The San Benito High football team remained undefeated Friday
night when it topped visiting North Salinas 29-15 at Andy Hardin
Stadium in Hollister.
HOLLISTER
Not much went right for the San Benito High offense in the second half Friday night. A turnover and three straight offensive possessions that ended three-and-out — not to mention one series that a finished with a safety — left the Balers with little momentum against a suddenly energized North Salinas squad at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister.
“The third quarter was disaster city,” San Benito head coach Chris Cameron said. “We had a lot of long faces on the sidelines.
“But we kind of got our identity back in the fourth quarter.”
Leading 22-15 with just more than nine minutes remaining in regulation, the Balers’ attack — which hadn’t recorded a first down since one drive late in the second quarter — orchestrated a 15-play, 62-yard drive that culminated with a 2-yard touchdown run from fullback Nick Acosta and preserved a 29-15 San Benito victory.
“That’s how we play Hollister football right there — smashmouth football,” said Acosta, who carried the ball 20 times for 126 yards.
The drive ate up six minutes and 28 seconds off the clock, and forced the Vikings into a two-possession football game with 2:42 remaining.
No, not much went right for the Balers offense in the second half; not much, that is, until the very end.
“It was ugly, but we got the job done,” said quarterback Trevor Fabing, who ran for two touchdowns Friday night, both in the first half. “We had tremendous heart tonight in the fourth quarter.
“In the fourth quarter, we found out what we are.”
And right now, the Balers are 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League with just three games remaining in the regular season. But despite the unbeaten streak, a bye next week may just come at the perfect time for some on San Benito.
“I think the bye week is real necessary right now,” Cameron said. “We’ve got guys banged up, and it’s gonna come at a good time. It’ll be nice to have some time off.”
One player banged up was Baler Michael Murphy, who suffered an injury to his left knee late in the third quarter Friday. Although he was seen walking the sidelines during the fourth, the senior linebacker took the cautionary route after the game and was using crutches.
His presence on the field was still felt, however.
“I’m glad we won, though. I’m glad we’re 7-0,” Murphy said. “Everyone thought North Salinas was gonna come in and upset us, but they didn’t.”
Certainly the greatest test San Benito has experienced all season, however, the Vikings’ 15 points nearly equaled the 20 points the Balers defense had allowed through its first six games combined. And after San Benito took a 14-0 lead to halftime, North High managed to get on the scoreboard in the third and end the Balers’ 12-quarter scoreless streak.
“We knew they were a good football team, and what they’re capable of is big plays,” Fabing said. “We needed to come out of the locker room and score a touchdown (in the second half), but it didn’t really happen.”
Instead, the Balers fumbled on its second possession during the hand-off exchange and Viking Josh Trejo recovered at the North Salinas 46. After an illegal motion play made it first-and-15, Viking Marquis Brooks made up the difference and then some when he bounced out to the right sideline and broke three tackles en route to a 59-yard touchdown run.
Brooks finished with 16 carries for 153 yards — the bulk of North Salinas’ 261 yards of total offense.
“We were all down after they got that touchdown,” Murphy said. “But I told the guys, we can’t let those one play’s get in our head. We’ve got to forget about those one play’s and put it in the past, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Any momentum gained by North Salinas on Brooks’ speedy delivery to the end zone was quickly lost. The touchdown ended with an unsportsmanlike penalty on North Salinas — which San Benito opted to have charged on the kickoff — while the Vikings’ point-after attempt was botched when an errant snap sailed over holder, and quarterback, Curt Ceralde’s head.
Ceralde corralled the loose football some 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, only to be greeted with a crushing hit by Murphy just seconds later that ignited the Baler sideline.
Keeping with the momentum, while the touchdown made it 14-6, San Benito was guaranteed to get 15 additional yards on the ensuing kickoff after the unsportsmanlike call. But instead of a short field, return man Jordan Ashford darted 64 yards down the left sideline toward the end zone, erasing Brooks’ touchdown in 11 seconds flat.
“It was a turning point,” said Ashford of the kickoff return, the first of his career. “We were ahead, but it just seemed like our team was getting down on itself and no one had any ‘umph.'”
Fabing only added to the ‘umph’ on the point-after attempt. As the holder, Fabing recognized North Salinas stacking the right side, with just one defender on the left. On the snap, instead of kicker Celestino Granados splitting the uprights, Fabing sprinted left and around the one Viking defender for the two-point conversion that put the Balers ahead 22-6 with 8:27 left in the third.
“I told (Granados), if I take it don’t break your leg,” Fabing said. “That was big for us. That was a big two-point conversion.”
The special teams gave the two points back later in the contest, however. On their next offensive possession, the Balers fumbled the pitch for a loss of 16 yards, while the poor field position would only carry over into San Benito’s following drive when it was forced to punt on a fourth-and-16 play at the Baler 20.
But a bad snap on the punt resulted in a safety when San Benito punter Dustin Franco was forced to fall on the loose football in the end zone. And after the safety kickoff gave North High the ball at midfield, Brooks burst up the middle for 38 yards to the Baler 3, setting up Michael Benabides 3-yard touchdown run.
Suddenly, the Vikings were within seven points with 9:20 remaining — the smallest fourth-quarter lead San Benito has experienced this season.
“But we kind of put the finishing touches on the game,” Cameron said of San Benito’s final drive. “That was real good — good identity. That was old-fashioned Baler football.”
Things didn’t transpire swimmingly for the Balers’ on its game-sealing drive, however. Two straight penalties pushed San Benito back to a first-and-30 at its own 30, but the Balers managed to get a first down after Fabing hit tight end Jake Hunter for a 20-yard pass.
“That was open the whole game,” Fabing said of Hunter, who had three receptions for 43 yards. “That was my big target. He was big for us tonight.”
