It may take a cowboy to break a horse, but Friday night it took
a Mustang to break a Cowboy.
Crushing the visiting Salinas Cowboys 45-2 in front of a packed
Homecoming crowd, the Gilroy Mustangs pushed their winning streak
over Tri-County Athletic League opponents to eight dating back to
last season.
Also with this story, photo gallery.
GILROY – It may take a cowboy to break a horse, but Friday night it took a Mustang to break a Cowboy.
Crushing the visiting Salinas Cowboys 45-2 in front of a packed Homecoming crowd, the Gilroy Mustangs pushed their winning streak over Tri-County Athletic League opponents to eight dating back to last season.
Gilroy scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters to go ahead 42-0 before a botched snap for a safety gave Salinas its only points on the night. Ivan Lopez added a 43-yard field goal with just under four minutes remaining to seal the Mustangs fifth victory of the season in as many games (2-0 TCAL), while the Cowboys dropped to 3-3 overall, 0-2 in league.
The Mustang defense was stingier than usual, allowing only 100 yards of total offense – 86 of which were gained by Alvin Jelks on 26 carries – while also forcing five turnovers.
“Defense, you guys are playing A+ football,” Gilroy coach Rich Hammond said when addressing his team after the game. “You guys are playing state championship football.”
Middle linebacker Lukas Fortino came away with two of those turnovers, both on fumble recoveries. The second was especially impressive, as Fortino ripped the ball clean from Jelks as he tried to hit the hole.
“My teammates wrapped up the ballcarrier and I was just there to strip it,” he said. “It was a team effort and it showed up on the field.”
Tony Travis returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown, his second interception return for a touchdown this season, and cornerbacks Nico Sandoval and Jake Maslanka both picked off passes.
Travis also recovered a fumble on special teams in the second quarter before giving one away on a third-quarter punt return. The mistake was quickly rectified, though, as his interception and return came two plays later.
Mustang quarterback Jamie Jensen completed 15-of-26 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns, limiting the impact of two interceptions, one in which Jensen couldn’t be faulted as the ball was dropped in the end zone.
Scatback Sean Hale rushed for a 2-yard touchdown and snagged two more, the first for 65 yards and the second for 57. He finished with four catches for 142 yards.
Fellow receiver Dante Fullard ran for a 3-yard score, the first of the game, and finished with a team high eight catches for 194 yards.
Tight end Steven Martinez also caught a touchdown. The 5-yard score sent Gilroy into halftime with a 28-0 lead.
Martinez said after the game that there should be no doubt anymore that the Mustangs are one of the best teams in the Central Coast Section.
“We can go far,” he said. “I have all the confidence in the world in our team.”
Hammond was equally confident in his team following the game, but stressed that execution needed to be better so that later in the season there is no letdown.
During the game, the coach was as animated as he’s been all season, getting on players for mistakes that could cost the Mustangs when only a play or two decides the winner.
“When you’re in that situation, (where) you want to win a championship, because you don’t want people to sneak up on you, you gotta find a way to get your guys to play their best,” Hammond said. “We’re going to play a game this year where we have to play all four quarters to win.
“We have to have that mentality (of being perfect) to win (a championship).”
Mid-season Awards:
Offensive Player
Dante Fullard has been as good as advertised going into the season. With 28 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns, he leads the Tri-County Athletic League in all three categories. He also is this week’s winner of the Play of the Week award, for skying over two defenders to make an absolutely ridiculous 56-yard catch in the third quarter. While it wasn’t a touchdown, it was the kind of play where everyone on the sidelines had to pick their jaw off the turf.
Defensive Player
Tony Travis returned an interception for a touchdown, giving him two on the year. Both plays were stunning, but right now Travis will have to settle for sharing the award with defensive end Chris McMurray, who leads the team in sacks with five and was called the biggest surprise of the season by Coach Hammond.
Special Teams Player
Richie Sotelo gets the nod even after sitting out the Homecoming game with a shoulder injury. Two kick returns for touchdowns have to take the cake over what has been a surprisingly good kicking game between Ivan Lopez as place kicker and Anthony Velasquez doing kickoffs.
