Mustangs take out Balers in Prune Bowl
Gilroy quarterback Jamie Jensen nearly broke his own section
record for passing yards Friday night (486), completing 30 of 36
passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns, and the Mustangs kept a
firm handle on the VFW Memorial Trophy en route to a 47-0 victory
over San Benito in the 52nd Annual Prune Bowl.
Mustangs take out Balers in Prune Bowl
Gilroy quarterback Jamie Jensen nearly broke his own section record for passing yards Friday night (486), completing 30 of 36 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns, and the Mustangs kept a firm handle on the VFW Memorial Trophy en route to a 47-0 victory over San Benito in the 52nd Annual Prune Bowl.
San Benito finishes their season at 1-5 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 3-7 overall. Gilroy, at 5-1 in league, finished in a three-way tie with North Salinas and Palma for first place in the TCAL.
San Benito needed to score early on Friday night not only to keep pace with Gilroy’s high-flying offense, but also to set the tone on a Mustangs team that was fresh off a 42-12 loss to North Salinas last week.
But after starting the game from their 4-yard line, the Balers fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage, and Gilroy place-kicker Ivan Lopez converted a 22-yard field goal four plays later.
On their second drive, San Benito began to move the ball downfield when running back Jeff Bernaldez found 17 yards on the ground and quarterback Trevor Fabing hit Felipe Davila for a long pass – the play netted San Benito only 10 yards after a holding penalty on the Balers, though.
Two plays later, however, Fabing’s pass was deflected into the air and Mustang defensive back Tony Travis pulled it down, setting Gilroy up near midfield.
“I thought we did a good job getting going on the second drive,” offensive coordinator Bryan Smith said. “Our defense did a great job. We were able to come back and move the ball downfield, but then a flag, a tip ball and an interception. That killed the momentum. I thought we had a good thing going, but it’s tough to get re-started again.”
On the night, San Benito committed six turnovers.
Cross country
Rachel Shimabukuro (19:59) and Courtney Allen (19:21) will represent San Benito High at next week’s state finals after the two finished in the top eight at the Central Coast Section Championships on Saturday at Salinas’ Toro Park.
The Lady Balers finished third overall with 75 points behind Gilroy (50) and Carlmont (44).
The Baler boys finished in sixth place (171), while CCS powerhouses Carlmont (48), Bellarmine (52) and Salinas (71) took the top three positions.
San Benito sophomore Jose Castillo paced the team to a 15th place finish in 17:02.
Girls’ vollyeball
The No. 4 San Benito Lady Balers quickly dispatched No. 5 Piedmont Hills in three games (25-13, 25-14, 25-16) on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Central Coast Section Girls Volleyball Championships at Watsonville High.
San Benito was scheduled to play top-seeded Salinas on Thursday
night at Watsonville, although that match took place after The Pinnacle’s publication.
Justine Hunter had 18 assists, five kills, 12 digs and four blocks. Emily Tonascia had seven kills and nine blocks, while Jessica Mead, who was recently brought up from the junior varsity, contributed seven kills.
Sara Yamasaki and Shayna Nakata each added 17 digs apiece.
