‘Balers hard at work as preseason training heats up; San Benito
to get tune-up with Gilroy scrimmage
Hollister – CRUNCH!
It’s an unmistakable sound, one that you only hear when bodies collide on the gridiron. That loud pop you hear when linebacker meets tailback? Yes, it’s a ritual of fall, but the first crunches of the year take place late in the summer, when full-contact practices begin.
And with padded workouts in swing for the past week, football is back at San Benito High.
Far removed is the euphoria of last season’s Central Coast Section Large School Division championship. The 2006 Haybalers are a new team, a unit trying to establish its own chemistry.
But the trademark of San Benito football – physical play – remains the same. Or at least that’s the goal as preseason practices continue in their second week.
“It comes down to practice work ethic, understanding the physicality of the game, what it takes to play the game and constantly trusting the fundamentals,” ‘Balers head coach Chris Cameron said after a late-afternoon practice Tuesday. “We need to be more physical. We’re not physical enough and (the players) don’t understand that yet. I can point it out and point it out, but it’s not completely clicking yet and it was really apparent today.”
With plenty of fresh faces on the team and some key positions up for grabs, San Benito’s cohesiveness and intensity are not regular-season ready, but that’s what these practices are for. In addition to training the rest of the month, the ‘Balers will get to work out some kinks with a home scrimmage against Gilroy on Aug. 25 before opening their season at Aptos on Sep. 1.
“The team’s jelling together,” said guard/linebacker John Goldstein. “Everybody’s getting into the varsity football kind of thing.”
Cameron understands that his team is a work in progress, but is eager to accelerate the learning curve.
“Our intensity level, it’s improving, but it needs to get better,” the head coach said. “Our young kids coming up from JV … they need to learn to practice harder to understand what the purpose of practice is.”
Cameron continued: “We don’t do a real good job with the little things, details. Today, offensively, we blew some assignments that we shouldn’t have blown. … In our drill work, obviously I need to place an even greater emphasis on finish because we’re not finishing things off real well at times.”
Early returns suggest San Benito’s solid running back core will be counted on to produce despite a murky picture at offensive line and an unproven quarterback. With tailbacks Tim Lango and Abel Jacquez trusted veterans and talented junior Jordan Klindt looking to impress at wing back, San Benito has playmakers in its backfield. But senior guards Danny Gallant and Josh Huaracha are the only returnees on the offensive line.
“After that, we’re inexperienced across the board,” ‘Balers offensive coordinator Rick Dukes said. “It’s a lot of revamping.”
And Jacquez identified “picking up the blocking assignments of the different plays we have” as a key element in coming practices.
Furthermore, after spending a year on the sidelines behind All-Tri-County Athletic League quarterback Karson Klauer, junior Ronnie Fhurong steps into the limelight without the benefit of substantial varsity seasoning.
“We lost a three-year starter at quarterback,” Dukes continued, “so we’re trying to get (Fhurong) all the reps he’s going to need to be successful out on the field because he doesn’t have a whole lot of game experience.”
After an encouraging practice by the ‘Balers’ defense Tuesday, the coaching staff is looking forward to implementing more schemes in the coming practices featuring, of course, aggressive play.
Addressing the team in its post-practice huddle, defensive coordinator Tod Thatcher used the ‘Balers’ upcoming scrimmage as a motivating tool.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you punish the Gilroy Mustangs,” he said.
After reminding his players of a 6:15am call for a team-wide weightlifting session Wednesday, a day that will also feature an afternoon practice, Cameron brought the ‘Balers’ attention to the essence of the preseason.
“Find something in your game to get better,” the head coach said. “Let’s pick it up and practice better tomorrow.”
