A second straight blowout of a league opponent has the San Benito High football team on a high as it enters the stretch run of the season. The Haybalers dominated in every facet of the game in a 63-6 demolition of visiting Alvarez on Friday. The Eagles actually scored the game’s first touchdown only to see San Benito (5-2 overall, 2-1 MBL Gabilan) run off 63 straight unanswered points.
“It was a crazy game,” said Balers linebacker Tanner Okerson, whose blocked punt led to teammate Michael Camacho recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown early in the third quarter. “The defense pretty much had another shutout, and we were able to get our backups in from both sides of the ball. That’s always nice because they’re always working hard in practice.”
The Balers have three games left in the regular season—against Christopher, Palma and Monte Vista Christian. If the Balers can run the table and get some help from teams like MVC and Palma—they have yet to play first-place Salinas—a possible co-title or outright championship is still very much in play.
Alvarez surprised the Balers with a squib kick on the game’s opening kickoff, recovering the ball on the San Benito 36-yard line. Five plays later, Brandon Yasay rushed for a 18-yard touchdown to stun the home side. However, the Balers scored on four of their next five possessions in the first half to take a commanding 28-6 lead at halftime.
Once again, San Benito’s ground and pound attack proved to be too tough for the opposition. The Balers totaled 333 of their 400 yards of offense on the ground, with the 1-2 punch of Kyle Cameron (91 yards on six carries) and Hunter Nye (80 yards on 17 carries) leading the way.
Cameron had two TD runs, including an electrifying 51-yarder. Nye had TD runs of 7 1 and 3 yards. Eleven different players carried the ball for the Balers, including Jon Mendoza, Jackson Starke and Johnny Gonzalez. Mendoza had a 30-yard TD run, Starke a 40-yard TD run and Gonzalez a 16-yard scoring run.
As great as the offense was—R.J. Clark completed 3-of-4 passes for 67 yards, including a beautiful 50-yard completion to Daniel Hopkins—the defense was even better. The Balers limited Alvarez to a paltry 79 yards of total offense, including 1 yard—yes, 1 yard—in the second half.
It was a game of big plays from the defense, as Andrew Sotelo intercepted a pass in the end zone with 9 minutes, 34 seconds left in the second quarter. It was believed to be Sotelo’s 10th interception, which would leave him either tied or in sole possession of the school’s all-time career record.
Okerson, Camacho, Sotelo, Isaac Regalado, Lino Jimenez, Ely Sernas and Tyler Biersdorff were just some of the many players who helped the defense completely shut down the Eagles. Biersdorff and Sernas lead the Gabilan Division in tackles, according to mbaypreps.com.
“We just try to stick to our assignments and not get fancy,” Okerson said. “We’re always working harder to get better.”
