As the San Benito High football team prepares to host Monterey on Friday at 7:30 p.m., it faces a daunting task.
The Haybalers margin of error for winning a Monterey Bay Gabilan Division championship or qualifying for the Central Coast Section playoffs just got a lot slimmer coming on the heels of a gut-wrenching 20-14 loss to Salinas last week.
“We’re in the hole right now, no doubt,” said San Benito coach Chris Cameron, whose team dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. Palma and Salinas top the division with 2-0 records. “We have to come out swinging everyday, and there has to be a greater sense of urgency from the coaching staff and the players.”
The Balers were seemingly in control against the Cowboys, but were unable to deliver the knockout blow. Salinas scored two touchdowns on its final two possessions — the last coming with 26.8 seconds remaining — to take its only lead of the game.
Unfortunately for the Balers, it was the only lead that mattered.
“Up front on both sides of the ball, they just had a little more pop than we did,” Cameron said. “That made a difference in terms of short-yardage situations and in the passing game.”
While Cowboys quarterback Zach McDermott completed his final five passes in succession, San Benito’s aerial game has been grounded for most of the season. Quarterback David Stanton completed just 3-of-12 passes for 35 yards, including two interceptions.
Although the Balers rushed for 214 yards on 40 carries, their lack of production through the air has become a legitimate concern. Cameron cited a number of factors contributing to the team’s lack of passing attack, from blown blocking assignments to dropped passes to throws just off target.
“On the last play of the game (when Stanton had to rush his throw because of pressure), we blew a blocking assignment,” Cameron said. “It was the third time in the game that happened, where we blew that particular assignment. Guys are assigned to certain gaps to control, and we were there but didn’t seal it.
“Now we have to turn it up a notch in practice, trying to correct certain areas of the game. Teams are going to see our exploitable areas, and we’re going to have to stop the bleeding.”
The term “must win” is thrown around too often, but that’s exactly the situation San Benito faces against Monterey. A loss would all but extinguish the Balers’ quest for a league title, and further dim their playoff chances.
“We’re really not thinking about that because we can’t afford to think about that stuff right now,” Cameron said. “We’ve got to focus on the things we can control. But yeah, to climb back into the league championship race, it’s a must win this week.”
In Monterey (3-2, 1-0), the Balers face a run-oriented team that thrives on deception and power — similar to San Benito. The Toreadores, who are coming off a 41-7 win over Monte Vista Christian, feature talented running backs in Akili Jones and Jason Berring to go along with quarterback Carter Aldrete.
The trio has accounted for close to 80 percent of the team’s total offense. Although the Balers have been productive on the ground, they came up short on a couple of key short-yardage situations against Salinas.
“We were kind of inches away at some spots,” Cameron said. “Over the years, we’ve usually figured out a way to put teams away. But we’ve been in situations where we haven’t gotten it done, and the Salinas game was one of those. From here on out, we’ve got to finish stronger than our opponents, and to get things done when the game is on the line.”
