As President George W. Bush once said,
”
There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas,
probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on – shame
on you. Fool me … you can’t get fooled again.
”
As President George W. Bush once said, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me … you can’t get fooled again.”
Gilroy High School football Coach Rich Hammond had a similar thought earlier this week, albeit with better wording, about his team facing an Oak Grove Eagles squad for the second time this season. After a 27-21 defeat at home to the Eagles in Week Two, Hammond thinks the Mustangs could have an advantage coming into Friday’s Central Coast Section championship.
“I think if you have to play someone the second time – in a perfect world you want to win every one – but from a coach’s standpoint, it’s easier to come into a game (prepared) after losing the first time,” he said.
Had Gilroy (10-2) won the first meeting, the team might be taking Oak Grove (11-1) lightly this time around. But a stalled drive at the Eagles’ 32-yard line with just two minutes, 30 seconds remaining, has the Mustangs thinking payback.
What Oak Grove’s players are thinking is anybody’s guess.
“They beat us the first time, and they have to convince their kids that they have to take us serious and it’s not a cakewalk,” Hammond said. “So, we have an advantage. The flip side is they’re much better and we’re much better. It’s a good measuring stick to see how far we’ve come.”
While the Mustangs’ offense is far more polished and confident in its abilities than it was to begin the season, it’s the GHS defense that wouldn’t recognize itself if watching tape from Week Two.
Oak Grove’s Nevin Gardiner rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns in that game despite being a bit gimpy from a bum ankle. Stacy Long also hurt the Mustangs, catching four passes for 84 yards and rushing for 80 yards and a score. After being pushed around by Serra High School’s ground game (over 500 yards rushing) a week later, Gilroy’s coaching staff made the decision to cut the cord on their 3-4 base defense.
Switching to a nickel package that added another safety, the Mustangs improved almost immediately. Coach Hammond blamed himself for a misuse of personnel, comparing his stubbornness to stick with the 3-4 to “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.”
The result has been less holes in the defense.
From Week Four until Saturday’s 40-34 victory over the Los Gatos Wildcats, no individual had gained over 200 yards rushing in a game against the Mustangs. Wildcats running back Nick Kalpin was a unique challenge for Gilroy because he was able to rush with power through the smallest of openings. Gardiner and Long are both excellent athletes, but qualify more as finesse backs.
Throwing the first game out the window, it’s clear the talent level of both teams is incredibly high – evidenced by Gilroy’s nine-game winning streak and Oak Grove’s 10-game winning streak. Each squad should enter the contest knowing the other has improved drastically since the last time they met.
Any other way of thinking would be downright foolish, no matter where you’re from.
