San Benito High doesn’t have a storied boys’ soccer tradition.
The Haybalers have only advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs three times in program history, losing all three matches. That’s why this year’s team has been thinking about the postseason long before the season started.
“I told coach (Tony Deras) that we’re going to be the group that does it (get San Benito back into the CCS playoffs),” senior forward Raul Cortes said. “No one wants it more than me.”
Making it in won’t be easy. San Benito plays in the Monterey Bay League’s lower division, the Pacific, which carries only one automatic berth into the playoffs.
The Balers were 2-0-0 in league play entering Thursday’s match against Monterey — the result was not available when this edition went to press — but there’s a growing sense of optimism surrounding the team that it has the talent and work ethic to win a league championship.
Led by playmaking forwards Cortes, Ricardo Becerra and Leonardo Vaca, the Balers possess speed up top to go along with strong technical skills. The backline features freshman Victor Perez, sophomore Juan Castellanos and senior Steven Johst, who is one of the more physical players on the team.
“Two of our defenders are really young, but they get the job done,” said Deras, who is in his fourth year with the program.
More important, Deras added, was the fact that the players have displayed an unselfish attitude on and off the field.
“Discipline-wise, this is the best team I’ve had,” Deras said. “There are no egos, and all the players do what they’re supposed to do.”
Indeed, the Balers don’t rely heavily on one player, and that’s one of the main reasons why they’ve had success this season. Becerra entered the week with a team-high five goals, Vaca had four goals and Cortes three.
Becerra and Cortes have similar stories, as both were born in Mexico but raised in Hollister. They were also teammates as seventh and eighth-graders at Rancho San Justo Middle School, and now, in the twilight of their high school careers, they know they can etch their name in San Benito history if they can lead the Balers into the postseason.
“We want to hang a league championship banner in the gymnasium,” Cortes said. “Ten, 20 years from now, I want to look back and say the 2014 team was the one that stood out and got back to CCS.”
Said Becerra: “On game day, that’s all I’m thinking about, is helping our team and getting one step closer to CCS. The night before a game, I’ll visualize what I’m going to do on the pitch. It would mean a lot to leave as a senior and make some history along the way.”
Cortes has been waiting a long time for this moment. This is his first year of playing on the high school team; Cortes said he didn’t play in his first three years of high school because his mom needed help with babysitting her youngest kids.
“I know it’s a privilege just to be able to play and give it my all,” Cortes said.
Cortes has a team-high six assists, possessing the ability to anticipate where his players are headed and then able to pass the ball with a Midas touch.
“My job is to distribute the ball to whoever I see open,” Cortes said. “I have to be able to place the ball into the open space and pass it either hard or with a soft touch, depending on the situation.”
Deras said if the team can finish halves stronger — it tends to start strong but fade near the end — there’s no telling how far the Balers can go.
“I like the way our guys have been playing, but we need to finish the second half of games like we do the first half,” Deras said. “If we can find that consistency, I think this team can do some special things.”
