GILROY—As far as Gilroy High is concerned, the last four weeks don’t matter. The Mustangs want to put their preseason struggles behind them and focus on the task at hand: their Monterey Bay League-Pacific Division opponents.
But they’re not about to put everything behind them.
The Mustangs are looking to build off the positives of their 40-17 loss to Piedmont Hills on Sept. 26 at home. Gilroy had the lead, 15-13, at halftime but injuries and penalties got the better of it in the second half.
The things Gilroy had struggled with—offensive production and penalties—were the things it was excelling at for three quarters of the game. The Mustangs showed great discipline in the first half to limit their penalties, which helped the offense find its rhythm. Quarterback David Munoz had only four incompletions in the first half and finished 24 for 34 with 210 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
“We played good, solid football for three quarters and then the penalties got us,” Gilroy coach Brian Boyd said, noting new punishments for potentially harmful penalties. “They sit a quarter if they get unsportsmanlike conduct or a personal foul—no matter what level they’re in freshmen to varsity. We have to get rid of it.”
There’s also things from preseason it can’t forget or undo, such as injuries. Four Gilroy starters won’t suit up this week after getting hurt in the Piedmont Hills contest. Free saftey/wide receiver Matthew Castillo, defensive end Caleb Brown, running back/outside linebacker and Jakob Method, a cornerback/wide receiver, will all miss time this week, but Boyd remains optimistic.
The Mustangs open league play at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at Watsonville and Boyd said it should be deja vu for his team. The Wildcatz offense, he said, is exactly the same as Sobrato’s and Half Moon Bay’s. Having played against it twice this season, he’s confident that his defense will take care of business.
“They run a double wing, so they’re going to try to beat us on the run,” Boyd said. “We know what they’re going to do and I think we’re pretty strong defensively, especially in the middle, if we can hold our ground. We’re going to load the box and put a couple more bodies in there; we’re optimistic about what we can do.”
Offensively, the Mustangs need to figure out who will replace their injured running back and receivers. Limiting the penalties and allowing Munoz to find his rhythm will be key for Gilroy as the junior QB is one of the best in the MBL when he’s on his game. This will be especially important in the second half. The team has scored only 15 points after the break so far this season.
A new season, a slate wiped clean, all kicks off with Watsonville. Instead of being 0-4 overall, Gilroy intends to be 1-0 in league.
“We’ve presented it to them that their season starts now,” Boyd said. “We think we can play with everybody in our league, if we played four quarters of football. We know we have a huge task to run the table and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
