The Balers needed a victory Friday – and things couldn’t have
started out more perfectly for the 0-2 Balers.
Using a smothering defense, the Balers forced three
first-quarter turnovers to bury the Falcons in a 14-0 first quarter
hole. The Balers held on in the final three quarters to escape with
their first win of the season, a 28-14 victory over Saratoga.
SARATOGA
The Balers needed a victory Friday – and things couldn’t have started out more perfectly for the 0-2 Balers.
Using a smothering defense, the Balers forced three first-quarter turnovers to bury the Falcons in a 14-0 first quarter hole. The Balers held on in the final three quarters to escape with their first win of the season, a 28-14 victory over Saratoga.
Overall, the Balers forced four turnovers in the first half, as the defense was aggressive in getting into the Saratoga backfield, causing havoc for the two Falcon quarterbacks.
“We were going to give them a lot of stuff,” Baler head coach Chris Cameron said. “A lot of movements … we were going to be really aggressive on defense – we were really aggressive on defense today. We were creating a lot of havoc back there and it worked out really well.”
And it sure did – especially in the first half.
The Balers didn’t allow a first half completion and intercepted two passes from quarterbacks Kyle Dozier and Mitchell Casas. Overall, the Balers allowed only 62 yards in the first half – all on the ground. Through the first quarter of play, Saratoga never crossed into San Benito territory.
To create the havoc, the Balers rarely blitzed, relying on seniors Ryan Di Salvo and Jon Huaracha to cause pressure up the middle – and they did.
“We just hit the gaps pretty much – that’s all we did. They are pretty much a base blocking team – they like to pull a lot,” Di Salvo said. “So we just followed the puller and hit the gaps a lot. The coach told us we have to get the ball out to create turnovers – so we were going after the ball.”
San Benito defensive back Lionel Munguia was one of those ball hawks, picking off a first quarter pass from Dozier and recovering a fumble on the Falcons next drive.
“I read the play perfectly and I picked up the ball,” Munguia said. “It’s plain and simple – I got help from my corner.”
On offense, it was once again Michael Bocksnick who was the main offensive force, going 9-14 with 115 yards through the air but it was his feet that made the difference for San Benito.
Bocksnick rushed for San Benito’s first two scores as the Balers capitalized on Saratoga’s turnovers. But things could have been much better for the offense, which turned the ball over three times themselves.
“We kind of squandered some other opportunities there, but we’ve got to get over that hump,” Cameron said. ” We have to get over that hump. We have a ways to go still. It was a really nice victory.”
The Balers dropped two first-half touchdown passes from the arm of Bocksnick and also turned the ball over deep in Saratoga territory. Regardless, San Benito pulled away with the win.
“We started off well, and I think we finished well too,” Bocksnick said.
In the first drive of the game, the Balers moved down the field through the air before Bocksnick ran it in from 18 yards out. Bocksnick, who faked a pitch, took the quarterback option to the left side of the line and sprinted into the endzone untouched.
Bocksnick added to the score, after Munguia’s first quarter interception, with a 1-yard lunge into the endzone only a few minutes later. The Balers 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter was all they really needed in a dominate offensive and defensive showing.
But to help close out the game, the Balers returned to the ground attack and nine different rushers. Overall, the Balers combined for 230 yards on the ground – and another 102 through the air.
Bocksnick and sophomore Zach Hicks each ran for a team-high 56 yards. Hicks rushed for 48 yards in the second half as he became the Balers featured back.
Fullback Damien Botelho, a sophomore, added another 39 yards on the ground – including his first varsity touchdown to put San Benito up 21-0 in the third quarter.
Anthony Cervantes added the final touchdown for San Benito with a third quarter score to give the Balers a 28-0 lead.
Unlike the first half, the Balers dominated the second half on the ground – methodically overpowering Saratoga.
“I like the way we came out in the second half and got after them,” Cameron said. “We were throwing the ball a lot (in the first half), and put some balls on the ground and gave up some sacks on some blown protection. So we wanted to come out and run the football hard in the second half … and that was good.”
The Balers attempted only three passes in the second half.
“We had a lot of backs get in there,” Bocksnick said. “They did a really good job, knowing their assignments and taking some nice holes and running with it. The offensive line did a good job protecting them.”
The Balers will return to Andy Hardin Field on Friday to take on Willow Glen – the final non-league game of the year.
San Benito 14 0 14 0 – 28
Saratoga 0 0 0 14 – 14
First Quarter
SB – Bocksnick 18-yard run (Canes kick) 9:26
SB – Bocksnick 1-yard run (Canes kick) 3:17
Second Quarter
No score
Third Quarter
SB – Botelho 11-yard run (Canes kick) 8:05
SB – Cervantes 8-yard run (Canes kick)1:28
Fourth Quarter
SA – Doles 35-yard pass from Casas (Ruff kick) 10:50
SA – Guercio 14-yard pass from Dozier (Ruff kick) :56
RUSHING – SB: Cervantes 2-13, Bocksnick 9-56, De Leon 3-13, Hicks 8-56, Botelho 8-39, Valencia 2-5, Cameron 2-5, Perez 4-42, Hartshorn 2-6; SA: Casas 2-1, Doles 15-73, Yates 7-29, Lee 4-16, Berryhill 4- -5.
PASSING – SB: Bocksnick 9-14-1-115; SA: Casas 3-6-1-43, Dozier 3-7-1-68.
RECEIVING – SB: Soto 5-80, Di Salvo 3-37, Botelho 1- -2; SA: Dozier 2-33, Doles 1-35, Ruff 1-18, Guercio 1-25.
This week’s San Benito Score
