Leading rusher Brandon Boyd, who had moments earlier electrified the home crowd, taking a pitch from quarterback Mikey Guerrero and turned it into an 85-yard completion to wide receiver Brendan Holler for a 13-6 GHS advantage, injured his right shoulder on MVC’s ensuing set of downs making a tackle.
Monte Vista Christian quarterback Nick Matiasevich led his team not just with his arm, but with his legs as well.
The senior completed 18 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown, and also added three scores on the ground to help guide the MVC Mustangs to a 58-20 win over host Gilroy High School at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex on Friday night.
The final score wasn’t the only thing that went awry for GHS.
Leading rusher Brandon Boyd, who had moments earlier electrified the home crowd, taking a pitch from quarterback Mikey Guerrero and turned it into an 85-yard completion to wide receiver Brendan Holler for a 13-6 GHS advantage, injured his right shoulder on MVC’s ensuing set of downs making a tackle.
He did not return, and will not for a considerable amount of time with a dislocated shoulder, head coach Brian Boyd said.
“You never want to see a kid get hurt no matter what the situation is. Unfortunately, it is something that is a part if the game and we were fortunate to adjust our defense to it,” said MVC head coach David Reese.
Coach Boyd said his son’s absence shifted the players’ focus away from the game.
“We didn’t stop, but the whole time I was asked ‘what’s going on with Brandon,’” Boyd said. “The coaches tried to get it to stop, but that didn’t stop. It completely took our minds off the game.”
MVC, along with its potent option style offense, caught both the minds and the defense of GHS off guard, torching the Mustangs for 528 yards and eight trips to the end zone.
GHS was not able to answer MVC’s offensive attack all night, and with the absence of Boyd, MVC defensive backs were able to contain Guerrero, who completed just five of his 25 passes for 36 yards and two interceptions.
“If we can’t run the ball, despite being a well-balanced offense, it allows the defense to drop back into coverage and defend our pass extremely well, as they did tonight,” Boyd said.
GHS (0-3) was able to generate more than 300 yards on offense behind Holler, who flipped back and forth from receiver to tailback, all while gaining 121 yards total yards and two touchdowns in replacement of the injured Boyd.
An 12-yard run by Hugo Renteria late in the second quarter was the eventual game winner, putting the MVC up 30-13 going into halftime.
It was a rocky start though for MVC. A Matiasevich pass was intercepted by Anthony Molina and led to a touchdown pass from Guerrero to Nick Ferreyra with 10:29 in the first quarter.
That score minus the extra point gave GHS a 6-0 lead.
“They put a couple of quick scores on us, but our offense bailed us out tonight,” Reese said.
MVC went on to score seven more times before a late 50-yard run from Holler lessened the lead 51-20 for MVC.
Coach Boyd said Brandon could be out of action for an extended period of time and other players must now fill that void.
“With him gone, they’re going to have to work harder,” he said. “We’re just going to have to go out next week against Pajaro Valley and get one under our belt.”
GHS will continue to look for its first win as they play host to Pajaro Valley High School next Friday.
