GILROY—Gilroy’s football teams have a lot to prove this week. The Mustangs are out to show that their Week 2 win over Sobrato was no fluke. Christopher, on the other hand, wants the world to know its better than it played in its Week 2 loss to Live Oak.
The Mustangs and Cougars are coming off a bye with plenty of time to regroup and adjust for this week’s opponents. Tonight, they’ll put their hard work into action.
GILROY AT PIEDMONT HILLS
Gilroy’s defense was a game changer in the 14-10 win over Sobrato Sept. 11. It forced four turnovers on downs, three of which were in the redzone, and notched a big sack on the Bulldogs’ QB when they were marching downfield. And they did it all with some key players sidelined.
But that was two weeks ago and now the Mustangs are preparing for a much different opponent.
Piedmont Hills is a dangerous team in the air, thanks to quarterback Marcus Romero.
Through the team’s two wins, Romero has six touchdowns and 650 yards. He’s got two lethal weapons in Richard Fedelin and Gabriel Martinez, who have 262 yards and 181 yards, respectively. Fedelin has reached the endzone four times, while Martinez has been there twice.
“We’re not changing anything,” Mustangs head coach Jubenal Rodriguez said. “The key to victory is to play all four quarters. If we’re up 14-0, we have to play like it’s it’s 0-0. If we’re down 14-0, we have to play like it’s 0-0.”
The Mustangs had success breaking up the pass against Sobrato and look to repeat this week. They held Sobrato’s Matt Bolino to 125 yards and allowed only nine completions out of his 23 attempts.
On the flip side, Gilroy’s offense has struggled to produce. It’s garnered just 20 points through two games, but looked to be catching fire in Week 2.
Sophomore Jon Jon Castro couldn’t get much done in the air, completing half of his passes for 102 yards. When the aerial attack failed, Castro took to the ground and racked up 41 yards on 10 carries. Senior David Munoz, who had 18 carries for 52 yards, complemented Castro.
The Mustangs will need to be strong on both sides of the ball to get past Piedmont Hills. The two teams square off at 7 p.m. tonight in San Jose.
COUGARS VS. HILLSDALE
After two very different road games in Morgan Hill, the Cougars are finally home. They’ve put the 42-14 loss to Live Oak behind them as they shift their focus to Hillsdale.
Christopher didn’t look like the powerhouse team its become when it took on the Acorns. Star quarterback Matt Adamkiewicz was held to just 54 yards passing against Live Oak, down from the 288 yards he packed on against Sobrato.
Part of the difference was the team was without receiver PJ Reichert, who was sidelined with a cast on his arm and will be out for several weeks. The other part, head coach Tim Pierleoni said after the game, was Live Oak’s defense was just too good.
When they couldn’t get it done in the air, the Cougars hit the ground. Dylan Olivares led the team with 88 yards on eight carries.
Regardless of what Hillsdale throws at them, the Cougars need to be better up front. In addition to low passing yards, Adamkiewicz had negative 32 yards on the ground at one point, but recovered to finish with 30 yards on 13 carries.
Christopher’s defense also needs to step up. It will look to contain Hills-dale’s Cameron Taylor, who amassed 219 yards on 26 carries and scored four touchdowns in his team’s 31-13 win.
“We need to be able to tackle better,” Pierleoni said. “We have to be able to wrap him up.”
The two teams meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Christopher High.
