Gonzales has another big game in the 49-6 win, rushing for 214
yards on 12 carries
Salinas – Credit coach Rich Hammond with not blowing smoke at his players during preparation for Gilroy’s Tri-County Athletic League game with Everett Alvarez.
Instead of warning the Mustangs about the danger of looking past the Eagles, he set team goals – 28 points in the first half, shutting out EAHS in the opening half, the special teams scoring a touchdown and staying away from “stupid penalties.”
Gilroy did not accomplish all the goals, but the players remained focused and were able to make quick work of winless Alvarez, 49-6, at Jim Reavis Field.
The Mustangs accomplished their first-half goals, carrying a 28-0 lead into the locker room. Frank Subia returned a punt 39 yards in the fourth quarter before being tripped up by the last defender. But penalties were a problem again, although not one that was glaring in a one-sided contest.
“The idea is never to get too high or too low,” GHS senior linebacker Brandyn Lemmon said. “Yes, we expected to win. But we played our hardest. And we were able to use all our players.”
Paul Gonzales had another huge game, rushing for a career-high for the third straight week. The senior back carried just once in the second half, a 79-yard gallop down the right side that made the score 35-0. Gonzales finished with three touchdowns and 214 yards on 12 carries.
“I set some personal goals,” Gonzales admitted. “I wanted to rush for more than 200 yards and score two touchdowns. Once again, our line did a good job and (center) Ray Gonzales did great filling in for (Jonathan) Bobadilla.”
Gilroy (3-3 overall, 2-0 TCAL) scored on the opening drive, covering 80 yards in 11 plays all on the ground. Gonzales’ 30-yard run capped the drive.
The Mustangs had the ball for more than 10 minutes of the first quarter, starting a second 80-yard drive on its next possession. Shane Maslanka scored the TD on a 2-yard run.
A Tyler Maslanka fumble recovery at the EAHS 34 set up Gilroy’s third score, a 25-yard scamper by Gonzales. And then Carlos Estrada had a second fumble recovery at the Eagles’ 34, setting up a 7-yard Marc-Vegas-to-Michael Cano TD pass.
Vegas’ day at quarterback ended late in the second quarter. One of the other goals Hammond had set was to get Matt Hemeon substantial playing time at quarterback. Between Vegas and Hemeon, they were 6 of 6 for 83 yards.
Offensively, GHS amassed 538 total yards. The Mustangs eclipsed the 400-yard rushing mark for the second straight game. Even with Hemeon taking a knee on the last two plays of the game, GHS had 455 yards on 42 rushes. After missing the last game with a toe injury, Travis Reyes returned to gain 134 yards on 11 carries, including second-half TD runs of 18 and 74 yards.
“Our goal was not to play down to the competition,” Reyes said. “We wanted to go hard for a whole game so that everyone could play. Other than Oak Grove, our offense has been in sync since (the opener with) Burlingame. All the credit goes to the offensive line. They made the holes.”
It was a rather basic game plan the Mustangs used against the Eagles. But then Hammond felt why take chances or show the entire playbook against a team that is now 0-4-1 overall, 0-2 in TCAL.
“We did what we’re good at — running laterally and running vertically,” Hammond said. “What I’m most proud of is that it didn’t matter who I put in there. All those who practiced were happy and excited to get in, for their hard work to pay off.”
Sub-varsity results: The Gilroy junior varsity upped its record to 5-1 overall, 2-0 in TCAL, by defeating Alvarez 28-2. Steven Martinez scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak and connected with Tony Travis for a 40-yard TD pass. Dante Fullard scored on a 3-yard run and Brandon Elam blocked a punt and ran it in for another score.
The Alvarez freshman beat GHS 12-6, dropping the Mustangs to 2-3. While the varsity and JV have their bye week this week, the freshmen are at Monterey Thursday.
