The San Benito Haybalers improved to 4-0 on the season after
they dispatched visiting Oak Grove 24-6 on Friday night at Andy
Hardin Stadium in Hollister.
HOLLISTER
Last year, San Benito received a 43-0 licking against Oak Grove that left a sour taste in the collective mouths of the Haybalers. But some, including San Benito head coach Chris Cameron, had already moved past that disappointing defeat.
“It wasn’t fresh in my mind. I didn’t think about it at all,” Cameron said. “Someone may have mentioned it earlier in the week, that these guys pounded us last year, but it wasn’t the focus of attention.”
No, the attention on Friday night was directed squarely on Oak Grove’s offense, which was held in check all game after racking up 47 points against Woodside two weeks ago. San Benito’s D limited the Eagles to a single score and just 119 total yards on Friday night, not to mention force two turnovers, as the Balers delivered a dominating 24-6 victory behind its ruthless defense – another smashmouth-style win.
“I don’t know what they had for rushing tonight,” Cameron said. “But the carry amount probably equaled the yardage amount.”
And Cameron was exactly right. The Eagles ran for 24 yards on 24 attempts.
Oak Grove’s lead back, Harvey Kaelum, was held to just 19 yards on 10 attempts, whereas San Benito compiled 192 yards just on the ground.
But whether last season’s loss sparked San Benito to its win over the visiting Eagles on Friday night really depends on whom you ask.
While Cameron didn’t think about it at all, for senior linebacker Michael Murphy, the win over Oak Grove – and the 24 points scored – had been a lifelong goal. Friday’s outcome nearly left the hard-hitting linebacker speechless.
“This was the most important game of my life,” Murphy said. “Through all the times I’ve played Oak Grove through Pop Warner, I’ve never scored a touchdown on them in my life. I’ve been playing football for 11 years, and I’ve never scored a touchdown on them. This was my last chance to score a touchdown on them, and we did it.
“And we didn’t just score a touchdown. We won the game.”
San Benito completes the preseason with a perfect 4-0 record – the first time the Balers have started the season 4-0 since joining the Tri-County Athletic League.
“We wanted to be 4-0 so bad, we didn’t care who it was (against),” Murphy said. “We wanted to come out and win. We had that mentality, and we did it.”
Although San Benito’s offense struggled to find consistency Friday in what was a field-position game, the defense and special teams did more than enough to make it a one-sided affair.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Balers went to work early in the second when Jordan Ashford returned a punt to the Oak Grove 17 – a punt that netted one yard for the Eagles.
One play later, junior fullback Cody Hendricks burst right up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown.
Getting the start over Nick Acosta, who was ill earlier this week and didn’t start as a result, Hendricks shined to the tune of 88 yards rushing and two touchdowns – the second score a five-yard rush up the middle midway through the fourth quarter.
“They were really big, fast, but they weren’t very [good] at wrapping up,” Hendricks said. “They didn’t tackle very well. But they played a good game.”
And they answered right back, too, just one minute and 45 seconds after Hendricks’ score. Following a Harvey Kaelum 14-yard run, which was coupled with a personal foul penalty on the Balers, Oak Grove was suddenly in business at the San Benito 36.
Three straight plays yielded zero yards for the Eagles, though, which went for it on fourth-and-10, nonetheless.
The gamble paid off when quarterback Richie Castillo stepped up in the pocket and found Timi Niweigha for a 36-yard touchdown down the right sideline, the ball just slightly out of reach of the San Benito defender.
The point-after attempt was blocked by Marcos Silva, however, and the Balers kept their 7-6 lead as a result.
“We’re playing great defense,” said Cameron, whose team has allowed just 20 points in four games this season. “We’re nails on defense.”
Ashford helped set up San Benito’s ensuing possession when he returned the kickoff about 32 yards to near midfield. The return was aided by a personal foul penalty on Oak Grove, though, and the Balers started from the Eagle 39.
Two plays and 53 seconds after Oak Grove scored, San Benito signal-caller Trevor Fabing kept a quarterback option and ran 34 yards untouched toward the left sideline, supplying the Balers with a 14-6 lead.
“The defense got us the ball in perfect situations and they gave us a lot of opportunities and great field position,” Fabing said. “We had to capitalize on that.”
San Benito’s offense stalled later in the first half when the Balers went three-and-out and were forced to punt from their own end zone. But a muffed punt by Oak Grove’s Cleveland Wallace was recovered by Murphy, giving San Benito a new set of downs at its own 29 with less than two minutes to play in the half.
Fabing then went to work, hitting tight end Jake Hunter over the middle for a 26-yard pick-up, then sprinting 17 yards to the right sideline to put San Benito at the Eagles 28 with 1:15 remaining.
The Balers managed to get inside the 25 just before the break for kicker Celestino Granados, who booted a 40-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to make it 17-6.
“They’re doing a very good job over here, playing good team ball, unselfish ball, and that’s a credit to their staff,” Oak Grove head coach Jay Braun said afterward. “We’re a young squad and we hope to be where they are next year.”
