Daluz returns two punts for touchdowns, picks off two passes to
lead GHS gridmen to 30-6 road win over SLV
FELTON – Senior return man Robert Daluz ran back two punts for touchdowns and intercepted two passes to lead the Gilroy High football team to its third straight victory with Saturday’s 30-6 road romp of San Lorenzo Valley.
Daluz cracked a 50-yard touchdown return to put the Mustangs ahead 16-0 in the final seconds of the first half and then broke open an 85-yard TD return to push Gilroy in front 23-6 with under 10 minutes remaining.
“A lot of good blocks. I cut back and people were getting laid on their backs, legs up in the air. It was just blocking,” Daluz said. “I just go for the hole.”
Daluz also halted SLV’s opening drive with an interception as he read the play and stepped in front of the receiver. The talented defensive back – who completely shut down SLV All-League receiver Ryan Crow – picked off another in the fourth quarter on the first play following his 85-yard TD return.
“He’s a special athlete,” said head coach Darren Yafai of Daluz. “He decided to dedicate himself to having a good senior season… He has a bunch of buddies on this team that have supported him and hung with him and pulled him along and it’s paid off his senior year.”
The special teams unit accounted for a total of three touchdowns. Junior Joe Cano picked up a loose ball after a snap sailed over SLV punter Rich Brown’s head and ran it in from 10 yards out for Gilroy’s first touchdown. Senior Danny Melendez was also in the backfield – drilling Brown in a dive for the ball to keep him from recovering it.
“We work on (special teams) for about 20 minutes at practice,” Daluz said. “We’ve just got some good guys out there.”
Sophomore placekicker Neil Martin got in the scoring mix as well – booting a 41-yard field goal to hand the Mustangs an early 3-0 lead.
“We went out and played some great special teams today,” Yafai said. “Some of that you don’t coach. Some of that was Robert Daluz being a great football player and making a bunch of things happen and us getting some good blocks down field. The other big part of that is Coach (Craig) Martin makes sure our special teams is prepared every single day.”
They were prepared on Saturday.
Two of the three special teams touchdowns came in a 1:40 span of the second quarter – stretching a slim 3-0 advantage to a 16-0 lead going into the locker rooms at half.
“To get two scores right in the final minutes of the half was real big going in,” Yafai said.
But the Cougars came out and trimmed the gap to 16-6 on their second drive of the third quarter as bruising back Dustin Allen rumbled into the end zone for a six-yard TD run. SLV’s two-point attempt failed to keep the spread at 10.
The Gilroy special teams made yet another big play on the ensuing offensive series. The Mustangs were backed up at their own 11-yard line and forced to punt the ball away. Senior quarterback Ben Hemeon – who doubles as the team punter – blasted a punt over the return man’s head that did not stop rolling until it reached the SLV 20-yard line. Instead of prime field position around midfield, the Cougars were 80 yards from the end zone.
After the stingy Mustang defense forced a three-and-out, the Gilroy offense mounted an 82-yard scoring drive – which started with a five-yard penalty. But the ground game went to work with senior Melvin Bryant (12 carries, 69 yards, TD) and junior Marty Sustaita (eight carries, 74 yards) mixing it up all the way down field. Bryant capped off the long drive with a two-yard touchdown scamper to extend the lead to 23-6.
Following an SLV drive that stalled around mid-field, Daluz put the nail in the coffin by returning his longest punt on the day for a touchdown to give his team a 24-point lead over host San Lorenzo Valley – which scorched Gilroy 35-7 last season.
“They came to Mustang Stadium and made a bunch of big plays. They ran some trick plays for scores. They on-side kicked us and recovered it in the first half and they celebrated. They were having a great time on our field,” Yafai said. “In a way, we kinda admired that and said you know what we’re going to come out and do the same thing. We’re going to go to their place and we’re going to go Cougar hunting.”
Up next, the Mustangs (3-0) will play again on the road Saturday at 2 p.m. against Monte Vista Christian – which beat them 20-7 last season. Gilroy has already avenged last year’s losses to Terra Nova and San Lorenzo Valley.
“We made three big steps, but we haven’t even started the T-CAL and played the Palmas and the North Salinas’ and Hollisters and Live Oaks. We’re off to a good start and we’re happy with where we’re at. This is a big win for us,” Yafai said. “I have all the respect in the world for (SLV head coach) Doug Morris. He’s a high school hall of fame type coach that I’ve always looked up to even before I became a head coach.
“It’s special for us to be able to beat an SLV team that’s a perennial CCS powerhouse,” the coach added. “They’ve won the section three out of the last four years… I know that the Cougars will be back.”
RUN AWAY: The Gilroy ground game gained 203 yards on 35 carries against SLV. Along with Bryant’s 69-yard day and Sustaita’s 74-yard campaign, junior Louie Gutierrez rushed for 28 yards on four carries and senior Jason Ahumada recorded a 19-yard run. Junior Eric Rodriguez also had a seven-yard run. Hemeon – who completed four of 12 passes for 21 yards – picked up 11 rushing yards.
DOMINANT DEFENSE: The undersized Mustang defensive unit used its speed and athleticism to once again shut down the opposing offense – limiting SLV to only six points and 187 yards of total offense. In addition to Daluz’s two picks, junior safety Jared Gamm had an interception.
“We’re not real big, but we’re quick and we’ve got some good athletes,” Yafai said. “We’re opportunistic on defense and we bend a little bit, we bend a little bit, and we make stops at the opportunistic times.”
COACHES’ SPECIAL CONNECTION: “Coach (Craig) Martin is our special teams coordinator and I look back and I love the guy. When I was a football player, playing tackle football, he was my head coach when I was a kid. We’re talking almost 23 years ago he was my head coach,” Yafai said. “He always bugs us. We’ve got to work special teams. We’ve got to work special teams… He takes a lot of pride in that. He says we’re going to have some great special teams and make some plays. We work on at least two special teams every day.”
JV/FROSH SWEEP: The Mustang junior varsity unit topped the Cougars 14-6 with touchdowns from Steven Quistian and Stephon McCrimmon. The Gilroy freshmen squad defeated San Lorenzo Valley 19-6 with touchdowns from Vince Giacalone, Travis Garman,a nd Paul Gonzalez.
