High School Sports

Joseph Loredo decided to do cross country to stay in shape for wrestling. Angel Cortes only started running on the advice of his dad. A year ago, Elliot Ruiz didn’t think he would be one of the top runners on the varsity team. Cortes, Loredo and Ruiz’s paths have converged at tradition-rich San Benito, which usually fields one of the top programs in the Central Coast Section.

Sisters Corissa and Railyn King have plenty of fond memories together sharing experiences in ice hockey, rodeo and agriculture. As of last year, field hockey was added to that list. San Benito High debuted its field hockey program in 2015, and participation has been high in both years.

On its first play from scrimmage, San Benito found the end zone when Hunter Raquet hooked up with Adam Mendoza for a 22-yard touchdown. That pretty much summed up the Haybalers’ 45-0 win over Christopher Friday in a Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division contest.

Oliver Garcia conducts himself with a certain swagger that conjures up memories of his two older brothers, both of whom starred for the San Benito High boys water polo team. Jacob Garcia was a league MVP during his junior year, and Charlie Garcia, a 2015 graduate, was a standout who was never afraid to voice his opinion.

At the start of Lauren Sabbatini’s sophomore season, Haybalers coach Ruth Testman gave her the nickname Popeye. Another nickname might suffice: hammer. At times, the junior outside hitter delivers a swing with such precision and authority that she bludgeons the ball through any block.

The Nov. 18, 2002 cover of Sports Illustrated featured an iconic shot of Brian Brohm, who at the time was a star junior quarterback at Trinity High in Kentucky. The subtitle of the cover story, “Inside the changing world of our young athletes,” was the first of a four-part series that detailed a semi-revolution in high school sports, where the top athletes started specializing in one sport rather than play multiple ones.

Entering Friday night’s Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division game, San Benito had trailed five previous opponents by a grand total of 6 minutes. That’s half a quarter in high school football. So it was uncharted territory for the Haybalers to be facing their largest deficit of the season against Monte Vista Christian early in the first quarter.

During the week, Bryan Smith is out of the house by 6 a.m. and doesn’t get home until around 7 p.m. Such is the life for many high school football coaches, where juggling work and family life can be quite a chore if one is not prepared for the grind.

It wasn’t its most impressive performance of the season, but San Benito High will take it. The Haybalers’ 37-20 win over host Alvarez Friday kept them perfect at 5-0 overall and 1-0 in Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division play.

With under a minute left in San Benito High’s season-opener against York on Aug. 30, Zander Bonnet came in on a breakaway after receiving a pass from fellow junior Oliver Garcia, who took the ball away from his York counterpart.