You know things are getting ugly when the home team’s band
complains of fatigue from playing the fight song too often after
touchdowns. Especially when there is still a couple minutes
remaining in the first half.
Gilroy – You know things are getting ugly when the home team’s band complains of fatigue from playing the fight song too often after touchdowns. Especially when there is still a couple minutes remaining in the first half.
The Gilroy Mustangs got back to a winning record by defeated the Alvarez Eagles 47-0 Friday night, with all but a touchdown and extra point coming in the first two quarters.
The Mustangs are now 3-2 overall, 2-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League, and have a winning record for the first time since beating Mountain View 29-0 in the first week of the season. Alvarez dropped to 0-5 on the year and 0-2 in league.
Travis Reyes (five carries, 65 yards) hit paydirt on his first three carries, with his first score of the game coming on a 58-yard carry on the second play from scrimmage. His touchdown to touches ratio was matched by receiver Danny Contreras (three catches, 53 yards), who scored twice in the four times he laid his hands on the ball.
The GHS defense forced five turnovers while also giving the ball back to the offense on two fourth-down stops in the second half.
“We needed to come out with a statement,” Reyes said. “A lot of people were talking about how Gilroy can’t finish, how Gilroy comes out slow. We made a statement in this game.”
Linebacker Lukas Fortino, who came away with the team’s first turnover on an interception over the middle, said the game went about as well as hoped for.
“It was actually really expected,” he said. “Our defense is a lot better than people think we are. We just needed to get things clicking. We have the talent to be a really good defense, probably one of the best defenses in the league.”
Quarterback Jamie Jensen continued to play well by completing 12 of 18 attempts for 224 yards and three touchdowns. His only mistakes sandwiched the intermission when he threw an interception minutes before and after halftime. By that time, however, the game was all but over.
“It’s a win that we should have and we should have it that way,” GHS coach Rich Hammond said. “I told the kids this week it’s about getting better every single play. And I’m excited that we were able to get some of the guys in that don’t get to play as much, and they were able to get better.”
The second half featured several players who haven’t seen much time on the field this season but showed they can make plays when called upon. Eight different players recorded a reception and nine players carried the ball.
Junior receiver Dante Fullard (four catches, 97 yards) took over as quarterback in the second half, completing 4 of 5 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, he threw a short pass to running back Sean Hale, who turned the play into a 52-yard touchdown for the final score.
What makes the 40-point, first-half scoring explosion so remarkable is the lack of time the Mustangs needed to run wild. Alvarez ate up almost eight minutes of clock in its first drive of the game before a 44-yard missed field goal. GHS then gave the Eagles another opportunity by fumbling the ball on the very next play, giving Alvarez the ball on Gilroy’s 38-yard line.
Two plays later though, Fortino had picked off a pass and the rout was on.
