‘Balers have won past four Prune Bowl games
Jimmy Durkin
Hollister – There it sits, on the sidelines, watching over the team as it practices. One team has it, the other team wants it.
This week is different than any other for San Benito and Gilroy – it’s Prune Bowl week – and the VFW Memorial Trophy that’s given annually to the game’s winner will be in view for every San Benito player as it prepares to face Gilroy on Thursday at 7:30pm at Garcia-Elder Complex.
The ‘Balers have possessed the trophy every year since a 41-6 win over the Mustangs in 2002 and you can bet there isn’t a person involved with San Benito that doesn’t wish to maintain that.
“It means a whole lot,” said senior linebacker Johnny Sanchez. “I’m just glad that in my generation, no Mustang has touched that trophy and I want to keep it that way.”
The ‘Balers have won 10 of the past 12 Prune Bowl games and this year’s crop of seniors have had the trophy on its campus throughout their time at San Benito.
But if the team needs to draw on any experience of losing in the Prune Bowl, it needn’t look further than assistant coach David Kaplansky.
Kaplansky was a senior in 1993 when the ‘Balers lost to Gilroy and he had to watch the trophy be walked across the field and handed over to the Mustangs’ captains. He graduated from San Benito with the trophy in the rival’s locker room.
“At the end of the game you either bring it in your locker room or you walk it across the field and drop it off,” Kaplansky said. “There’s really nothing more to say. And it’s a long walk dropping that trophy off.”
Kaplansky is using his experience of losing the game to keep the ‘Balers motivated.
“Like I told the guys, there’s a lot of football games in the year, but this is one you won’t forget,” he said.
The game also happens to hold a bit of significance as far as the postseason is concerned.
San Benito (7-2 overall, 4-1 Tri-County Athletic League) needs to win to earn sole possession of second place and earn the automatic bid to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
While a CCS bid is assured even without earning the automatic bid, an 8-2 season would likely give the ‘Balers a home playoff game in the first round.
For Gilroy, the game is a fight for their playoff lives as a win would even the Mustangs record at 5-5 and likely get them into the playoffs.
“You can always see that the kids get excited for the chance to play Gilroy,” Kaplansky said. “And I think this game is even more important because there’s so much at stake for both teams – an automatic bid for us and it’ll give an opportunity for Gilroy to make the playoffs.”
For an offense coming off a disappointing performance against Salinas on Friday, the importance of the game and the opponent could bring up the intensity.
“It’ll be a big motivator. You’ve got Gilroy, a rival, you want to come out and beat them real good,” senior fullback Tim Lango said.
