Gavilan and Hartnell collide for Coast Conference football
superiority tonight at Hollister’s Andy Hardin Field in a 7 p.m.
Homecoming for the Rams.
Hollister – Gavilan and Hartnell collide for Coast Conference football superiority tonight at Hollister’s Andy Hardin Field in a 7 p.m. Homecoming for the Rams.
Gavilan Coach John Lango is 0-4 in play against the Panthers, including last season’s 21-14 cliff-hanger that soured when Hartnell stormed to a 21-0 lead by halftime. Both teams are 1-0 in this year’s conference scramble.
“The biggest thing for me in this game is that they’ve won every time for four years,” Lango said. “”We haven’t been very disciplined and that’s my fault as head coach. We need to be able to get off to a good start, stay focused.”
Hartnell stumbled in conference play after opening with the nod over the Rams in 2003, allowing Gavilan to rush past for a 3-1 mark and a share of the conference crown.
“We’ve improved every game,” said fifth-year Panther head coach Larry Souza.
“We’re young, just 10 sophomores. We’ve come together real well.”
One of the top sophs for the Salinas squad is running back Chris Brown. The talented back sliced through the Ram defense for 163 yards in 2003. Brown has churned to 577 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Gavilan’s counterpart, El Ray Henry, ran for 104 yards against Hartnell in 2003 and has amassed 453 yards and two six-pointers in five games this fall.
Gavilan has maintained the top spot among California community college defenses with a 167.7 yards per game mark. City College of San Francisco, the state’s number one-ranked team, is second at 180.2.
“We’ll have to play our own game,” said Souza of the Hartnell defensive plans this evening. “We won’t want to give up anything big. We’ll need to stop Henry and watch their receivers.”
Souza credited staying healthy and developing good team speed for the 3-3 start and ranking at 20 among Northern California teams. Gavilan is at number 12. Receivers Shane Haag (sophomore, 28 catches, 449 yards, 4 TDs) and converted quarterback Andy Palacio key the passing game. Souza has called on two freshmen at quarterback, Jonny Mariscal and Brandon Olden, allowing Palacio to thrive at wide-out.
Keys to the Hartnell defense are returning outside linebacker Romie Jones (6-1, 225) and free safety Ricky Gebin (5-9, 185).
“Ricky’s had five interceptions, including three in one game, with one touchdown,” said Souza.
“Hartnell’s very balanced,” said Lango. The Panthers have covered 1152 yards on the ground and 955 in the air. Gavilan counters with 668 yards rushing and 1098 through the air.
“Hartnell has a lot of weapons on offensive and they don’t miss many tackles,” said Lango. “If Hartnell tries to stop El Ray, we are going to have to be able to play catch, to throw the football efficiently to be able to score enough.”
In other conference action, 1-0 Monterey meets 0-1 DeAnza at 1 p.m. in Cupertino, while San Jose City and Cabrillo, each 0-1, play at 7 p.m. in Aptos.
By Bob Burch Sports Writer
