Balers win football game in last seconds
Trailing by five with one minute, 19 seconds left on the clock,
San Benito quarterback Kyle Vallejo took three steps to his left
out of the shotgun formation and found a wide-open Sebastian
Cathirell in the corner for a 34-yard game-winning touchdown Friday
night, launching the host Haybalers into the win column with a
13-12 victory over the Lincoln Lions.
Balers win football game in last seconds
Trailing by five with one minute, 19 seconds left on the clock, San Benito quarterback Kyle Vallejo took three steps to his left out of the shotgun formation and found a wide-open Sebastian Cathirell in the corner for a 34-yard game-winning touchdown Friday night, launching the host Haybalers into the win column with a 13-12 victory over the Lincoln Lions.
The catch in the waning minutes culminated an impressive six-play, 88-yard drive that ate up just 35 seconds of clock, and left a rewarding taste for a San Benito offense that struggled to move the ball for much of the night.
“It was extremely gratifying,” said offensive coordinator Bryan Smith, who was celebrating a birthday Friday. “The struggle of the full other 46 minutes, then to go down and execute the two-minute offense the way we did … We ran it the first play of the drive – 90 corner combination … About four or five plays later, Coach [Jason] Kearns said we have a corner over the top, so I went back to it on the next play and sure enough. Kyle had time to throw, and he made a great throw and [Cathirell] made a great catch.”
Vallejo was 13 of 21 for 185 yards, with Andre Cornell catching four balls for 91 yards and Evan McFadden hauling in four as well for 25 yards. Cathirell finished with five catches for 69 yards.
San Benito (1-1) will host Wilcox Friday at Andy Hardin Stadium. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m.
Girls’ water polo
The San Benito girls water polo team rebounded from a disappointing loss to Gilroy last week by defeating Salinas Tuesday in extra time, 7-5.
The Lady Balers trailed the host Cowboys 3-0 after one period, but battled back to force a fifth period at 5-all. San Benito scored twice in the extra period, and shut out Salinas in the process.
San Benito lost to Gilroy last Thursday, 9-7. San Benito will play in a tournament this weekend at Wilcox.
Boys’ water polo
Salinas capitalized on San Benito’s mistakes and trumped the host Haybalers 18-8 in the pool Tuesday.
The Balers trailed the Cowboys 4-3 after one period, but fell behind 11-4 at the half.
Last Thursday, the ‘Balers romped host Gilroy 19-2.
Cross country
The San Benito girls cross country team, led by Courtney Allen, finished first at the Chieftain Classic last Saturday at Salinas’ Toro Park, compiling 59 points.
The Lady Balers edged second-place finisher Salinas, which finished with 73 points.
Allen took first overall among 116 runners in 19:17.
The Baler boys finished fifth with 184 points, and sat behind TCAL opponents Palma (4th, 163 points) and Salinas (1st 67 points).
Frankie Rivera was 12th overall for San Benito, clocking a 16:45.
San Benito will host a dual meet with Gilroy on Sept. 22 at 3:30 p.m. at Park Hill in Hollister.
Girls’ volleyball
The San Benito girls volleyball team fell to 4-9 in the preseason after a pair of losses to Aptos and Homestead this past week.
San Benito lost to Aptos in three games (27-25, 25-13, 25-21) and Homestead in three (25-11, 25-15, 25-18).
The Lady Balers will look to rebound in a tournament this weekend at Harbor. They’ll open league play on Tuesday at Alisal.
