Coming into Friday night’s game against the Wilcox Chargers, the
majority of the Haybalers didn’t know his name. They didn’t even
know what he looked like.
They knew the number
– 7. They knew the position – running back. And they knew where
he’d be on the field at all times.
Coming into Friday night’s game against the Wilcox Chargers, the majority of the Haybalers didn’t know his name. They didn’t even know what he looked like.
They knew the number – 7. They knew the position – running back. And they knew where he’d be on the field at all times.
For a football team, sometimes that’s all you really need to know.
The ‘Baler defense heard all week of Wilcox’ Patrick Mitchell. They heard from their coaches. They heard from this columnist. They heard from the San Jose Mercury News, who named Mitchell the Athlete of the Week after he turned a measly 10 carries into a whopping 200 yards and a trio of touchdowns against Terra Nova the previous week. Not to mention, he had an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown as well.
Against the ‘Balers? Mitchell ran 10 times for 48 yards. All of his yardage came in the second half, while his first three attempts netted -2 yards.
“We took our angles and made him cut back into our strength,” said San Benito defensive back Zach Canez on the strategy against Mitchell.
It clearly worked.
Mitchell got to the outside on a few plays, once on an option play that picked up 24 yards down the right sideline, his largest gain on the night. But for the majority of the game, San Benito managed to cut Mitchell off on the corner, forcing him to either cut back into the ‘Baler “strength,” or suffer a tackle from one of San Benito’s speedy defensive backs that seemed to have one eye on the ball and one eye on Mitchell at all times.
“Getting our kids to No. 7,” defensive coordinator Tod Thatcher said. “The kids rallied … It goes back to our style of defense. We are the epitome of team defense.
For a team that put 41 points up on the scoreboard against Terra Nova, Wilcox only managed six against the ‘Balers D. Maybe even more impressive, Wilcox had 10 offensive drives that ended as follows: fumble, 7-yard touchdown, fumble, interception, punt, turnover on downs, punt, interception, and turnover on downs. The 10th drive ended at halftime, but ended with linemen Kevin Burley sacking Wilcox quarterback Ivan Rodriguez twice in a row.
To say the ‘Baler defense played better against Wilcox compared to their two previous games against Milpitas and San Lorenzo Valley would be an understatement.
They weren’t all-out dominant, but they took away Wilcox’ strength -(Mitchell) and rose to the occasion when it was needed.
Figure the final two drives for Wilcox in the fourth quarter, with the ‘Balers clinging to a 13-6 lead.
On the first drive, Wilcox started from their 26-yard line, and marched down to San Benito’s 20-yard line. Unlike last week against SLV, the ‘Balers’ sideline didn’t remain quiet.
“We’re still in this boys! Don’t give up.”
On the next play, Canez picked off a Rodriguez pass in the end zone, and with one catch, he brought an ebullient ‘Baler crowd to its feet.
Wilcox would get the ball back, though, and the ‘Baler defense was needed to rise to the occasion once more. This time, it began on Wilcox’ 44-yard line, but very quickly came down to the San Benito red zone with just 20 ticks left.
Whereas Canez stepped up on the previous drive, it was linemen Sam Doty that chased Rodriguez around in the backfield, and finally brought the quarterback down for a sack that iced the game for San Benito.
“They hadn’t tasted it,” said defensive coordinator Tod Thatcher of the first win. “We get that little taste and we want more.
“This was huge for our season and our program and our young kids.”
Although the ‘Balers have more than enough areas to improve upon, picking up this win will pay dividends toward the rest of the season. It’s all about growth right now, and while San Benito will continue to experience growing pains, they at least know how to win.
Said Head Coach Chris Cameron after Friday’s win, “I feel better today.”
At a Glance
Player of the Game
Zach Canez contributed a big play on both sides of the ball Friday night. On defense, the senior defensive back picked off a pass from Wilcox’ Ivan Rodriguez in the end zone late in the fourth quarter with the ‘Balers holding onto a 13-6 lead. On offense, Canez caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ronnie Fhurong early in the fourth that pushed San Benito’s lead from 7-6 to 13-6.
Stat of the Game
While there were plenty to choose from, the statistic that stood out was Patrick Mitchell’s rushing stats, and what that says about the stifling ‘Baler defense. The ‘Balers prepared all week for Wilcox’ running back, after he racked up 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 10 carries the week before against Terra Nova. He added another touchdown on special teams as well when he returned a kickoff 85 yards. Against the ‘Balers, Mitchell had 10 carries for 48 yards.
