The Gilroy High football team was overmatched by Hollister in
Friday night’s Prune Bowl, 41-6.
GILROY – With the clock ticking down to two seconds left in Friday night’s Prune Bowl game at Gilroy High, the Mustang offense quickly hustled to the line of scrimmage to get off one more play. Senior quarterback John Kirkish took the snap from center just in time and tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Anthony Gonzalez.
“We were just looking to score and they called on me. I just came out and did what I could. This was my first game (at wide receiver),” said Gonzalez, who just returned from a separated shoulder. “It was just a wheel. I just found an open spot in the back of the end zone.”
The last-second score did not mean much for the final outcome, as the Mustangs suffered a disastrous 41-6 home loss to the Haybalers, but it prevented the shutout and gave Gilroy, at least, something to build on for next week’s road clash against defending CCS Division I Champ Palma.
“(It helps) a little bit because we were shut out two games in a row previous to that,” said head coach Darren Yafai, whose squad’s record slips to 1-6. “The fact is we gave up 41 points. That Hollister team is 4-2-1. They’re going to go to the playoffs. We knew we were playing a brutal schedule, but we’re just week in and week out as a staff and players all as one unit we’re not getting it done.”
The lopsided final score was the worst in Prune Bowl history since Hollister defeated Gilroy 50-6 in 1969. The VFW Trophy was handed back over to the Haybalers – who have won three of the last four years and seven of the last nine.
“I’m really disappointed because we felt that we prepared hard,” Yafai said. “The kids worked hard. We felt going into this game that we had a legitimate shot.”
But there was no stopping the Hollister running game – which compiled 290 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns. Senior tailback Trenton Young and quarterback Lee Osbourne each ran for two TDs.
“They’ve been able to run the ball on everybody all year long. They’ve got maybe the best offensive line in the league,” said Yafai of Hollister. “We were even bringing eight men up in the box. You could put 11 men in the box and if their offensive line is still going to move you off the ball, they’re still going to pick up gains.”
The Mustang offense – which turned the ball over five times – did not help their cause, either. The first two plays of the game were flagged for illegal procedure and then a Kirkish fumble turned the ball over to Hollister – which immediately scored on a 30-yard TD run by Osbourne.
The fist-half follies continued with a botched exchange between Kirkish and senior tailback J.L. Mangono – which resulted in the second Osbourne rushing touchdown. Then things went from bad to worse as Kirkish was intercepted by Hollister’s Steven King – who ran it back 34 yards to give the Haybalers a 20-0 lead.
After Hollister extended to a 27-0 second-quarter advantage, Gilroy fumbled the ensuing kick-off and once again the Haybalers recovered on the Mustang 14-yard line. One play later, Young broke several tackles on his way into the end zone. At the half, Gilroy trailed 34-0.
“We’ve got to be able to hold on to the ball,” Yafai said.
Following a scoreless third quarter, the Haybalers scored their final TD with 7:57 remaining to put them ahead by 41 points. Gilroy responded with another interception on offense.
On the only Gilroy scoring drive, the Mustangs drove 58 yards in four plays – three of which were Kirkish completions of 27 yards to Gonzalez, 19 yards to receiver Greg Lucio and 12 yards to Gonzalez for the TD.
“I say it to our players and I’ll say it to the press and to everybody else, we’re going to continue as a coaching staff and as players to bust our butts and prepare as hard as we can every week,” Yafai said. “It might not show on the field because we’re playing tough teams, but our kids work extremely hard in practice and our coaches prepare extremely hard.”
The hard-hitting Haybalers beat up the Mustangs on the scoreboard as well as on the field. Gilroy – which seemed to have players laid out on the grass after every play – lost senior nose guard Nick Fortino with a broken arm and starting guard Kevin Collins with back injury that prompted a trip to the hospital. In addition, Gilroy had two players with knee injuries.
“In 12 plus years of coaching high school football, this is the most injuries I’ve seen through game six or seven of the season ever from any team. Every week we lose two or three guys,” said Yafai, who suspended starting tight end Roger Ortiz for the Prune Bowl. “One thing I will put on our players is we have to stop making off-the-field poor decisions… Every week we have a kid that we have to suspend for disciplinary reasons.”
