A couple of notes, observations and the best gems from my interview today with Chris Cameron, who is entering his 21st season as the coach of the San Benito High football team.
The Haybalers open the season at Sac-Joaquin Section power Hilmar on Sept. 5. The Yellowjackets went 13-1 last year, losing to Central Catholic-Modesto 24-10 in the SJS Division IV championship game.
San Benito finished 7-6 in 2013, dropping a 37-23 decision to Milpitas in the Central Coast Section Division I championship game.
On why Cameron never takes a player’s height or weight: “I think I’m the only coach in the Central Coast Section who doesn’t take a player’s height or weight. I could care less about someone’s 40-yard dash time or his height and weight. Those are worthless statistics to me. I’ve never done it for the past 20 years—why should I now? It hasn’t prevented us from playing in nine championship games in 20 years.”
On the play of free safety Austin Cascio: “He’s a tough son of a (gun). He played that game against Milpitas with a concussion, which I didn’t know about. He’s smart, he understands the scouting report and he gets everyone in place on defense. He’s a guy that a lot of other kids try to be like.”
On senior defensive tackle J.J. Melo: “J.J. has been getting better every year. He’s still only 16, a very young senior. Every year his game keeps maturing, and he’s bigger and stronger. He might be one of the fastest kids on the team. His impact will have a ripple or domino effect for our defense because he’s going to draw a crowd, which will open things up for other kids to make plays.”
On cornerback Andrew Sotelo: “I remember in last year’s game against Palma he’s tackling a much bigger player in the open field, and the same thing in the Milpitas game. He’s courageous, a great competitor and is going into this season with a ton of confidence.”
On the team’s playbook: “It’s very small—I could probably list all of the plays on my left hand. We don’t have a playbook. We get really good at running a few things off of different formations and we window dress them (so they look different).”
Although Cameron clearly wants to see what his players do in pads—the first day of fall practice starts on Aug. 15—it’s clear he’s happy with the level of competition within the team. The Balers return a number of starters and players who saw significant action last season, but Cameron said a host of newcomers are pushing them for starting positions.
Bottom line: Barring injuries, this year’s San Benito team should be physically superior to last year’s edition, which bodes well for another solid if not great season.
