Bad ball-handling haunts GHS, but coaches confident this week
will be different
Nine dropped passes. Five turnovers. More than a few defensive and special teams breakdowns.
For the Gilroy High coaches and players, the game tape from Friday’s 32-8 Homecoming loss to Salinas wasn’t exactly a thrill to watch.
“Oh yeah, it was rough,” GHS head coach Darren Yafai said. “All the mistakes we found a way to avoid this whole season … it’s like we saved them up and used them all in that game.
“It was just a matter of poor execution, mental and physical mistakes and just some bad luck.”
It all added up to one ugly night for the Mustangs (7-2/2-2 TCAL), who close out the regular season at home against neighboring Live Oak Friday.
For whatever reason, a team with an uncanny ability to hang onto the ball – Gilroy only turned it over four times in the first eight games – committed five turnovers, including four in the second half.
“It was the one game where everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” special teams coach Craig Martin said. “But that’s all over and done with now. When we walked off that field, we told the kids to forget about it.
“And the tone (during Monday’s practice) was very upbeat. Everybody’s really focused on Live Oak.”
Although Gilroy’s league title hopes have been dashed and its CCS playoff berth is all but clinched, Friday’s home game against the Acorns still has plenty of storylines. It is a meeting of storied rivals and the postseason hopes of Live Oak (7-2/2-2 TCAL), which sports a weaker schedule than the Mustangs, are still up in the air.
Yafai said he was confident his team had the mental toughness to bounce back, much like it did during a rousing win at Palma on Oct. 22, one week after a heartbreaking loss to San Benito in the Prune Bowl.
“I think our kids have confidence,” Yafai said. “As coaches, we’re always trying to pyschoanalyze them.
“After the loss, we were kind of wondering whether they were going to be depressed or dejected. After some of the big wins, we were kind of wondering whether they’d be overconfident. But this team has always been pretty even-keeled.”
JV/Frosh update
The Gilroy High JV’s joined their varsity brethren in suffering a bitter loss Friday and it was left to the freshman Mustangs to salvage something out of the annual football clash with Salinas.
On Thursday, the freshmen pulled out a 6-2 win against the Cowboys. The GHS defense didn’t surrender a point and that was clearly the story of the game for Gilroy, which improved to 7-1-1 (3-1 TCAL).
In addition to sneaking in the game’s only touchdown at quarterback, part-time defensive back David Alejo added two interceptions, giving him nine for the year. Ryan Costa also pulled in a key interception late in the game and cornerback Matt Stuck turned in a team-high 12 tackles.
“The whole defense was amazing,” secondary coach Joseph Bagley said.
The JV defense was dominant as well, but it just wasn’t enough in a crushing 3-0 loss to the Cowboys on Friday night.
Star tailback JoJo Gutierrez fumbled in the final minute and Salinas was able to convert a 20-yard field goal in the closing seconds to avoid the tie and beat the Mustangs (7-2/2-2 TCAL).
“It was heartbreaking for us,” head coach Joe Costa said. “The kids played hard the whole game.”
For its final game against Live Oak, the team will be without Z-back Paul Gonzalez and free safety Frank Tomasetti, who were both called up by the varsity squad.
