Sports

Even though the Anzar and San Benito football teams are both coming off blowout losses last week — the Hawks lost to Trinity Christian-Monterey 36-0 and the Haybalers dropped a 28-7 decision to Palo Alto — they have no time to feel sorry for themselves.

Both squads face stiff competition on Friday, as Anzar (0-1) hosts Woodside Priory-Portola Valley (2-0) at 5 p.m., while San Benito (1-1) hosts perennial Central Coast Section power Los Gatos (0-2) at 7:30.

“The areas we struggled in, those are the areas Los Gatos is going to look to exploit,” Balers coach Chris Cameron said. “So we’ve got to improve on those aspects so it won’t be as exploitable.”

San Benito simply was out-manned against a superior Palo Alto team that featured four-star quarterback Keller Chryst, who completed 10 consecutive passes spanning the first and second quarter on his way to a 17-for-24, 212-yard performance.

San Benito scored its lone TD courtesy of Zak Hicks’ 1-yard run off left tackle with 1:23 left in the game. Palo Alto outgained the Balers, 317-161. Justice Felice led the Balers once again with 67 yards on 14 carries, while Hicks rushed 13 times for 58 yards.  

Instead of dwelling on the loss, Hicks said the coaches and players look for small, incremental ways to improve themselves on a day-by-day, game-by-game basis. The senior also noted he can hardly wait to play in front of a home crowd.

“Hollister is football country,” Hicks said. “We’re going to get back out there on the green grass, and everything is going to feel all right. Our goal is to capitalize on the little things we did well against Palo Alto, and build off that.”

Speaking of building, that’s exactly what Anzar is aiming for after being shutout last week. The final result was misleading in this regard: The Hawks weren’t close to being at full strength, as five of their starters were ineligible to play due to grades.

Hawks coach Luis Espinosa said the five players will gain eligibility Oct. 5, meaning they’ll have to miss the next two games. It didn’t help matters when starting middle linebacker Joseph Banuelos suffered a strained MCL in the first quarter against Trinity Christian, and was lost for the game.

“We’re going to take our lumps in the first few weeks,” Espinosa said. “Trinity was a good team, and we were just one step behind them. But once we get back to full strength, we’ll be ready to go.”

The Hawks face a Woodside Priory team that returned all starters off a squad that won last year’s Mission Trail Athletic League championship with a perfect 5-0 record in league play.

“They’re going to be a handful,” Espinosa said. “They’re definitely the team to beat again.”

Unlike most teams that play 8-man football, Woodside Priory hardly passes the ball. The Panthers are run-oriented, and no one in the Mission Trail has been able to stop them recently.

Last week in a 64-0 blitzing of East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, Panthers quarterback Will Latta attempted just one pass, completing it for 10 yards. Woodside Priory rushed 26 times for 266 yards, a hefty 10.23 yards per carry average. James McDaniel led the way with 180 yards on 17 carries.

“He (McDaniel) has a lot of speed, so hopefully we can slow him down and score some points,” Espinosa said. “We take pride in our defense. A lot of teams in our league score over 40 points a game, but we rarely give up 40.”

Espinosa is hoping the team’s size — “We’re the biggest team in the league,” he said — will be an advantage going forward. Matt Yarbrough, a 5-foot-10, 240-pound junior center-nose guard, rarely loses a one-on-one battle.

Offensively, Pedro Montejano led the Hawks with 62 yards on nine carries last week. Senior quarterback Sam Jimenez (4 of 11, 16 yards) couldn’t get the offense going, but that was more of a team issue than an individual one.  

“We are a young team, but we have high expectations,” Espinosa said.