SALINAS
–– The rain held off long enough to get the game in Friday night
at
”
The Pit
”
in Salinas, but the flood gates opened in the second
quarter.
The Haybalers built up a 17-3 lead by the half against Salinas
(5-3-1, 2-1-1 TCAL), but the normally reliable defense gave up two
fourth-quarter touchdowns and had to settle for a tie
SALINAS –– The rain held off long enough to get the game in Friday night at “The Pit” in Salinas, but the flood gates opened in the second quarter.
The Haybalers built up a 17-3 lead by the half against Salinas (5-3-1, 2-1-1 TCAL), but the normally reliable defense gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns and had to settle for a tie.
“We didn’t come out and play tough in the second half,” said Baler coach Chris Cameron. “I’ll take all the blame for that. We didn’t impress upon them enough at the the half that they needed to play four quarters.”
The Balers, who are on an eight-game unbeaten streak, will finish up their season against league front runner Palma. The game will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Hollister. If the Balers can win the game, they will be the Tri-County Athletic League champions.
After finding out earlier in the week that Wilcox had to forfeit most of its games due to an ineligible player, the Balers put the tie right back on their record Friday.
San Benito (7-1-1, 3-0-1 TCAL) had a tough time figuring out the speed of the turf in Salinas. A bobbled punt turned into a 33-yard field goal with 5:35 left in the first half.
But that was the first of many times the Baler defense came up big in the first three quarters.
San Benito regained the lead on a 21-yard run around the right side by Manny Hinojos with 2:43 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was set up by a couple offsides calls as the Balers went with the hard count.
After about a 40-yard kickoff return, the Cowboys couldn’t pick up a first down. But the Balers wasted a 26-yard reverse by Ken Romero and a 34-yard run by Nick Bailey when Martin Chapa missed the 26-yard field goal.
San Benito again forced a third-and-out, but was able to find paydirt on a 24-yard scamper by quarterback Karson Klauer to go up 14-3 with 5:45 left in the first half.
The Balers recovered a fumble and had a good chance to put Salinas away. Despite converting a fourth down, the Balers drive fell short on the 26-yard line.
San Benito got the ball back with under 30 seconds left in the half at its own 49-yard line. The Balers called timeout with 11.9 seconds to go. Klauer found Romero along the sideline for a 31-yard gain. Romero was able to get a good couple steps on the defender and dragged his feet as he fell out of bounds for the reception.
Chapa put in the field goal from 28 yards out as time ran out. The field goal was not easy because he had to kick it at an angle from right to left.
Little did the pumped up Balers know that that goal would be their last score in the game.
“They were real physical,” said Salinas coach Mark Ironside. “We just weren’t ready for it. They took it to us in the first half. We didn’t change anything. The kids just played with more heart in the second half.”
The Baler ground game ran ramped in the first half for 200 yards. Salinas was limited to three first downs and less than 50 yards on the ground.
The Balers went into cruise control in the second half. San Benito recorded a mere three yards on the ground and one first down in the second half during its five series.
“We didn’t capitalize on the opportunities we had in the second half,” Cameron said. “We didn’t play with the killer instant. You leave them on the field long enough and they are going to make some big plays.”
The first of which came on a 91-yard drive with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter to make it 17-10. Quarterback Ryan Laughton found running room and a 69-yard gain. The Balers appeared to have recovered a fourth-and-two fumble on the three-yard line. But Salinas was ruled to have recovered it at the one-yard line for the first down. The Balers came up with a couple stops before Laughton ran it in.
“They were putting a lot of heat on us, but they were doing that in the first half too,” Cameron said. “But we were getting off the ball and doing the things that we have to do against that.”
Salinas got the ball back with 5:33 remaining in the game. Laughton connected three times with receiver Bryan Dougherty, including a fourth-down conversion and an eight-yard touchdown pass with 55 seconds left to tie the game.
“In the second half, they were coming in a little more off the edges,” Cameron said. “The bottom line is we weren’t getting off the ball as hard as we were in the first half. We were playing in a more relaxed mode.”