Hit of the Game
More like hits of the game. After San Benito took a 7-6 lead with just 46.7 seconds left and were seemingly heading toward the half with a slew of momentum, they got a little extra kick right at the end thanks to linemen Kevin Burley. Before the half ended, Burley sacked quarterback Ivan Rodriguez twice in a row, and sent San Benito to the locker room screaming.
Play of the Game
The play of the game was the final offensive play for Wilcox. Late in the game, with Wilcox threatening to either tie or take the lead on a fourth-and-six from the ‘Baler 20-yard line, San Benito lineman Sam Doty pulled down quarterback Ivan Rodriguez for a sack that not only forced a turnover on downs, but also sealed the victory for the ‘Balers.
Quote of 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.”
– – Zach Canez, senior defensive back.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SB 0 7 0 6 13
Wilcox 0 6 0 0 6
SCORING
Second quarter
Wilcox – Pass, Ivan Rodriguez to Eric Baerga, 7-yard score (PAT by Kyle Barraclough failed) 6-0 Wilcox
SB – Pass, Ronnie Fhurong to Miles Sanchez, 10-yard score (PAT by Daniel Pape good) 7-6, SB.
Fourth quarter
SB – Pass, Ronnie Fhurong to Zach Canez, 4-yard score (PAT by Daniel Pape failed) 13-6, SB
SB STATS
Passing
Ronnie Fhurong – 7 of 14, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns
Rushing
Abel Jacquez – 14 rushes, 75 yards
Nick Acosta – 11 rushes, 54 yards
Ronnie Fhurong – 6 rushes, 32 yards
Anthony Padilla – 3 rushes, 14 yards
Mitchell Cook – 2 rushes, 7 yards
Sebastian Cathirell – 2 rushes, 1 yard
Receiving
Miles Sanchez – 2 catches, 34 yards, 1 touchdown
Zach Canez – 2 catches, 15 yards, 1 touchdown
Felix Cortez – 1 catch, 20 yards
Mitchell Cook – 1 catch, 8 yards
Abel Jacquez – 1 catch, 3 yards
Notable defensive stats
Kevin Burley – 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries
Zach Canez – 1 interception
Taylor Coustette – 1 interception
Sam Doty – 1 sack
Ricky Canes – 1 sack
Wilcox Stats
Passing
Ivan Rodriguez – 6 of 15, 65 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
Cory Murphy – 0 of 1
Rushing
Ivan Rodriguez – 14 rushes, 65 yards
Patrick Mitchell – 10 rushes, 48 yards
Michael Lesui – 6 rushes, 35 yards
Quincy Henry – 3 rushes, 10 yards
Cory Murphy – 1 rush, 2 yards
Receiving
Kyle Barraclough – 3 catches, 35 yards
Eric Baerga – 2 catches, 24 yards, 1 touchdown
Michael Lesui – 1 catch, 6 yards
JV Note:
The ‘Balers junior varsity squad handled Wilcox 28-8 on Friday in Santa Clara.> “We did awesome,” Coach Luis Espinoza said. “We played all four quarters. I played all the guys, pretty much. It was a nice win.” Niko Hebert scored the first touchdown for the ‘Balers from 5-yards out, while Wayne Clark Urbina supplied a 10-yard touchdown later in the game. Hebert went option left for a 20-yard touchdown run, and Sal Ornelas stripped the ball on defense and went 60 yards for a touchdown. Wilcox scored their touchdown with three minutes left in regulation. ‘Baler Jordan Ashford intercepted a pass and went 85 yards before he was tackled to end the game. “I want my team to finish,” Espinoza said. “That was the nail in the coffin.” San Benito will play at Bellarmine next Friday.
Frosh Note:
The ‘Baler freshman team lost to Wilcox on Thursday 14-0 in Santa Clara. Despite the differential, the game was 0-0 heading into the fourth quarter, when Wilcox went up 7-0 on the first play of the final period. Later, with 55 seconds left in the game, Wilcox added another score to take a 14-0 lead. “We fared OK,” Coach Randy Logue said. “We’re moving the ball but we can’t punch it in … It was really a close game again, but if you can’t score, you can’t win.” The ‘Balers will play Thursday at Bellarmine.
