Practices under way for Balers
It was a typical summer morning in San Benito County
– foggy and gray, with a slight chilly breeze – and most
teenagers in the community were exactly where they wanted to be at
6 a.m. In bed.
Practices under way for Balers
It was a typical summer morning in San Benito County – foggy and gray, with a slight chilly breeze – and most teenagers in the community were exactly where they wanted to be at 6 a.m. In bed.
Yet the sounds of whistles and yelling and of plays being called from the dewy fields of San Benito High School could mean only one thing – Baler football players had dragged themselves out of bed for the rite of passage that is high school football.
Practices for the 2007-2008 Balers football season began two weeks ago with daily two-hour drills beginning at 6am. The first practice included a fundamental camp for incoming and outgoing freshman which allowed the coaches to teach new players the basics of the Wing-T offense, the offense that the Balers have been using since 1991.
The teams also attended a Wing-T Camp in Escalon at Escalon High School last weekend. The coaching roster included such notables as offensive line coach Gregg Perry from Princeton and Joe Susan, the tight ends coach at Rutgers University.
The camp consisted of drills and scrimmages that allowed the visiting players and coaches to get a clear understanding of the Wing-T offense and the plays it contains. This offense consists of two running backs and a fullback lining up behind the quarterback to form a T behind the offensive line.
The offensive line for the Varsity Balers looks to be pretty strong this year, according to J/V Head Coach Luis Espinoza, as all of the starting line is returning for the season. Senior Zach Johnson, the center for the Baler line, looks to be the backbone of the offense, Espinoza said.
Even though it is early in summer practices, Espinoza feels that the Varsity team will rely quite a bit on running back Abel Jaquez this year.
“They are expecting a lot of things from him this year,” Espinoza said.
Overall, however, decisions such as that will be made by first-year offensive coordinator, Brian Smith, who is a 1993 graduate from San Benito High.
Practices for the summer will continue through early July. July 6-8, San Benito will host a Team First Camp, a full-contact camp conducted in full-pads. The camp will consist of scrimmages with other teams to help players prepare for the regular season. Ten teams from around California are scheduled to attend. Full practices begin in August, when coaches will begin the task of shaping their rosters.
The Balers’ first game of the season will be a home game against Milpitas on Friday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Andy Hardin Field.
