The San Benito Haybalers silenced the visiting Alisal Trojans
44-0 Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister. It was the
Tri-County Athletic League opener for both teams.
HOLLISTER
After convincing victories against Wilcox and Oak Grove the last two weeks, the San Benito High football team’s Tri-County Athletic League opener against Alisal Friday night may have had “letdown game” written all over it.
After all, the visiting Trojans were fresh off their first win of the season – a 21-14 victory against Woodside – and had even defeated the Balers to open up TCAL play last year.
But San Benito head coach Chris Cameron and his staff posed a challenge to the Balers prior to Friday night’s game, one that would hopefully offset any self-inflicted setbacks, while at the same time instilling a sense of urgency in the team.
“Our goal should be to score every time we have the ball – walk out in the first half and score on every possession,” Cameron said. “I didn’t want a letdown.”
And, in the first half at least, the Balers didn’t let up.
Running roughshod on the Trojans from the start, San Benito compiled a season-high 446 yards of total offense, 376 yards on the ground, and silenced visiting Alisal 44-0 Friday at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister – the TCAL opener for both teams.
It’s the second shutout this year for San Benito, which improves to 1-0 in the TCAL, 5-0 overall. With five games down, the Balers have allowed just 20 points – an average of just four points allowed a game.
“We were ready for it all,” said senior linebacker Robert Pinedo. “Through the week, we watched everything they had done and everything they could do, and what they would throw in. They didn’t surprise us at all.”
The Balers were expecting a heavy dose of Johnny Morales, but the junior running back had little room to run, compiling 47 yards on 16 attempts.
Alisal, meanwhile, was held to 90 total yards for the game, just 27 in the first half. But while the defense forced seven three-and-outs on Alisal, the Baler offense shined to the tune of a 30-0 halftime lead.
Quarterback Trevor Fabing ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns, threw for 70 yards and one touchdown, and helped lead the Balers to 293 total yards of offense in the first half alone.
“Coach Cam put a challenge out there for us, to score on every possession in the first half,” said Fabing, whose offense scored on five of the seven first-half possessions. “I think we got the job done.”
Fabing left the game with just more than a minute remaining in the second quarter after he injured his knee on a quarterback-keeper option around the right tackle. Trying to cut back outside, Fabing pulled up and was tackled after a 3-yard gain.
He was helped off the field by the team’s training staff, but was walking around on the sidelines after the game.
“My foot stayed in the ground, and all my momentum went that way, while my knee went that way,” said Fabing, pointing in opposite directions. “It hurt really bad.
“It’s feeling good (right now). But when it happened in the game, it just really hurt.”
Fabing did not return in the second half, although his return was perhaps unlikely with the Balers holding a 30-point lead at the break. San Benito turned the second-half into a mere formality after an explosive second quarter that saw the Balers post a 20-spot on the Trojans.
“Let’s get the first one. Then let’s get the next one. Then let’s get the next one. Then let’s just keep getting them, man,” Cameron said. “I wanted the game to be over at halftime.”
After San Benito’s opening drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Celestino Granados that put San Benito up 3-0, the Balers made it a two-possession game on their very next drive.
Granted with good field position after the Trojans went three-and-out, San Benito began at the Alisal 46 and marched to paydirt on just five plays, culminating with a 14-yard rush up the middle by fullback Nick Acosta, who appeared to be untouched on the play.
Acosta finished with 89 yards rushing on just four attempts.
With the Balers up 10-0 after one quarter, San Benito broke the game open with a quick-strike offense that netted three more touchdowns before halftime – 20 additional points that took four offensive plays.
The offense needed all of one play early in the quarter when Fabing hooked up with wideout Andre Cornell on a short pass over the middle. Cornell then showcased breakaway speed toward the left sideline, and sprinted 70 yards to the end zone.
On its ensuing offensive possession, San Benito needed all of two plays to march 63 yards downfield. After Cornell received the option pitch for a 48-yard gain down the left sideline, Fabing scored the first of his two touchdowns on the next play – a 15-yard keeper off the right tackle.
Cornerback Jordan Ashford then helped San Benito’s cause when he picked off a Marcos Rosales pass deep in Alisal territory. One play later, Fabing went untouched toward the right sideline for a 28-yard touchdown.
In all, San Benito’s three scoring drives in the second quarter lasted four plays and 58 seconds, equaling 161 yards and 20 points.
There was certainly no letdown.
“They were showing everything,” Fabing said. “They tried to stop us, but they couldn’t stop us at all.”
Tyler Decker filled in behind center in the second half, and although he threw an interception early in the third quarter, giving the Trojans the ball at the Baler 37, San Benito’s defense was able to preserve the shutout, nonetheless.
The Trojans had their best chance to score when the running back Morales broke toward the left sideline for a 32-yard gain that advanced the ball to the Baler 5. But Alisal failed to score on its next four downs, and handed the ball right back to San Benito at the 4.
