Hemeon part of five second-quarter TDs in 35-0 shutout win over
Monte Vista Christian
WATSONVILLE – Senior quarterback Ben Hemeon quickly shook off two first-quarter interceptions to lead the Mustang gridmen on a 35-point onslaught in the second quarter en route to Saturday’s 35-0 pounding of host Monte Visa Christian (MVC).
Hemeon threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more – all coming in a span of 11:02 to close out the first half. The second-year starter, who only stepped on the field to punt in the second half as junior backup Peter Mickartz took over, completed 10-of-15 passes for 157 yards.
“Ben is just one of those guys that just needs to get the juices flowing a little bit and needs to get warmed up and then he starts playing,” Yafai said. “In the first quarter, he needed to get warmed up and because of the crown of the field some of his balls sailed. Then he made the adjustment and started just making great throws.”
But first Hemeon did it with his feet – scrambling for a 36-yard touchdown run to open the scoring for Gilroy. Hemeon would later walk into the end zone untouched for a seven-yard TD to give the Mustangs a three-touchdown lead.
“A couple of times he looked like a tailback running the ball,” said Yafai of his senior leaders.
After Monte Vista fumbled the ball away for the first of four bad snap exchanges that resulted in turnovers, Hemeon hit sophomore receiver Jordan Newton for a 28-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. It was Newton’s first varsity touchdown.
“That was amazing because Newton is the secondary receiver,” said Yafai, acting out the play. “Ben dropped five steps, looked and read the corner. The corner stayed on the outside receiver. He shuffled up into the pocket to let the pressure come by; looked to his secondary receiver; held onto it for a second because if he throws it there the free safety is going to collapse on that; held it for another second; the post clears past the safety; and then unloads it, and hits him past the safety and we got a touchdown.”
On the ensuing possession, MVC fumbled the snap on first down and senior defensive end Jonathan Vasquez fell on it to give Gilroy the ball on the 11-yard line. Three plays later and only 1:32 after their second score, Hemeon found the end zone for his second rushing touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
Following a MVC punt on a quick three-and-out series, Hemeon went right back to work – finding senior receiver Robert Daluz all alone for a 59-yard touchdown strike with 4:59 left in the half. Hemeon rolled to his right and then tossed the ball all the way back to the left to hit Daluz – who did not have a defender within 20 yards of him.
The Mustangs were not done in the first half – benefiting from sophomore Marcus Munoz’s second fumble recovery at the MVC 40-yard line. This time, Hemeon – on second-and-goal from the two – rolled to his left and lobbed a TD pass into the arms of senior receiver Jared Gamm with one tick remain.
“They were 2-1 coming in, so it got scary because we threw two interceptions in that first quarter. It was close that first quarter,” said Yafai of MVC that had many two-way players on its mere 28-man roster. “We knew into that second half we were going to start wearing them down. We figured it would be a close game. We told our kids battle with them in the first half. We’re a better football team with them, but just battle with them in that first half and in the second half we’ll break it open.”
The Mustangs broke it wide open before even getting into the second half – which allowed them to play their second- and third-string personnel for the final two quarters. The substitutes did not score, but they helped preserve the Gilroy defense’s first shutout of the season.
“We had to run a ton of stuff that we don’t usually run,” said Yafai, who went up against MVC’s double-wing offense for the first time ever. “We had to have linebackers moving up and playing D-line spots on the outside. We took our D-ends and had to squeeze them in. We had to take our outside backers and move them up to the line. We had to take our two safeties and move them up to outside backers. Everything was different.”
Instead of the Gilroy defense getting out of whack, MVC’s double-wing running attack – which was held to 133 rushing yards on 33 carries – was forced to go to an unfamiliar passing game.
“They threw more against us than they had thrown in three previous games combined. They had to because they got way behind us. Normally, they were throwing four times a game,” Yafai said. “We had to teach different reads all week. There’s no other choice. It’s either that or you sit in your base defense and you die, you give up four or five yards a chunk.”
The Mustang defense learned its new playbook for the week and kept MVC out of the end zone – recovering four fumbles and limiting the host’s to 66 passing yards on 16 attempts.
“We’ve never seen that before, but, yeah, it was cool to get the shutout. I wasn’t used to that at all, but it worked out. The coaches know what they are talking about,” senior linebacker Nick Fortino said. “It feels great. It’s a totally different team (from last year).
Gilroy won for the fourth straight week to up its non-league record to 4-0 after starting 1-3 last season with former Monterey Bay League-foe Alvarez coming to town for Friday’s homecoming game at 7:30 p.m. inside Mustang Stadium. MVC evened its record to 2-2.
“Even though Alvarez is a better football team than Monte Vista Christian, we are so glad that we’ll be able to go back to our base defensive stuff next week. The stuff we’ve been coaching our kids for years and for months,” Yafai said. “Every week we have to up the ante. Every week there’s more of a sense of urgency. Every week it’s one game and one game only, and we have to find a way to get it done.”
This upcoming week, it’s Alvarez followed by the Mustangs’ Tri-County Athletic League opener against Salinas at the Sports Complex on Oct. 17.
“4-0, yes we’re happy, but I would put an asterisk by that because all the games we have left are all teams better than any one we’ve seen so far,” said Yafai, turning his immediate attention to Alvarez. “It’s homecoming. That’s not going to be a distraction. Homecoming is for the fans and the student body and the parents. Our job is to go out and win a football game.”
HORSES IN THE STABLE: Gilroy used 10 ball-carriers for Saturday’s win over MVC – combining for 179 yards on 34 carries. Hemeon led the team on the ground with 61 yards and two TDs, while junior tailback Marty Sustaita rushed for 43 yards on six carries and senior halfback Melvin Bryant compiled 33 yards on nine carries. Junior Eric Rodriguez ran for 20 yards on five carries. Senior fullback Tim DeLeon had 17 yards on two carries. Senior fullback Vince Sanchez rushed for nine yards on four carries. Mickartz scrambled for two yards and completed a one-yard pass to Rodriguez.
RECEIVING ROUNDUP: The Mustangs also had eight different receivers catch passes led by Daluz with two grabs for 68 yards and a touchdown; Gamm with three catches for 22 yards and touchdown; and Newton with a 28-yard TD snag. Senior tight end Roger Ortiz caught an 18-yard reception for a first down. Junior Louie Gutierrez made a 13-yard catch.
SCRUM STARTER: Former Gilroy High defensive coordinator Ron Meyers, now the head coach at Soquel High, started the double-wing offense at Monte Vista Christian where he coached for 10 seasons.
“If run effectively, that offense can chunk the ball down the field at four or five yards a chunk and eat up time on the clock. It’s like a necessary evil. I hate the offense, but I understand why some coaches do it,” said Yafai, who talked with Meyers about it when he was on his staff two years ago. “I told him I said, ‘Coach you need to light a couple of candles, go to confession and ask for forgiveness for running this offense for so long.’ He’s like, ‘Coach, if you’ve got the guys, it will win you games.’ It took him to the playoffs a couple of years.”
TWO MORE SHUTOUTS: The Gilroy High junior varsity squad also shut out Monte Vista Christian – winning a lopsided 25-0 affair. Running back Justin Sweeney scored two touchdowns. Steven Quistian caught a touchdown pass from Nick Tovar and D. Pineda scored the other Gilroy touchdown. The freshmen gridmen pulled off a 28-0 road victory over Wilcox.
