Sophomore running back making strides and fitting in; Gilroy
(1-0) vs. Saratoga (0-1). Kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. at
Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
Asked prior to the team’s season opener last Friday against Live Oak which of his players might catch people by surprise, Brandon Boyd, a relative unknown entering his first varsity season with the blue and gold, was the first name Gilroy High football head coach Steven Lo mentioned.
After four quarters of football, the sophomore running back has already made a name for himself, and should, from this point forward, top the must-game-plan-for list of opposing head coaches.
Coasting under the radar probably isn’t a conceivable luxury any longer. But that doesn’t bother Boyd.
“I’m just going to keep doing the same thing,” Boyd said at practice Wednesday. “My job is to get five yards every time. I’ve been working hard in the weight room starting in the spring.”
Boyd had scintillating debut, gaining 211 yards on 25 carries with a pair of touchdowns, averaging 8.5 yards per carry against the Acorns.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Boyd said. “Cutbacks and everything were opening up, left and right. I trust my line to block in front of me.”
Without a true and reliable go-to back in 2010, the Mustangs struggled finding consistency within its ground attack. Last year’s leading rusher, Eric Vegas, accounted for 324 yards.
Boyd, at 5-feet-8, 180 pounds, compliments Gilroy’s zone-read offense, which bodes well in keeping defenses off balance and removes some of the focus off of the Mustangs’ playmakers on the outside. The combination of Boyd, receivers Jourdan Soares (six catches, 217 yards four touchdowns last week) and Ryan Alba (three catches, 101 yards, one touchdown) and quarterback Niko Fortino, has already shown indications of explosiveness when executed in proper manner.
“When people want to double cover receivers, he’s good enough to toast up five or six men in the box. We are going to start getting a couple more guys in the box. It’s kind of a cat and mouse game. He fits well in the offense. He’s a north and south runner. He’s not going to dance around and lose you any yards. Even if he gets hit at the line of scrimmage he’s falling forward two or three yards. Those runs are just as important as the 30 or 40 yards.”
— For the third straight time, GHS defeated Live Oak to start the year. In the past two seasons, GHS has gone 0-2 the following week. The Mustangs (1-0) will try and prevent a third occurrence of that Friday as they host Saratoga at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
Lo spent most of Tuesday’s practice bringing his players down a notch and keeping them focused on the overall picture.
“You give kids success, they are going to suck it up. They’ve had a lot of people pat them on the back,” Lo said. “You have to remind them to have a short memory. We have to teach them how to be winners and handle success.”
A shortened practice Tuesday led to a gut-check, players-only meeting and a more focused practice Wednesday, Lo said.
“They needed a wake up call,” he added.
— GHS surrendered 498 yards to the Acorns in Week Zero, including 263 on the ground. The Falcons are another team capable of producing inflated rushing numbers. In 2010, Saratoga churned out 236 yards in a 45-29 victory.
“It’s just playing consistent, that’s all that is,” Lo said. “We are in the right place, we just aren’t making the plays when we are there. That’s the emphasis for this week – finishing plays out.”
— The Falcons come into the game with a 0-1 record after being shut out 10-0 by Burlingame.
“They are a well-coached team,” Lo said. “They played Santa Teresa in the first game last year and got whooped. They came back the next week and steamrolled us. So that doesn’t mean anything to me.”
