FOOTBALL: Gilroy, Christopher geared for Week 2 of league play

Christopher High faces a Palma team that has given up 66 points through four games. Gilroy High hosts Monterey, a team that scored more than 40 points in each of its first three games this season. And so begins Week 2 of the vaunted Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division.
The Mustangs (1-4 overall, 0-1 MBL) suited up less than 25 players for last week’s loss to Salinas. Twenty-three were at practice on Wednesday. Still, head coach Brian Boyd don’t expect the Mustangs to show up and immediately fold.
“We are going to give it out best and compete,” he said. “We are going to try and slow it down on offense a bit and keep the ball in our posession.”
Monterey tends to tilt toward a powerful rushing attack, similar to what the Mustangs had to contend with against the Cowboys.
“We definitely have our work cut out for us,” Boyd said. “They are quick and we just have to try to slow them down.”
The Cougars (1-4 overall, 1-0 MBL) had success rushing the ball in picking up their first victory of the season last week against Alvarez. After the game, head coach Tim Pierleoni said that style of offense can be expected to become more prevelant as the season wears on.
“We were 0-4 two weeks ago, and the kids could have wilted. But these young guys picked themsleves up by their boot straps and decided to practice harder,” Pierleoni said.
The Chieftains, who are the defending Central Coast Section Division IV champions, started the year 1-2 – including a loss to Seaside two weeks ago. But a 22-12 victory over the Toreadors has Palma 1-0 in league and 2-2 overall heading into tonight’s encounter at the Salinas Sports Complex.
“We are truly excited to play in this game. We are excited to take on one of the premier programs in the section and see where we stack up,” Pierleoni said. “They are very well coached and very strong on both sides of the ball. We need to try to get some first downs and make plays on defense that hopefully have some bearing on the outcome.”