Sports

The Hollister 21s 16-and-under travel-ball baseball team recently competed its season—and it was nothing short of spectacular. On Oct. 24, Hollister won the Halloween Bush in Ripon, defeating the previously undefeated Tri-County Spartans, 3-2.

GILROY—Until Friday night’s game, the last time the San Benito and Christopher football teams had played each other was in 2012. The Cougars probably wouldn’t mind if it was another three years—at a minimum—before they played the Haybalers again. San Benito mauled its third straight league opponent, 50-7.

For the second straight league game, the San Benito High football team’s defense stood tall. The Haybalers allowed only 129 yards of total offense in a 45-6 win over Monterey two weeks ago, and last week they limited Alvarez to just 79 yards—including 1 yard, yes, 1 yard—in the second half en route to a 63-6 victory.

Anzar High cross-country coach Faby Felix knows she has a major talent in junior Angel Garcia. The problem—and it’s a good problem at least—is Garcia has so much energy he doesn’t like to relax. Just like the Energizer Bunny, Garcia seemingly has no off button.

The San Benito High girls golf team has a senior-dominated squad that coach Carissa Filice said will be hard to say goodbye to at the end of the season. One of the half-dozen seniors include Isabella Arreola, a four-year varsity player.

When Jessica Kirschmann had surgery on her right wrist June 9, she wasn’t sure how it would affect her senior season playing on the San Benito High girls tennis team. Turns out things have gone better than Kirschmann could’ve ever imagined. Kirschmann has never played better, as evidenced by her 6-2, 6-0 win over Christopher’s Sydney Tran at No. 1 singles on Oct. 20.

San Benito High senior Shannon Stephens admitted she was downright intimidated and nervous entering the team’s rematch against Santa Cruz on Monday. After all, Santa Cruz’s Meg Hedrick had torched the Haybalers for seven goals in the Sept. 10 match, an 11-10 San Benito victory.

A second straight blowout of a league opponent has the San Benito High football team on a high as it enters the stretch run of the season. The Haybalers dominated in every facet of the game in a 63-6 demolition of visiting Alvarez on Friday. The Eagles actually scored the game’s first touchdown only to see San Benito (5-2 overall, 2-1 MBL Gabilan) run off 63 straight unanswered points.

The San Benito High girls volleyball team is about to enter its toughest stretch of the season. The Haybalers, who swept visiting Monte Vista Christian on Thursday—game scores were 25-13, 25-22, 25-21—lost standouts in outside hitter Marisa Villegas and libero Noel Chavarria after the two collided heads going for a pass midway through Game 2 against MVC.

When Tyler Rodriguez started practicing at fullback last week, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior never thought he would hear his number get called. In San Benito High’s 45-6 shellacking of visiting Monterey on Oct. 9, Rodriguez received two carries—and he made the most of them.