Before the season started, San Benito High football coach Chris Cameron expressed his usual concerns about the team. But he had particular questions about the offensive line, calling it “the weakness of the team right now” two weeks before the season-opener.
Whether Cameron was gravely concerned or just trying to spark a fire under his players—probably a little bit of both—something definitely worked as the offensive line answered the bell in a 49-20 mauling of visiting Hilmar last Friday.
Offensive linemen Daniel Pasillas, Tristian Medina, Marcos Flores, Spencer Maes and Blaize Solis paved the way for a 384-yard rushing output, including a career-high 200 yards rushing from fullback Hunter Nye.
Nye needed just 16 carries to reach the 200 mark, and Kyle Cameron gained 82 yards on just 10 carries, including touchdown runs of 4, 6 and 1 yards. Nye had five runs of 22 yards or more, and San Benito ballcarriers averaged an eye-popping 9.14 yards per carry.
The offensive line got off the ball well and repeatedly opened up holes for Nye to reach the second level, or beyond the line of scrimmage. Once Nye—he had touchdown runs of 11 and 22 yards—was in the open field, he used his vision and toughness for optimal gains.
Balers quarterback R.J. Clark was ultra-efficient, completing 6-of-7 passes for 130 yards while rushing for 56 more. Looking confident and relaxed, Clark showed his athleticism with TD runs of 43 and 6 yards.
Blanket coverage
Next man up. It’s football lingo for every player—whether it’s a starter or someone buried deep on the depth chart—to be ready at any time, knowing their turn could be just an injury away. Last year while playing on the junior varsity team, San Benito High junior cornerback Donny Torres had an inkling he would be on the varsity for the 2015 season.
But he couldn’t foresee how vital his role would be in his first-ever varsity contest. Assigned to cover Hilmar receiver Alex Chavez—he got loose for five receptions and 62 yards in the first half—before basically getting shut down in the final two quarters by the much smaller Torres, who received the assignment in the locker room at halftime.
When told he would be assigned to cover Chavez, Torres replied, “I’ve got 80? Then I thought to myself, ‘Just do it.’ I was stoked.”
The 5-foot-6, 150-pound Torres, who had an interception in the first quarter that helped set up the Balers’ third touchdown, studied Chavez’s movements and route patterns to anticipate where the receiver was going. On a couple of occasions, Chavez looked open for a split second only to see Torres enter the picture and knock down a pass.
“I studied him and saw that he likes to do a lot of fakes and real quick outs,” Torres said. “So I just broke on the ball really quick every time it was thrown his way.”
Torres has been playing football since he was 8, and loves the game with such passion that he falls asleep with a football by his side. His favorite player is Tyrann Mathieu, who earned the nickname the honey badger for his fearless play.
“He’s kind smaller just like me, but he’s always making plays,” Torres said. “My job is to make plays, too.”
Next opponent on tap
San Benito plays at Palo Alto on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings are coming off a 54-28 win over Sequoia of Redwood City. Palo Alto had tremendous success running the ball, with Paul Jackson III rushing for 152 yards on 12 carries and Tony Caballero-Santana gaining 122 yards on 18 carries.
Justin Hull had touchdown passes of 48, 20 and 20 yards while running for one more. The Balers beat the Vikings 33-0 last year, a season in which Palo Alto finished with one of its worst records (3-8) ever.
