Under a crisp cascade of stadium lighting courtesy of
Garcia-Elder Sports Complex Saturday night, two football teams will
attempt to keep their season, and a dream of a section title,
alive.
Under a crisp cascade of stadium lighting courtesy of Garcia-Elder Sports Complex Saturday night, two football teams will attempt to keep their season, and a dream of a section title, alive.
Gilroy High School will play the role of gracious host, welcoming the Valley Christian Warriors with open arms. The embrace between the two teams, however, will be anything but friendly.
Both squads will likely try to squeeze the life out of the other.
Entering with a punishing ground attack that often fits snugly between the tackles, the Warriors will look to ride on the backs of Daniel Johnson (718 yards rushing, 7 touchdowns), Anthony Oliveras (326 yards, 3TDs) and Cameron Marshall (807 yards, 11 TDs). All three have the ability to sustain drives, with Marshall providing the biggest home run threat – an 8.52 yards per carry average and a long rush of 73 yards on the season.
“We’re gonna have to have a really good game on the defensive line,” said GHS assistant coach Joffre Longoria. “The game is won in the trenches.”
The Mustangs’ defense is expected to counter by penetrating gaps in the offensive line through linebacker and secondary blitzes. Having given up substantially less yards on the ground than earlier in the year (a difference of almost 200 yards per game when comparing the first half of the season to the second half), Gilroy is playing its best football entering the contest. The Mustangs have an 8-2 record and have won seven-straight games by an average of 23.5 points. A major reason for the surge is due to a defense that has forced turnovers and quick three-and-out series, giving an explosive offense even more opportunities to place the ball in the end zone.
GHS quarterback Jamie Jensen leads the Central Coast Section with 3,280 passing yards, and needs 319 more yards through the air to set a new CCS season-record. His receivers have done a remarkable job of making plays after the catch all season, with Danny Contreras (44 catches, 790 yards, 11 TDs) and Sean Hale (49 catches, 701 yards, 6TDs) hauling in a combined 26 passes in the last two games. Junior Dante Fullard is second on the team in catches and receiving yards with 47 and 724, respectively.
Versatile running back Travis Reyes also poses a unique threat to the Warriors, with 1,084 combined yards rushing and receiving, and a team-high 16 touchdowns.
Gilroy Coach Rich Hammond expects Valley Christian’s defense to do something few teams have been audacious enough to try: Nothing.
“They do what they do, and they don’t care who you are,” he said. “They probably have the best athletes in the section. That’s what they’re known for.”
Hammond said he expects the Warriors to operate out of a four- to six-man front with heavy blitzing, rather than installing new formations to confuse Jensen (although the Warriors do occasionally run a 4-4 front with all eight players standing upright). It is a tactic that has worked well for the 7-2-1 Warriors – winners of their last four games – but with far less frequency for Gilroy’s opponents as the season has progressed. The greatest pressure will rest squarely on the VC secondary, which has been opportunistic by picking off a West Catholic Athletic League-leading 13 passes this season.
Conversely, the Mustangs’ secondary will also have a daunting task to overcome. In addition to trying to slow the Warriors’ running backs, Gilroy will have to pay special attention to receiver David Henderson on the play-action pass. Henderson only has 28 catches on the season but is gaining over 20 yards per reception. He also has a touchdown for every 3.5 catches (8 total) and a long gain of 81 yards.
Hammond said that Henderson – who has 4.3, 40-yard dash speed – was an under-utilized target this season, but is always capable of breaking a game open. The responsibility to find him will fall on VC quarterback Cory Gambello, who has completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,044 yards, 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
After practice Thursday evening, Hammond stood midfield and listed off a litany of reasons why this game should be important to his players. He reminded his team that Gilroy has never won a section title in football. He also noted how painful it is to know you’ve played the last game of your career and not come out on top. But he also said it was a chance for players, and the team as a whole, to show Gilroy’s success wasn’t a fluke. That a Tri-County Athletic League title didn’t happen by accident.
“This game,” he said, “is about respect and getting recognition.”
