Balers football falls to Palma
Although the San Benito football team held visiting Palma
scoreless through the first 21 minutes and 11 seconds of Friday
night’s Homecoming game at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister, the
Chieftains managed to pocket 18 points over the next four minutes
and 20 seconds
– a period that stretched from the end of the second quarter to
the beginning of the third.
It was quick, and it was enough, as the Chieftains improved to
4-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League Friday after it dispatched
the Balers 25-0.
Balers football falls to Palma
Although the San Benito football team held visiting Palma scoreless through the first 21 minutes and 11 seconds of Friday night’s Homecoming game at Andy Hardin Stadium in Hollister, the Chieftains managed to pocket 18 points over the next four minutes and 20 seconds – a period that stretched from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third.
It was quick, and it was enough, as the Chieftains improved to 4-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League Friday after it dispatched the Balers 25-0.
San Benito falls to 1-4, 3-6 overall.
Baler coaches were pleased with Tyler Decker, who was called up on Tuesday from the junior varsity team to stand behind center on Friday after both Trevor Fabing (concussion) and Kyle Vallejo (ankle) were sidelined with injuries.
In his first varsity game, Decker threw for 73 yards on 8 of 17 passing. He had one interception.
“I really liked how the young kid played,” offensive coordinator Bryan Smith said. “I’ve watched him grow up, and he’s kind of a naturally gritty, tough kid. He played extremely well for his first night out.”
The Balers racked up 216 total yards of offense, compared to Palma’s 257, but fizzled the two times they reached the red zone, once throwing an interception and the other a turnover on downs.
San Benito will visit Gilroy Friday in the final regular season game – the Prune Bowl. The two teams will kick-off at 7:30 p.m., at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
Boys’ water polo
San Benito boys water polo coach Tom Agan spoke all season of a toss-up for second place between his Balers, Carmel, Palma and Stevenson. And although the Balers carried a 6-1 record to the TCAL Tournament, it wasn’t enough to guarantee them a trip to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Only the top three teams advanced to CCS, and while Salinas lassoed the TCAL title, the No. 2 Haybalers lost their semifinal match to Stevenson 13-8 on Friday, then followed it with a 10-8 overtime loss to Palma in Saturday’s third- and fourth-place consolation match.
San Benito, at 9-10 overall, finishes the season in fourth place in the TCAL.
Girls’ water polo
The No. 5 San Benito High girls water polo team lost a 7-5 heartbreaker to No. 4 Carmel on Thursday in the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament, and were eliminated from postseason play.
The defeat came just two days after the Lady Balers posted a 9-4 victory against No. 7 Santa Catalina on Tuesday.
And after they opened up a three-goal lead at halftime against Carmel on Thursday, San Benito seemed poised to advance to the next round.
But the Padres outscored the Lady Balers 6-1 in the second half to overcome the three-goal deficit at the break, and ended San Benito’s bid of successfully defending last year’s TCAL title.
Girls’ volleyball
On Saturday, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers earned the No. 4 seed for the Central Coast Section Girls Volleyball Championships – Division I, slated to begin this weekend.
San Benito, at 13-21 overall, will face No. 5 Piedmont Hills (16-10) in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, Nov. 15, although no location or time has been announced.
If San Benito beats Piedmont Hills Saturday, it would advance to play the winner of the Salinas v. Silver Creek/Oak Grove match-up on Thursday, Nov. 20 at Watsonville High.
