WATSONVILLE—Gilroy had a couple goals in mind heading into Friday’s game with Pajaro Valley. The Mustangs obviously wanted to record a win, but they also wanted to ensure they established momentum for next week’s Severance Bowl.
Check and check.
Gilroy beat the Grizzlies 35-7 in Watsonville Friday behind a strong performance from quarterback David Munoz.
Munoz led the team both on the air and in the ground. He finished 11 for 23 for 186 yards and two touchdowns in addition to five carries for 66 yards. The junior QB started out the slinging the ball a little too hard for short passes, but Gilroy coach Brian Boyd said once Munoz settled down, his team ignited.
“He gets amped up; he needs to be calm,” Boyd said. “So we got him calmed down and he started running the ball which really helped us. I think just getting rid of some of that adrenaline by him running really helped.”
Munoz hit Riley Filice-Hollar for a 15-yard touchdown to cap off Gilroy’s 72-yard opening drive. The Mustangs scored three more times in the first half on a TD pass from Munoz to Patrick Hsu as well as rushing TDs from Hsu and David Montes, to take a 28-7 lead at the half.
Gilroy displayed a strong run game, racking up 198 yards on the ground. DeAngelo Kamber had 59 yards on eight carries, while Montes amassed 36 yards and Anthony Bollendorf has 12.
The 6-2, 190 lb. lineman, Darius Alexander-Jones, also reached the endzone for Gilroy to cap off a stellar performance from the defense. Alexander-Jones took the ball five yards for the game’s final TD.
“The kids did really well tonight; a missed tackle is how they (Pajaro Valley) scored,” Boyd said. “We had the kid tackle him and he squeaked out. The defense did very well tonight and we were able to establish a run game.”
Gilroy (3-6 overall, 3-2 in league) will host the fifth annual Severance Bowl against Christopher (8-1 overall, 5-0 in league) at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14. Boyd said he was optimistic about his team’s chances. He said any team can beat another on any given night, citing San Benito (5-4) upsetting the previously undefeated Palma (8-1) 17-13 Friday.
“We had a bye week last week, so we actually started preparing (for Christopher) a little bit then,” Boyd said. “Our main focus was to win this and establish some momentum. Momentum is huge. It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
