GILROY—Each week, Christopher coach Tim Pierleoni has told his team “this is the most important game in the history of Christopher High School right now, right here, tonight.” Each week, the Cougars took one more step towards clinching their second league title since the program started in 2010 and their first outright title—they were tri-champs with Monte Vista Christian and Monterey in 2012.
This week, Christopher can solidify its title. The only thing standing in its way is the Mustangs.
The two teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight for the fifth annual Severance Bowl at Gilroy High School. The Mustangs won the inaugural game in 2010, but Christopher has won the last three straight. This time, however, there’s much more on the line.
“That’s the kind of game you want to play in is the most important game. After practice we talked about that and I told the kids that you can’t let people come and take what I truly believe these kids have earned,” Pierleoni said. “They know how important this game is, we’ve talked about it. They know what it means to them and to Christopher High School and to their families. We’re going to work our butts off the next few days and get after it.”
The Cougars enter the game with an 8-1 overall record and a perfect 5-0 Monterey Bay League-Pacific Division mark. Gilroy—who has been marred by injuries to key players this season—brings a 3-6 overall record, 3-2 in league. Both teams agree, however, those numbers go out the window when it comes to the Severance Bowl.
“We have a lot of athletes on the team,” senior guard Darius Alexander-Jones said. “We should be making plays; we just haven’t been making them this season. Our team is better than our record shows, I can say that for sure.”
The Mustangs have done everything possible to swing the momentum in their favor to ensure the Severance Bell—an enormous bell awarded to the winning team and takes at least six men to lift—returns to Gilroy High.
Gilroy routed Pajaro Valley 35-7 last week, have key pieces like running back David Montes back and quarterback David Munoz seems to have finally found his groove. Munoz was 11 for 23 and threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns. He also led on the ground, amassing 66 yards on five carries.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” Mustangs coach Brian Boyd said. “We’re stable, we don’t have any big injuries. The ones we lost are gone, but we’ve stuck with this group and everyone has stepped up and filled the voids. This is what we’ve got and we’re going to go to war with it.”
Gilroy has proven that when its run game goes, so does its passing game. The return of Montes last week is huge for the team and allows them to pack a triple punch at running back with him, DeAngelo Kamber and Anthony Bollendorf. Montes was injured in season opener against Live Oak and has seen very limited time all season, but said he’s chomping at the bit to get on the field.
“It sucked missing all these games; I was really looking forward to the season,” the senior running back said. “I felt good in the games I did play and it was unfortunate what happened, but I’m looking forward to what I can do this week.”
Christopher is well aware of Montes’ return and intends to shut down the run game which, it hopes, should silence the pass, too. Senior defensive tackle Victor Sevillano said forcing the Mustangs out of their comfort zone is key and the defense isn’t underestimating its opponent, but it is preparing for them.
“If we lose that bell, that’ll be heartbreaking,” Sevillano said. “Everyone is doing what they have to do. We have to execute to keep it, that’s critical.”
Across town, Gilroy’s defense is hard at work, too. It knows Christopher relies heavily on its passing game, which is led by gunslinger Matt Adamkiewicz. The junior QB had his best performance of the year last week, going 18 for 31 for 405 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He tossed several long balls in the game, including a 75-yard TD pass to Beau Bassian on Christopher’s opening play.
On top of that, Adamkiewicz has an arsenal of receivers to choose from. He connected with 11 different Cougars against North Monterey County in the team’s 36-6 victory.
But Gilroy isn’t worried.
“I would say if there was a vote for most physical defense in this league, it’d be us. I think coaches would agree with that. I think they’re going to be worried more about our defense than we are about theirs,” Boyd said. “He’s (Adamkiewicz) pretty effective when he runs around. If we can contain him and keep him in the pocket, I think we’re going to be fine. He makes things happen when he gets out, he really does. He’s a good little athlete, but we’ll see.”
On the flip side, the Mustangs know Christopher’s defense isn’t one to take lightly. The Cougars have only allowed two teams—Carmel and Monte Vista Christian—more than two touchdowns all season. They have outscored their opponents 305-101 heading into this game.
Christopher’s defense is led by the 6-4, 240-pound Jacob Moen. He can be a force on both sides of the ball, but is especially lethal on defense. Moen has 126 total tackles so far, in addition to a career-high three sacks. He has also caused six fumbles and recovered three of them.
“I just know Jake (Moen) is the big deal. If I can get past him, we have a good chance and our offense has a good chance of doing some damage on them,” Montes said. “I think a big factor is knowing that we’re going to have our home crowd here on our home field. Hopefully that can give us some momentum throughout the game.”
The Severance Bowl caps off the regular season for both teams and will be the difference between Christopher winning the league title outright or possibly sharing it with Monte Vista Christian.
The Severance Bell will be present at Gilroy High, but whether or not it stays there will be decided Friday night.