Fabing, who ran for 45 yards and threw for 53, felt the offense took a step back after posting 31 points last week at Wilcox, however, despite the team compiling 245 yards of total offense against Oak Grove.
“We didn’t finish drives, and we had a turnover, my turnover,” said Fabing, who threw an interception on the opening drive. “Just knowing our formations, knowing the play.”
Like it did the previous week against Wilcox, though, San Benito’s defense set the tone early in the second half when Sal Ornelas picked off a Castillo pass on the third play of the third quarter.
Teammate Alex Alvarez had an interception to open the fourth quarter as well, which set up San Benito’s third touchdown of the game – Hendricks’ five-yard run up the middle.
“We didn’t get in a rhythm on offense,” Braun said simply. “When you’re playing this caliber of football, turnovers aren’t good for the team.”
The Eagles, meanwhile, never crossed the Balers’ 30-yard line in the second half.
San Benito will open TCAL play next Friday at home to Alisal, which posted a 21-14 win against Woodside Friday night to improve to 1-3 on the year.
Kick-off is 7:30 p.m.
The Balers, at 4-0, are the only TCAL team entering league play undefeated.
“Last week, we knew we were the underdogs, and we just took it to them,” said senior linebacker Robert Pinedo, who along with Murphy, Taylor Coustette and Isaak Ramos, established a powerful presence in Oak Grove’s backfield for most of the night.
“I wouldn’t call us the underdog any more,” Pinedo said. “They know we’re coming.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
OG 0 6 0 0 6
SB 0 17 0 7 24
SCORING SUMMARY
Second Quarter
RUSH (10:53) – SB, Cody Hendricks, 13-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 7-0, SB.
PASS (9:08) – OG, Richie Castillo to Timi Niweigha, 36-yard touchdown, PAT (blocked); 7-6, SB.
RUSH (8:15) – SB, Trevor Fabing, 34-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 14-6, SB.
KICK (:22) – SB, Celestino Granados, 40-yard field goal; 17-6, SB.
Fourth Quarter
RUSH (8:58) – SB, Cody Hendricks, 5-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 24-6, SB.
OAK GROVE STATISTICS
Passing: Richie Castillo – 11 of 27, 94 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions; Ray Rivera – 1 of 2, 1 yard. Rushing: Richie Castillo – 2 attempts, -14 yards; Ray Rivera – 3 attempts, 3 yards; Harvey Kaelum – 10 attempts, 19 yards; Junior Smart – 2 attempts, 1 yard; Paul Schwenke – 3 attempts, 4 yards; Hugo Fernandez – 1 attempt, 0 yards; Brandon Moore – 3 attempts, 11 yards. Receiving: Harvey Kaelum – 2 receptions, -2 yards; Timi Niweigha – 2 receptions, 47 yards, 1 touchdown; Scott Lawyer – 2 receptions, 17 yards; Paul Schwenke – 1 reception, -1 yards; Cleveland Wallace – 4 receptions, 29 yards; Junior Smart – 1 reception, 5 yards.
SAN BENITO STATISTICS
Passing: Trevor Fabing – 4 of 8, 53 yards, 1 interception. Rushing: Trevor Fabing – 12 attempts, 45 yards, 1 touchdown; Cody Hendricks – 11 attempts, 88 yards, 2 touchdowns; Bryan Gutierrez – 3 attempts, 13 yards; Andre Cornell – 1 attempt, -2 yards; Nick Acosta – 7 attempts, 21 yards; Junior Davila – 1 attempt, 1 yard; Tyler Decker – 2 attempts, 22 yards; Eddie Orozco – 2 attempts, 4 yards. Receiving: Andre Cornell – 2 receptions, 22 yards; Brandon Rodriguez – 1 reception, 5 yards; Jake Hunter – 1 reception, 26 yards.
TURNOVERS
Oak Grove – 2
San Benito – 1
TOTAL OFFENSE
Oak Grove – 119 yards (95 pass, 24 rush)
San Benito – 245 yards (53 pass, 192 rush)
JV Note:
Garrett Avina scored two touchdowns and Eddie Perez added another as the San Benito High junior varsity football team defeated visiting Oak Grove 21-6 Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister.
“We controlled the ball and we controlled the clock,” San Benito head coach Matt Andrade said. “My defense showed up. Oak Grove has a lot of good athletes and we were able to contain them.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Perez put the Balers on the board with an 8-yard rushing touchdown to make it 7-0, while Avina made it a two-score game when he pocketed a 4-yard rushing score, the first of his two touchdowns.
San Benito led 14-0 at halftime.
“We just kept on pounding them,” said Andrade, noting the Balers controlled the football for eight minutes during the second quarter.
After Oak Grove cut the lead in half in the third quarter with a 70-yard touchdown pass – Andrade said the ball was tipped – Avina put the Balers back up with an 11-yard rushing touchdown later in the fourth quarter.
The Balers are now 3-1 on the season.
San Benito will open Tri-County Athletic League play next Friday when Alisal visits Hollister. Kick-off is 5:30 p.m.
Frosh Note:
The San Benito High freshmen football team will play Palma on Saturday. Kick-off is 2:30 p.m.
