‘Balers tumbled in final period in both losses; Cameron points
to Alisal game for lessons learned
Hollister – One of the San Benito football team’s mantras is to win the fourth quarter. And a quick look at the ‘Balers’ results this season shows why.
Four of their seven games have come down to the final period – tight contests whose balance would swing with a turnover or other such costly mistake. The ‘Balers buckled down with strong fourth-quarter performances against Aptos and Wilcox, and not surprisingly emerged victorious. But in the other two close games (San Benito won the remaining three going away), it was the ‘Balers that succumbed with errors in the fourth quarter, mistakes that the team couldn’t overcome against first Bellarmine and then Palma.
In both cases, San Benito’s opponent notched an interception at a critical juncture and raced for a touchdown, a backbreaking play that went a long way to handing the ‘Balers a defeat.
On Friday, the ‘Balers (5-2, 2-1 TCAL) had already overcome a 14-point deficit against Palma that was created largely by poor special teams play. After tying the game at 21, San Benito even survived an interception early in the fourth quarter when its defense recovered a Chieftains fumble deep in ‘Baler territory. But even given a reprieve, the ‘Baler offense coughed up another turnover, with Palma’s Jeff Davis deflecting a Ronnie Fhurong pass and returning it 13 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 8:04 left.
A 28-21 loss to Palma and a 21-17 defeat to Bellarmine? Winnable games, yes, but not with game-changing errors down the stretch.
“The similarities between the Palma and Bellarmine game for us (are) eerie,” ‘Balers offensive coordinator Rick Dukes said. “I think what we need to take from both of our losses is that we can’t afford to make big mistakes against a good football team and expect to win. We also need to understand how to finish of a good opponent and how important it is to play a full 48 minutes.”
In overcoming Palma’s kickoff-return touchdown to open the game and the fumble on a punt return that the Chieftains (6-1, 4-0 TCAL) turned into a 21-7 halftime lead, the ‘Balers showed the character of a confident team that wasn’t intimidated by a top-notch opponent. Fhurong’s quick-strike touchdown pass to Jordan Klindt that covered 64 yards ignited the comeback, and then a defensive stop and another scoring drive knotted the game heading into the fourth quarter.
But the unflappable Chieftains recovered to dominate the final period. Palma’s defense regrouped to register picks on San Benito’s first two possessions, with Davis scoring on the second, and then stuffed the ‘Balers on a three-and-out immediately after taking the seven-point lead. And after the ‘Balers punted the ball with 6:24 left, Palma made sure they never got it back, driving to within a yard of the goal line before running out the clock.
“They just owned us at that point in time,” San Benito head coach Chris Cameron. “They just closed the door on our face. They were the better team.”
As close as the game was until the final minutes, Cameron said the signs were apparent throughout that the Chieftains deserved to win because they played the cleaner game. “They didn’t make the mistakes we did, they played better in the special teams game, they won the turnover battle, and … they were able to stop us (on third down) and we couldn’t stop them. We got outplayed in my mind. Hats off to them.”
With its second defeat in the books, San Benito understands it would need to win its three remaining Tri-County Athletic League games and hope Palma stumbles in order to have a chance at a even a shared league title. But more immediately, the ‘Balers need to get back on the winning track as automatic Central Coast Section playoff bids only go to the two-best teams in each league. And second-place Alisal heads to Hollister on Friday.
Fresh off a rousing comeback win at Gilroy, the Trojans (5-2, 2-1 TCAL) look to provide a strong test for the ‘Balers, as well as the chance for San Benito to rebound from a frustrating defeat.
Asked what he thought his team could take from its showing against Palma, Cameron pointed to the Alisal contest. “We’re going to find out. To me, the lesson learned will be decided in how we come out this week,” he said. “We haven’t had to play with any adversity yet … so we’ll find out what we learned with our performance this week.”
