‘Balers outlast Aptos to notch 24-20 victory; bruising
fourth-quarter drive propels team to season-opening win
Aptos – This is what the Haybalers had been working for all offseason.
The 6am weightlifting sessions, the spring and summer workouts and the torturous two-a-days beginning in early August. They all paid off Friday night as the San Benito High football team outlasted host Aptos to grind out a 24-20, season-opening win.
Trailing 20-17 with seven minutes to play, the ‘Balers unleashed a methodical drive that culminated in the game-winning touchdown by running back Jordan Klindt with 2:31 remaining.
“It was very big,” San Benito offensive coordinator Rick Dukes said of the 12-play, 73-yard drive. “Oh man. It was just a great fourth-quarter drive there. (We) just didn’t want to lose.”
The ‘Balers’ victory was clinched when Zach Canez intercepted Mariners quarterback Curtis Worden in San Benito’s end zone with 1:04 left, the cornerback’s second pick of the game. Canez said the team’s never-say-die effort was typical of ‘Baler football.
“We never give up,” the junior said. “We’ve just got to keep pushing all four quarters.”
San Benito (1-0) took a 7-0 halftime lead on the heels of an early second-quarter Ronnie Fhurong–to–Ricky Sanchez touchdown connection, and padded its lead with a 35-yard field goal by Dru Blake to start the second half.
But Aptos (0-1) throttled the ‘Balers with a pair of big-play touchdowns a minute apart to pull within 17-12 late in the third quarter. Worden hit wide receiver Aaron Glaum in stride for an 80-yard score and then in the Mariners’ next play from scrimmage, running back Jason Hogue broke a number of tackles in racing 62 yards to paydirt.
The Mariners kept coming, with a one-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion to take their late three-point lead, but the confident ‘Balers took control of the ball and marched to the win.
San Benito’s three-back offense paid dividends as Tim Lango and Abel Jacquez teamed with Klindt to spearhead the drive that featured runs on all but one play. The longest came when offensive lineman Wade Jacobson helped open up a big hole and Klindt powered through for the 15-yard touchdown.
Lango, who rushed for a game-high 119 yards and one touchdown, gave credit to his junior backfield mate.
“It was so huge,” Lango said.
“Jordan Klindt kept his feet going. He never stopped.”
Said San Benito head coach Chris Cameron: “The game could’ve gone either way there in the fourth quarter. We got behind, but I knew we had one more drive in us.”
Aptos head coach Johnny Lopez bemoaned his team’s turnover-plagued first half, saying, “We shot ourselves in the foot,” but said the ‘Balers just executed better with the game on the line. “That last drive Hollister put together, they ground on us. That was a great drive there by them. We missed tackles up and down the field. We started getting tired, missed tackles and they punched it in.”
Early season struggles by both teams were marked by the near-constant yellow flags thrown by the officials. In the first half alone, the teams combined for 14 penalties, with the Mariners committing nine.
Those drive-crippling infractions kept the points off the scoreboard in the opening half, as did two interceptions by San Benito and one by Aptos.
The ‘Balers amassed 301 yards rushing on the night, including a 57-and 66-yard bursts by Lango. The latter sparked a San Benito drive sandwiched in between Aptos’ two big-play scores that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run for the senior back.
Klindt finished with 59 yards on 11 rushes. Fhurong, a junior in his first varsity start, completed 9-of-18 passes for 98 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions, and also ran for 25 yards.
Worden finished 7-of-14 for Aptos, throwing one touchdown and three interceptions. Hogue led the Mariners with 112 yards on 12 carries. Glaum finished with four receptions for 125 yards and hauled in a 39-yard pass on Aptos’ final possession to bring the Mariners to San Benito’s 24-yard line. But three plays later Canez leaped high in the end zone to intercept Worden to secure the ‘Balers’ win.
“This is exactly what we needed,” Cameron said.
“It’s something we need to build on.”
The ‘Balers will attempt to do just that when they host San Lorenzo Valley on Sep. 8 at 7:30pm, the first of four straight home games for San Benito.
JV NOTE: The San Benito JV football team opened its season with a 21-17 victory at Aptos Friday. Trailing 10-7 at the half, the ‘Balers used rushing touchdowns by Sebastian Cathirell and Ryan Shorey to win on the road. “I wanted to see if my guys could come back from that deficit and they proved that they could,” JV head coach Luis Espinoza said, “so I was happy about that.” Fullback Anthony Padilla rushed for a 5-yard touchdown to get the ‘Balers on the board in the first quarter.
