With a packed house at San Jose City College on its feet and
time ticking down, the San Benito Haybalers delivered.
By Scott Campbell, Staff Writer
San Jose – With a packed house at San Jose City College on its feet and time ticking down, the San Benito Haybalers delivered.
Spinning to avoid Oak Grove’s oncoming pass rush, ‘Balers quarterback Karson Klauer connected with tight end Art Esparza on a dramatic, 29-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining that propelled San Benito to a 27-21 victory and the CCS Large School Division Championship on Dec. 3.
“It felt like winning the lottery,” said Esparza of his reception. “I was just thinking, ‘I’d better catch this or I’ll be hearing about this for the rest of my life.’ Do or die and I didn’t want to die.”
The game-winning touchdown capped a thrilling finish to a contest San Benito led by a score of 21-7 at the half. No. 1 Oak Grove rallied to tie the ‘Balers at 21 on a 6-yard score by Terezz Canty with 1:10 remaining.
But No. 2 San Benito worked its two-minute offense to perfection. Facing the disheartening reality of a shared title if they couldn’t score, the ‘Balers calmly marched 80 yards on 6 plays to clinch their first championship since 2000.
After losses in the past two CCS title games, including a 24-20 defeat to Oak Grove last season, San Benito was revelling in its glory.
“It finally felt good to be on the other side of the coin,” said ‘Balers head coach Chris Cameron.
