but gift-wrapping two of Oak Grove’s three TDs, the Balers displayed resiliency in victory.
“This builds a lot of confidence for us because even though we didn’t play our best, we found a way to win,” Sotelo said.
“It was a really great effort by the kids because they were pulling for each other hard,” Cameron said. “Offensively, we did some good things, but those two turnovers are kind of like throat-slitters. But we were able to get some air in us and we did just enough on offense to win.”
