Mustang gridmen come from behind to tie Eagles, 14-14
GILROY – The Gilroy High gridmen do not want the tag of being a second-half team to stick – but Friday night’s homecoming game only furthered the comparison that the slow starters are indeed strong finishers.
Trailing by 14 points at the break, the Mustangs came out of the locker room and – before a packed-house homecoming crowd – pulled off a courageous comeback to escape with a bittersweet 14-14 tie against Alvarez.
“Bitter in that we thought we were the better football team than them and we played a horrible first half of football and had special teams mistakes, silly fumbles, sloppy, sluggish, the whole thing,” head coach Darren Yafai said. “Sweet in that our kids never gave up. It’s been a long time since I’ve coached a team that pulled off a moral victory in the end.”
Regardless, the Mustangs remained unbeaten with a 4-0-1 mark through the first five weeks of the season heading into their Oct. 17 league opener against Salinas in ‘The Pit’. Alvarez has still yet to get in the win column playing in some tight games for an 0-4-1 mark.
“I don’t know if we escaped with one, but we pulled out a tie because we were losing 14-0,” Yafai said. “What did I say, ‘the key for us this week would be to start fast and that hurt us. That cost us a win because we should have won this game. But I’m still proud of my kids because we never gave up.”
Led by their defense, the Mustangs overcame two first-half fumbles and some special teams blunders to remain within striking distance of Alvarez before the offensive unit broke out of its funk.
“I thought our defense played outstanding for three quarters,” Yafai said. “The first quarter we were soft. We gave up the deep ball. They were getting a push. But I thought we played awesome for three quarters on ‘D’.”
After allowing two touchdown runs in the opening quarter, the Mustang defense shut down Alvarez through the final two quarters – answering the call on six Eagles possessions in the second half.
“We just took them out. I don’t know how we did it. Our offense did what it took and our defense just held strong like we have all year. Our linemen, they did everything they could,” junior defensive back Jarod Kaczorowski said. “That was a thrilling game. I wish we could’ve came out with the win, but it’s better than the loss.”
The Mustangs first put together an eight-play, 58-yard scoring drive – capped off by senior tailback Melvin Bryant’s 15-yard touchdown scamper. Earlier on, senior quarterback Ben Hemeon kept the drive alive with a clutch five-yard run on a fourth-and-two at mid field. Gilroy got its first touchdown – but the extra point was blocked, leaving the spread at 14-6.
“I just thought we needed to execute. I don’t think we executed at all in the first half… We fumbled, stumbled and were all over the place,” offensive coordinator Tim Pierleoni said. “I felt we pulled out a moral victory by getting the tie. When the two teams walked off this field tonight, I think Alvarez was down and we were up.”
Still up against an eight-point deficit with time ticking away in the fourth quarter, the Mustang defense forced a quick three-and-out to give the offense one final chance. And they took full advantage.
With 1:52 showing, Hemeon led the Mustangs on the game-tying drive that began at their 21-yard line. After two completions and junior Marty Sustaita’s six-yard run, Gilroy went into its old bag of tricks – using a hook-and-ladder play for a 24-yard gain and a first down at the Alvarez’ 39-yard line. Hemeon hit sophomore receiver Jordan Newton – who in turn pitched the ball to Sustaita to complete the yardage.
“We wanted to run that a little bit earlier and it didn’t come out like we thought it would, but I knew it was still there so we came back to it,” Pierleoni said. “It’s always good every time we give the ball to Marty. That’s part of something we practice every day.”
On the next play from scrimmage, Hemeon hit junior receiver Jared Gamm on a wheel play down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown completion with only 39 seconds remaining.
“I was looking for him the whole time because the corner sat,” said Hemeon, following Friday’s homecoming game. “First of all, I wanted to win. If we would have brought our ‘A’ game out in the first half, I think we would’ve done better. The tie is better than the loss any day.”
Gilroy had used the same wheel play against San Lorenzo Valley in week-three – but Gamm could not pull in the pass on a diving attempt. This time, Hemeon hit Gamm in stride and he took off down the sideline.
“It was a nice throw by Ben. I’m real proud of Ben because he was hurting a little bit tonight. He made some mistakes early, but he kept his composure and hung in there,” Yafai said. “(Gamm) has got great football instincts. He’s a very smart kid. I’ve had him in history class. He’s a very bright kid. He knows how to put himself in the right spots and he’s very athletic… and he’s got a lot of heart.”
The comeback was not complete yet. The Mustangs still needed a successful two-point conversion to tie the score. They got it when Hemeon completed a three-yard pass to senior tight end Roger Ortiz in the end zone.
“That’s a playaction pass,” said Yafai of the two-point attempt. “We like to run our ‘Tank’ with three backs in the backfield. We scored a two-point conversion back against Santa Cruz on that.”
The Gilroy defense even offered one final offensive series to go for the win when Kaczorowksi intercepted a deep pass at the Mustang 25-yard line. But time ran out on Gilroy – leaving them with a bittersweet taste in their mouth.
“I think the kids did a great job at digging down. That’s a good learning experience,” Pierleoni said. “Just like I told them at the end of the game, ‘it’s like life and sometimes things don’t go your way and it’s how you respond.'”
Alvarez did everything in its power to bury the Mustangs early as senior fullback Anthony Gonzalez scored on two short touchdown runs to quiet the homecoming crowd. The Eagles, however, could not find the back of the end zone again with the Gilroy defense holding strong.
“To us, yes I feel we should have beat that team,” Yafai said. “But then again I feel that that team is going to do well in their league. They were returning MBL Champs. That quarterback and their fullback are All-League kids. They’re going to win plenty of games in their league. They could knock off Seaside and win the MBL this year.”
WHAT IFS: What if the Mustangs’ extra point on their first touchdown was successful, would the undefeated gridmen gone for the win or tie at the end of the game?
“We’ll never know,” Yafai said. “I wouldn’t have had to make a choice in that situation because I think all of my assistant coaches would have made us go for two. I wouldn’t have even had a chance to think about going for the tie… And our kids would have wanted to go for it.”
Pierleoni added: “I would have liked to go for two. We practice that a lot, too.”
The decision is ultimately the head coach’s to make – just like when Yafai opted to punt the ball away facing a fourth-and-four with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Gilroy defense stopped Alvarez on three plays and allowed the offense to go on the game-tying drive.
“He’s the head coach he makes the decision,” Pierleoni said. “The punt at the end of the game was the head coach’s call when everybody thought maybe we should go for it. Even Ben, the quarterback, asked me, ‘how come we didn’t?’ That’s why you have a head coach making those calls and he made some great calls.”
GAME STATS: Hemeon finished 6-of-14 for 83 passing yards and one touchdown to go along with nine carries for 20 yards. Bryant had 10 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown as well as making two catches for seven yards. Gamm made two catches for 48 yards, and the game-tying touchdown. Sustaita had six carries for 27 yards and one catch for five yards along with the end run on the hook-and-ladder play.
TWO WEEKEND WINS: The Gilroy High freshmen team – by a 33-12 margin – and the junior varsity squad both won their games against Alvarez.
