Rams look to avenge last year’s loss to San Jose City
College
Gilroy – Last year wasn’t one to remember for the Gavilan College football team.
And yet there is one game that sticks in the craw of this year’s sophomores more than any other. When the Rams lost 34-33 to San Jose City College in the final game of the season, it denied Gavilan a chance to finish in a tie for second place in the Coast Conference.
Worse, however, it allowed the Jaguars to avoid a winless season. Rams’ coach John Lango has made a point of not stressing that during game preparations. After all, the freshmen could care less. For the sophomores, it’s a different story.
“That left a real bad taste in our mouths,” linebacker Anthony Vasquez from Hollister said. “That’s something I remember and want to forget. This is one game I want to win.”
Don’t think Vasquez won’t be stressing that along with the fact that this is Gavilan’s Coast Conference opener. But then, it doesn’t take much to get Vasquez’s motor running, or that of other sophomores like Clayton Johnson, Dustin Vertin and Alex Gonzalez. The challenge has always been getting everyone on the same page at the same time, which is one reason the Rams are 1-5.
“Last week was a bye week and it was pretty mellow,” Vasquez said. “We worked on fundamentals.
“This is our second season. Everyone in the league has a better (overall) record than we have. But we’re capable of beating every other team in the league. It seems like most of the teams are fairly equal.”
Start with the Jaguars, who are not facing a winless season. At 2-4, they already own a win over Contra Costa (20-19), and the Comets beat Gavilan 19-14 earlier in the season.
“They’re a balanced team that can throw and run,” Lango said. “Their defensive line is real stout, and very physical.”
The Rams will be missing leading back Matt Perkins, but Lango said he expects Gilroy freshman Justin Sweeney to return.
“It’s a new season now,” Lango said. “I think we’re rejuvenated after the week off. We have guys getting healthy. Our preparation has been good.”
Now, if the Rams can only finish. The latest example was two weeks ago when Gavilan had the ball twice inside the red zone against College of the Sequoias, ranked sixth in the JuCal Transfer Golden 25 rankings, without scoring and lost 35-0.
“We need to play a complete game,” Lango said. “We go into this game knowing it can go either way. But for us to have a chance we need to score points when we get the opportunities. That’s something that has held us back all season.”
