Due to a press error the complete story was not printed in Tuesday’s Free Lance. The updated story can be read below.
After trailing 14-0 early and fighting back to a 14-14 score with less than a minute left in the final quarter, the last thing San Benito wanted to do was lose by a last-minute field goal in its 2012 season opener at home to Pioneer.
Baler junior linebacker Cody Freitas, who already recorded two sacks earlier in the game, made sure that wasn’t going to happen.
On the 30-yard attempt with little time remaining, Freitas sprinted around the left edge, raised his arms and ended the Mustangs’ hopes of a regulation win.
Thirty minutes later, after two sessions of overtime, the blocked kick proved to be the difference in San Benito’s 24-21 win over Pioneer.
“We had a lot of heart in this game and finished strong like we wanted to,” Freitas said. “I wanted it. I wanted it bad.”
He wasn’t the only one.
“The whole team was back there with him,” head coach Chris Cameron said. “It was a great play.”
The Balers, though, had to respond again once the overtime session started. On the first play of overtime, Pioneer quarterback Drew Fryhoff connected with Dominic Barnes for a touchdown and a quick lead. Two plays later, San Benito responded and evened the score on a seven-yard touchdown run from Zak Hicks.
In the second overtime session, San Benito’s John Canes gave the Balers the lead for good with a 26-yard field goal. The Balers defense stopped Pioneer on four plays to end the game.
The game, though, changed hours before.
Cody Cameron turned the game in the Balers’ favor during the third quarter after the team’s momentum was squashed with an injury to starting quarterback Josh George, who sustained a dislocated shoulder and did not return. Fellow junior David Stanton replaced George.
On the possession following the injury, as Pioneer was driving inside Baler territory with a 14-7 lead, Cameron took the game into his hands – literally.
On a Pioneer sweep to the right side, Cameron, who was playing safety, swooped the ball from the grasp of the Mustangs’ Russell Neeley and returned it 67 yards untouched to even the score.
“I just saw him holding the ball and told myself ‘I’m going to take it,’” Cameron said. “I grabbed it. He fell. I looked up and ran.”
He continued: “It was a great team play. It was awesome. That’s where the 100 meter comes in handy. Coach (Iran) White taught me well.”
It was the Balers defense that kept the game close, as the offense struggled to find consistency with eight penalties and two turnovers. Limiting the Pioneer running attack to only 154 yards, San Benito’s front seven led by Freitas and Jorge Perez, who forced and recovered a fumble, controlled the game.
“We just stuck it to them,” Freitas said. “They have everything. They have speed, talent, power. But we worked hard.”
San Benito needed just that, though, because the team started slow. For the second year in a row, the Balers allowed a touchdown on the season-opening kickoff. The offense, meanwhile, went nearly a full quarter without a first down.
“We were down again on the opening kick – two years in row,” Cody Cameron said. “We showed poised. It was fantastic win.”
He continued: “We have a lot of returners on the ‘D.’ We have a lot of leaders coming back. They were on that championship team from last year. The whole motivation is just our work ethic right now. We are working. We are never giving up.”
On the opening kickoff, Pioneer’s Neely received the ball around the 15-yard line, made one cut and ran away from the San Benito defenders. It was a shocking beginning to the game for the Balers after they focused on kickoff coverage all week.
“We said we weren’t going to kick it to No. 5,” Cameron said. “And we kicked it to him. He wasn’t even touched.”
Pioneer scored again to open the second quarter after San Benito fumbled inside its own 10-yard line. Two plays later, Pioneer’s Fryhoff made two Balers miss and scored on a 12-yard scramble.
San Benito wouldn’t answer until the final moments of the half, when fullback Damien Botelho, who finished with 53 yards on 16 carries, scored on a one-yard touchdown run.
But once down 14-0, San Benito started to take control of the game behind the running of Hicks, who rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Botelho. George, who left the game in the third quarter, finished 3-for-8 for 35 yards. On the ground, George ran for 24 yards on six carries.
“We obviously didn’t play a real clean game,” Chris Cameron said. “We didn’t play offensively really well but guys came up with a big effort and it kept us in the game. We kept rallying. The kids played with a lot of emotion tonight.”
He continued: “The kids came together tonight. It was an ugly game. It was by far, of all the games I have coached here, it definitely wasn’t one of the prettiest ones. But we got it done tonight. We could have folded a number of times.”
Box Score
Pioneer 7 7 0 0 7 0- 21
San Benito 0 7 7 0 7 3- 24
First Quarter
PN – Neeley 85-yard kickoff return (Rivier kick) 11:49
Second Quarter
PN- Fryoff 12-yard run (River kick) 11:16
SB – Botelho 1-yard run (Canes kick) :15
Third Quarter
SB – Cameron 67-yard fumble return (Canes kick) 6:28
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
Overtime
PN – Barnes 10-yard catch from Fryoff (River kick)
SB – Hicks 7-yard run (Canes kick)
Second Overtime
SB- Canes 26-yard field goal
RUSHING – SB: Botelho 16-53, Hicks 10-49, Edwards 3-14, George 6-24, Stanton 3-14; PN: Stanton 5-20, Neeley 15-52, Barnes 11-49, Appleton 3-5, Iniguez 4-0, Fryhoff 5-23.
PASSING – SB: George 3-8-0-35, Stanto 3-7-1-16; PN: Fryhoff 9-14-0-126.
RECEIVING – SB: Soto 3-23, Botelho 2-9, Villanueva 1-19; PN: Rezzonico 1-24, Cooper 1-10, Stanton 1-6, Neeley 2-54, Barnes 4-32.