Best Player You Haven’t Heard Much About
Logan Sweeney is clearly one of the best athletes Gilroy has, and he is an absolute beast at linebacker. Sweeney had the Hit of the Game on Friday, leveling Salinas’ Alvin Jelks like a big kid shoving his younger brother across the living room. He was supposed to play running back but coaches felt confident enough in the offense to let Sweeney play defense full time. The move has worked out. Jordan Holler gets honorable mention. He’s another linebacker that just makes plays all over the field.
Biggest Surprise Player
Chris McMurray definitely gets the nod here with five sacks so far. He is aided by several great linemen, though. Brandon Elam is the best of the bunch and deserves plenty of recognition for wreaking havoc.
Craziest Player on the Sidelines
No doubt, it’s Lelan Gettys. The senior receiver was new to Gilroy last season after transferring from Mt. Pleasant, but it doesn’t seem like he’s shy anymore. Last year it was common to hear him yell, “Let’s go!” It still is. But now there’s some kind of maniacal yelling/screaming going on that is … well, it’s interesting. Probably the biggest character on the team. (I would also expect his touches to continue to go up as the season goes along. He’s not all talk.)
Funniest Coach on the Sidelines
Usually it would be Rich Hammond, but the head coach is becoming all business as he looks to have more accountability from the players in blowout wins. It’s good to see considering the Mustangs are crushing teams but still making too many unnecessary mistakes. So the award has to go to the new guy, defensive coordinator Chris Vasseur. I’m hoping to see Tony Travis pick off a few more passes because watching Vasseur try to race him to the end zone is predictable, but entertaining.
TCAL Offensive Stats
Passing
Name, School Com Att Yd Int TD
Jensen, Gilroy 80 133 1346 7 15
Fales, Palma 57 74 929 0 9
Vallejo, Hollister 43 105 679 4 5
Rocamora, Alvarez 37 69 340 5 2
Mi. Ramos, N. Salinas 15 39 307 8 7
Gregg, Salinas 22 66 284 9 4
Aportela, Alisal 28 68 268 5 2
Marra, Gilroy 20 33 200 1 4
De La Rosa, Alvarez 11 35 119 1 0
Rushing
Name, School Att Yd Avg
Olivarria, Palma 69 665 9.6
Ma. Ramos, N. Salinas 66 640 9.6
Jelks, Salinas 112 569 5.0
Enriquez, Alisal 85 434 5.1
Grant, Alisal 67 423 6.3
Bautista, N. Salinas 70 423 6.0
Rosa, Alvarez 22 221 10.0
Brooks, N. Salinas 19 210 11.0
Melesio, Alvarez 61 207 3.3
Guenther, Gilroy 28 181 6.4
Mendez, Alisal 39 151 3.8
Padilla, Hollister 35 150 4.2
Gregg, Salinas 41 148 3.6
Cathirell, Hollister 29 135 4.6
Jones, Alvarez 17 132 7.7
Bernaldez, Hollister 28 130 4.6
B. Taylor, Palma 13 124 9.5
Vega, Alvarez 22 110 5.0
Rushing touchdown leaders: Olivarria (Palma) 9, Bautista (Salinas) 6, Gregg (Salinas) 5, Ma. Ramos (N. Salinas) 4, Enriquez (Alisal) 4, Grant (Alisal) 4, Rosa (Alvarez) 4, Jelks (Salinas) 3, Benabides (N. Salinas) 3.
Receiving
Name, School Rec Yds Avg
Fullard, Gilroy 28 559 19.9
Chernetsky, Palma 26 376 14.4
Hale, Gilroy 21 420 20.0
McFadden, Hollister 21 378 18.0
Gettys, Gilroy 17 223 13.1
Olivarria, Palma 13 248 19.0
Perez, Alvarez 12 143 11.9
Guenther, Gilroy 10 128 12.8
Crosby, Salinas 9 128 14.2
Grant, Alisal 9 84 9.3
Romero, Alvarez 9 80 8.8
Delgado, Gilroy 7 93 13.2
Cathirell, Hollister 7 73 10.4
Suarez-Lopez, Alisal 7 68 9.7
Ramirez, Alisal 7 67 9.5
Jelks, Salinas 7 51 7.2
Skinner, Alvarez 6 62 10.3
Cornell, Hollister 5 146 29.2
Martinez, N. Salinas 4 143 35.7
Receiving touchdown leaders: Fullard (Gilroy) 6 Chernetsky (Palma) 6, , Hale (Gilroy) 5, Martinez (N. Salinas) 4, Gettys (Gilroy) 3, McFadden (Hollister) 3.