Later on the drive, San Benito had a fourth-and-1 at the Viking 41 when Fabing netted two yards up the middle to extend the drive.
“They didn’t stop fighting,” he said, “but we came out strong in the end.”
The Vikings appeared to start strong in the first quarter when they ran 17 plays on their opening drive, but failed to find the end zone. San Benito responded with a six-play drive of its own, culminating with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle by Fabing.
Following an interception from free safety Sal Ornelas late in the second quarter — his fifth pick this season — Fabing found the end zone once again, this time from six yards out, to give San Benito a 14-0 lead heading into halftime.
“You can’t just play one half,” said North Salinas head coach Steven Zenk, who noted San Benito was the fourth undefeated team the Vikings have played this season.
North High falls to 1-1 in the TCAL as a result of the loss, 2-4 overall.
“They’ve played some tough teams, and they put up matches against them,” Acosta said. “But we came out banging tonight.”
San Benito will enjoy a bye next week before returning Oct. 30 to take on the Salinas Cowboys at “The Pit.” Kick-off is 7:30 p.m.
“I think this gonna change our whole outlook on the season,” Murphy said of the grind-it-out win. “We’re gonna come next with our bye with a whole different outlook, and the following week we’re just gonna take it to Salinas.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
NS 0 0 6 9 15
SB 7 7 8 7 29
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
RUSH (3:19) — SB, Trevor Fabing, 1-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 7-0, SB.
Second Quarter
RUSH (2:01) — SB, Trevor Fabing, 6-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Grandados) is good; 14-0, SB.
Third Quarter
RUSH (8:38) — NS, Marquis Brooks, 59-yard touchdown, PAT (Alex Santana) is no good; 14-6, SB.
KICK RETURN (8:27) — SB, Jordan Ashford, 64-yard touchdown, Two-point conversion (Trevor Fabing) is good; 22-6, SB.
Fourth Quarter
SAFETY (10:58) — NS; 22-8, SB.
RUSH (9:20) — NS, Michael Benabides, 3-yard touchdown, PAT (Alex Santana) is good; 22-15, SB.
RUSH (2:45) — SB, Nick Acosta, 2-yard touchdown, PAT (Celestino Granados) is good; 29-15, SB.
NORTH SALINAS STATISTICS
Passing: Curt Ceralde — 5 of 13, 28 yards, 1 interception. Rushing: Curt Ceralde — 5 attempts, 15 yards; Michael Benabides — 18 attempts, 65 yards, 1 touchdown; Marquis Brooks — 16 attempts, 153 yards, 1 touchdown. Receiving: Mario Villareal — 1 reception, 6 yards; Marquis Brooks — 2 receptions, 11 yards; Michael Benabides — 1 reception, 8 yards; Juan Cardenas — 1 reception, 3 yards.
SAN BENITO STATISTICS
Passing: Trevor Fabing — 4 of 7, 51 yards. Rushing: Trevor Fabing — 8 attempts, 11 yards, 2 touchdowns; Nick Acosta — 20 attempts, 126 yards, 1 touchdown; Bryan Gutierrez — 4 attempts, 31 yards; Cody Hendricks — 4 attempts, 28 yards; Junior Davila — 1 attempt, -3 yards. Receiving: Andre Cornell — 1 reception, 8 yards; Jake Hunter — 3 receptions, 43 yards.
TOTAL OFFENSE
North Salinas — 261 yards (28 pass, 233 run)
San Benito — 244 yards (51 pass, 193 run)
TURNOVERS
North Salinas — 1
San Benito — 1
SACKS
North Salinas — 2 sacks (Adrian Quintero, Michael Wheelus) for -9 yards.
San Benito — 2 sacks (Robert Pinedo, Adam Robles) for -10 yards.
JV Note:
The San Benito High junior varsity football team had its chances against North Salinas Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister, but the visiting Vikings managed to spoil the Homecoming festivities when they held on to a 21-13 victory over the Haybalers.
San Benito is now 2-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 5-2 overall.
After North Salinas grabbed an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, San Benito’s Anthony Cervantes responded with an 80-yard return on the ensuing kickoff to tie the game. But the Vikings scored the go-ahead touchdown just before the break to take a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, though, the Balers were marching down the field and were just about to knot the game at 14-all when a San Benito running back fumbled the football at the Vikings’ 1-yard line.
“That changed the momentum of the game,” San Benito head coach Matt Andrade said.
North Salinas tacked on another touchdown in the third quarter to cushion its lead, 21-7. But in the fourth, Cervantes made it a one-score game when he ran the football in from 18 yards out.
The Balers got the ball back late in the contest, and were looking to tie the game up, but the offense fumbled the ball at midfield.
“The ball didn’t bounce our way today,” Andrade said. “Tough game, but we’ll learn from it.”
The Balers are off next week but will return Oct. 30 to take on the Salinas Cowboys at “The Pit” in Salinas. Kick-off is 5 p.m.
Frosh Note:
The San Benito High freshman football team posted 28 points in the first half en route to a 47-0 romp over the visiting North Salinas Vikings Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister.
The Balers improve to 2-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League as a result of the victory, 4-2 overall.
“Our kids finally put together their first game where both sides of the ball came to play,” San Benito head coach Herb Bocksnick said.
Quarterback Michael Bocksnick had three touchdown runs from 35, 12 and 4 yards out. He also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Estevan Villanueva.
Giano Del Curto also got in on the scoring action when he posted a 78-yard touchdown run and a 64-yard touchdown run for San Benito, while Angel Pasillas added to the offensive onslaught with a 12-yard touchdown run.
San Benito will host Gilroy’s Christopher High School on Thursday at Andy Hardin Stadium. Kick-off is 6 p.m.