“It was the coaches, and we also motivated ourselves, too,” Pinedo said.
Dealt with its worst field position of the game, Decker and the Balers took over at their own 4-yard line on the ensuing possession, and orchestrated a six-play, 96-yard drive that culminated with a 7-yard quarterback-keeper by the junior signal-caller.
“He’s a good capable kid. The more snaps he gets, the better he’s gonna be,” Cameron said of Decker, who finished with four rushing attempts for 22 yards. “But I don’t want to see Trevor (Fabing) go away, obviously.”
Penalties continued to be a factor against San Benito, though, which had two touchdowns taken away after called infractions, including a 19-yard rushing touchdown by Decker and a 62-yard punt return by Ashford.
The Balers did get the special teams touchdown back, however, when junior punt returner Matt Vallejo found room to run midway through the fourth quarter, and cleared 56 yards toward the left sideline to the end zone, capping San Benito’s scoring.
San Benito will visit Everett Alvarez next week. Originally scheduled for a Saturday afternoon game, the two teams will meet up on Friday night in Salinas.
The Eagles are coming off a 21-0 loss to Gilroy.
“We’re perfect so far as the record shows,” Pinedo said, “and that’s the way we’d like to keep it.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
ALIS 0 0 0 0 0
SANB 10 20 7 7 44
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
KICK (7:31) – SB, Celestino Granados, 42-yard field goal is good; 3-0, SB.
RUSH (3:46) – SB, Nick Acosta, 14-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 10-0, SB.
Second Quarter
PASS (9:54) – SB, Trevor Fabing to Andre Cornell, 70-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 17-0, SB.
RUSH (4:20) – SB, Trevor Fabing, 15-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is no good; 23-0, SB.
RUSH (3:37) – SB, Trevor Fabing, 28-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 30-0, SB.
Third Quarter
RUSH (6:15) – SB, Tyler Decker, 7-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 37-0, SB.
Fourth Quarter
PUNT RETURN (8:35) – SB, Matt Vallejo, 56-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 44-0, SB.
ALISAL STATISTICS
Passing: Marcos Rosales – 7 of 16, 48 yards, 1 interception. Rushing: Marcos Rosales – 2 attempts, -17 yards; Johnny Morales – 16 attempts, 47 yards; Jose Lopez – 3 attempts, -3 yards; Osiel Lopez – 1 attempt, 5 yards; Jacob Espinoza – 3 attempts, 10 yards. Receiving: Alex Garcia – 3 receptions, 20 yards; Ivan Ramos – 2 receptions, 13 yards; Andrew Macias – 1 reception, 11 yards; Taylor Tomas – 1 reception, 4 yards.
SAN BENITO STATISTICS
Passing: Trevor Fabing – 1 of 3, 70 yards, 1 touchdown; Tyler Decker – 0 of 1, 1 interception. Rushing: Trevor Fabing – 9 attempts, 107 yards, 2 touchdowns; Cody Hendricks – 14 attempts, 70 yards; Nick Acosta – 4 attempts, 89 yards, 1 touchdown; Bryan Gutierrez – 1 attempt, 10 yards; Junior Davila – 4 attempts, 14 yards; Andre Cornell – 1 attempts, 48 yards; James Flook – 1 attempt, 0 yards; Eddie Orozco – 1 attempt, 2 yards; Tyler Decker – 4 attempts, 22 yards, 1 touchdown; Wayne Urbina – 3 attempts, 6 yards; Nathan Castro – 2 attempts, 8 yards. Receiving: Andre Cornell – 1 reception, 70 yards, 1 touchdown.
TURNOVERS
Alisal – 1
San Benito – 1
TOTAL OFFENSE
Alisal – 90 yards (48 pass, 42 rush)
San Benito – 446 yards (70 pass, 376 rush)
JV Note:
The San Benito High junior varsity football team shutout visiting Alisal 20-0 Friday at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister to improve to 1-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League.
The Balers are 4-1 overall.
After a mostly defensive first half, San Benito stole some momentum heading into the break when Garrett Avina scored on a 3-yard rushing touchdown with approximately 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter, putting the Balers up 7-0 at halftime.
“The first half was defensive, of course. I don’t think [Alisal] got past the 50-yard line, to be honest,” San Benito JV head coach Matt Andrade said. “We were able to score right at the end of the first half and go into the seconds half with the momentum.”
Anthony Cervantes made it a two-score game when he ran the ball in from four yards out during the third quarter, while Zach Nitzel put the game out of reach for the Trojans in the final period with a pick-six – a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.
San Benito will return to TCAL play next Friday when it visits Everett Alvarez. Kick-off is 5 p.m.
Frosh Note:
After suffering a 28-14 loss to Palma last Saturday, the San Benito High freshmen football team rebounded to defeat visiting Alisal 23-0 on Thursday night at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister.
Details were not provided at press time.
The Balers are now 3-1 overall, 1-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League. San Benito will visit Everett Alvarez next Friday.
