What may have been lost in the rousing postgame celebrations, at
least initially as the Balers spilled out on to the field to
collect their winnings, was how the improbable
punt-block-turned-touchdown-catch in the waning moments of last
Friday’s rivalry matchup ensured this Friday’s game will actually
mean something.
HOLLISTER
The block heard ’round San Benito County last week carried with it implications that stretched beyond the Prune Bowl.
The VFW Memorial Trophy did, in fact, return to Hollister for the first time since 2007, while the Balers snapped a three-game losing streak to Gilroy in the process and reached 30 wins in the all-time series with their sudden, last-ditch 34-32 victory.
But what may have been lost in the rousing postgame celebrations, at least initially as the Balers spilled out on to the field to collect their winnings, was how the improbable punt-block-turned-touchdown-catch in the waning moments of last Friday’s rivalry matchup ensured this Friday’s game will actually mean something.
“Opportunity knocking,” San Benito head coach Chris Cameron said.
When Enrique Ramos blew through Gilroy’s line and got nothing but his right thumb on the punt attempt, launching the football — improbably — straight up and then straight down into the waiting arms of lineman Marcos Silva, San Benito’s Week 10 matchup with Palma was guaranteed to have much more on the line, much more than pride and bragging rights.
“Now we have a chance to play for a share of the league championship,” Cameron said last week, discussing the importance of beating Gilroy in the Prune Bowl.
For as up-and-down of a season as San Benito has had, its current three-game winning streak has positioned the team in an all-or-nothing situation. A win over Palma on Friday night, and the Balers will split the Tri-County Athletic League title with both Palma and Salinas (barring that Salinas defeats North Salinas on Friday night). A loss to Palma, however, and the Balers finish the regular season in third place behind runner-up Salinas and outright league champ Palma.
“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks,” said Cameron, who admitted that a Week 10 matchup with Palma, with the TCAL title on the line, was something he began pondering when San Benito’s bus pulled out of Everett Alvarez following a 21-0 Baler victory on Oct. 29.
“Last week’s victory was such a booster,” he added. “We persevered somehow in that game. It was nice to see opportunities fall our way.”
Persevered is definitely one way of putting it. The Balers allowed 569 yards of total offense, 499 yards in the air, fell behind 14-0 less than nine minutes into the game, trailed 32-27 with less than three minutes in the game, and blocked a punt attempt with 2:14 remaining that magically went straight up and straight down — not through the back of the end zone.
“Straight up in the air,” Cameron yelled on Tuesday, still in somewhat disbelief of the play. The head coach figured, with Gilroy punting from its own 4-yard line, that San Benito would actually earn a safety, netting the Balers two points and the ball.
“If we blocked it, what would we do on offense?” Cameron asked Tuesday, never imagining a blocked punt would result in a touchdown.
“But we worked on punt blocks during practice that week,” he said. “The kids did a great job.”
And they didn’t allow Gilroy and its spread offense, which had been a thorn in San Benito’s collective side the last three years, emerge victorious for a fourth straight season.
Palma, Cameron said, will sometimes show a read-zone option in the spread formation, although likely won’t throw the ball 55 times like Gilroy did. The Chieftains (8-0-1, 5-0 TCAL), who are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the Central Coast Section, are anchored by running back Jack Baird, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing last week against Seaside.
The Palma senior ran for 255 yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts in a 38-21 road victory.
“He’s having a great season,” Cameron said. “He gets the lions share of the carries.”
San Benito is 0-2 this season when allowing a single rusher to eclipse 100 yards on the ground.
Although Baird is the go-to, quarterback Ryan Morrison can either throw or pass. His 632 yards in the air on 55 of 96 passing is third best in the TCAL, while his 419 yards on the ground on 80 attempts is 10th best.
The Chieftains also boast 6-foot-4 Noah Allen and 6-foot Tanner Sherman at the wideout positions, as well as 6-foot-2 Cameron Neff at tight end — three players whose height alone will cause mismatches for San Benito.
The Balers didn’t let Gilroy’s passing game beat them in the end, though, while Cameron is hoping everything that comes with a Prune Bowl victory will spring-board the Balers into Friday’s contest with Palma.
After all, it’s Week 10. And for San Benito, it actually means something.
“We gave up a lot of yards passing. But the thing that was great was that we persevered,” Cameron said. “We hung in there, and hung in there, and hung in there, and we never gave up.”
San Benito will host Palma Friday night at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
TCAL Leaders
Passing
Name, School Com Att Yd Int TD
Fortino, Gilroy 130 256 1853 11 13
Ceralde, N. Salinas 67 157 768 11 4
Morrison, Palma 55 96 632 5 7
Turner, Alvarez 29 91 612 5 7
Barron, Alisal 46 107 611 12 8
Decker, Hollister 28 55 328 2 2
Leighton, Salinas 27 57 288 5 4
Reyes, Alvarez 8 26 128 2 3
Rosales, Alisal 11 20 119 2 1
Rushing
Name, School Att Yd Avg
Baird, Palma 208 1182 5.6
Estassi, Salinas 182 1012 5.5
J. Morales, Alisal 115 881 7.6
Hendricks, Hollister 118 787 6.6
Melano, Alvarez 87 745 8.5
Mendoza, N. Salinas 101 549 5.4
Sanchez, Hollister 53 499 9.4
Cerda, Salinas 99 492 4.9
A. Reyes, Alvarez 66 430 6.5
Morrison, Palma 80 419 5.2
Vegas, Gilroy 64 384 6.0
Camel, Alvarez 54 283 5.2
Coleman, Salinas 69 265 3.8
Myers, Palma 35 263 7.5
Pearson, Alisal 54 261 4.8
Garcia, Alvarez 40 260 6.5
R. Travis, Gilroy 41 228 5.5
Gutierrez, Palma 35 221 6.3
Almario, Salinas 25 219 8.7
Bocksnick, Holl 24 219 9.1
Tomas, Alisal 32 213 6.6
Carter, N. Salinas 60 184 3.0
Zarate, N. Salinas 56 181 3.2
Rodriguez, Alvarez 29 161 5.5
J. Travis, Gilroy 10 151 15.1
Salazar, Gilroy 37 123 3.2
Rushing touchdown leaders: Baird (Palma) 13, Estassi (Salinas) 11, Morrison (Palma) 8, Melano (Alvarez) 6, Hendricks (Hollister) 6, Sanchez (Hollister) 6, Bocksnick (Hollister) 6.
Receiving
Name, School Rec Yds Avg
J. Travis, Gilroy 31 483 15.5
Soares, Gilroy 22 608 27.6* Estrada, N. Salinas 21 220 10.4
Flook, Hollister 17 224 13.1
Newton, Gilroy 17 159 9.3
Alba, Gilroy 16 220 13.7
Sherman, Palma 15 188 12.5
Vegas, Gilroy 15 174 11.6
Estrada, Alvarez 14 243 17.3
Sheppard, Alvarez 10 283 28.3
Harrington, Gilroy 10 119 11.9
Sanchez, N. Salinas 9 129 14.3
Ontiveros, Salinas 9 92 10.2
Neff, Palma 9 81 9.0
Coleman, Salinas 9 35 3.8
Allen, Palma 8 114 14.2
Gonzales, N. Salinas 8 103 12.8
C. Reyes, Alvarez 7 122 17.4
Valdez, Alisal 7 97 13.8
Tomas, Alisal 7 86 12.2
Pearson, Alisal 7 72 10.2
Receiving touchdown leaders: Soares (Gilroy) 6, Estrada (Alvarez) 5, Sheppard (Alvarez) 4, J. Travis (Gilroy) 4, Allen (Palma) 3.
