CASTROVILLE — If you somehow find a way to stop Brandon Boyd’s rushing attack, he’ll find another way to score.
The senior standout scored twice on special teams off back-to-back kickoff returns of 90 and 85 yards, respectively, to rack up 425 all-purpose yards in Gilroy’s 55-7 win over North Monterey County Saturday on the road. Boyd had a career high of six touchdowns in the game, gaining 250 yards on 18 carries.
Boyd is now within reach of two Central Coast Section records. He has 1,981 yards this season and is just 975 yards shy of tying Justin Ewing’s (Capuchino) record of 2,957 yards in a single season that was set last year. He has to average 325 yards in the final three games of the season — a tough task given the caliber of Gilroy’s opponents. He’s also quickly approaching the single season TD record that was set in 1996 by Albert Tuipulotu of San Mateo. He had 42 touchdowns in the regular season and three in postseason, but Boyd will make the record books by scoring 39 overall — he currently has 27.
“Those records, Brandon’s name goes on them but it’s also right underneath his name or right next it is always Gilroy. They’re some goals that the team also has and they understand that those things don’t happen unless they’re involved in it,” Mustangs coach Brian Boyd said. “He’s healthy, he feels good and as long as he stays healthy, he makes this team go — everybody knows that. His teammates, the coaches, all the other teams and we think he’s got a pretty good shot at probably being the MVP of the league.”
Brandon’s accomplishments aren’t going unnoticed. He was named the San Francisco 49ers Player of the Week Tuesday mainly due to his efforts against Watsonville on Oct.4 (30 carries for 315 yards and three touchdowns). Brandon will be featured on 49ers.com and in Gameday Magazine in addition to being invited to a 49ers practice where he will receive his award from Coach Jim Harbaugh. The senior will also receive two tickets a game where he will be honored on the field in a pregame ceremony. The Mustangs will also receive a $500 grant on his behalf.
But the always modest Boyd stressed that it isn’t a one-man show — and he’s right. Gilroy’s offensive line continues to shine, having not allowed a sack all season.
“Darius (Alexander-Jones) holds his own and pretty much him and Rosendo (Canseco) at guard and center pretty much hold down the offensive line and the commuication with everything going,” Brian Boyd said. “The sophomore tackles with (Adrian) Alba and DeAngelo Camber have done a phenominal job for being as young as they are. …They’re doing a great job — we haven’t even peaked yet. We think when they peak, we’re going to be fine.”
It took a little while for sophomore quarterback David Munoz to settle in, but he was able to get rolling late to score the final two touchdowns for the Mustangs. Munoz found Riley Filice-Hollar in the endzone for a 5-yard pass to put Gilroy ahead 48-7 early in the fourth quarter and picked up a rushing TD for 6-yards with 4:44 left for the final score.
Munoz finished 9 for 21 with 131 yards and a touchdown in addition to having 4 carries for eight yards and a touchdown.
The defense allowed just one touchdown — an 8-yard pass from Jordan Graves to Carlos Anaya — early in the first quarter and continues to dominate it’s opponents. The Mustangs (5-2 overall, 3-0 in league) have allowed just 35 points in their last four contests while the offense has scored 234.
“The front four are creating havoc; the down linemen are creating havoc where they’re having to double team one or two of them at least,” Brian Boyd said. “That allows our linebackers in Julian (Carbajal) and Noe (Garcia) to run around and make tackles.”
But things will only get tougher from here.
The Mustangs currently share control of the Monterey Bay Pacific League with the undefeated Everett Alvarez (7-0 overall, 4-0 in league) as both have yet to lose a league contest. The two teams will meet this week for Gilroy’s homecoming at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
The good news for Gilroy is that Alvarez’s last two games have been close calls — they won 36-34 over North Salinas last week and 26-23 over Christopher the week before.
But with a league championship essentially on the line tonight, Gilroy is not underestimating its opponent. The key to victory for the Mustangs lies in containing Eagles’ QB Edric Gamble — who is a threat on the air and on the ground.
“We think they’re definitely beatable,” Brian Boyd said. “We have to contain that quarterback (Edric Gamble) from running around, which we’ve had to do. If we don’t let this kid run around and get outside we think can frustrate him by being physical with him. He does play both ways so we’re going to be physical with him on both sides of the ball. …We’re going to run at him to and see if he can handle a few tackles and bang him up a little bit.”
