Gavilan’s state-best defense will face its stiffest test of the
season Saturday at 1pm when they take on host Santa Rosa Junior
College
– and the Bear Cubs’ own state-best passing attack – in the CLO
Bowl.
Santa Rosa – Gavilan’s state-best defense will face its stiffest test of the season Saturday at 1pm when they take on host Santa Rosa Junior College – and the Bear Cubs’ own state-best passing attack – in the CLO Bowl.
“This should be a classic match-up,” said eight-year Bear Cub head coach Keith Simons.
“Gavilan’s the No. 1 defense in California. We have the No. 4 offense and lead the state in passing. It will be interesting to see whether a good offense can move against a very good defense.”
Gavilan earned its second consecutive bowl assignment by finishing 6-4 for the season, including a second-place effort (3-2) in the Coast Conference. Santa Rosa is also 6-4, scoring at least 21 points every game, 30 or more eight times.
“Santa Rosa’s not a big-play team, although they have big-play capability,” said Gavilan coach John Lango.
“Their school has 30,000 students, so they have many more athletes than we do,” Lango added. “Santa Rosa runs a spread offense, four wide-outs and a shotgun every play, with no huddles.
“We know they’ll get their catches. We’ll have to create turnovers, get in the throwing lanes, all the small things. We’ve spent the past three weeks on defense on techniques for man-to-man coverage.”
The Bear Cubs powered to an 11-0 record last season, including a CLO Bowl victory. That squad finished third in the state and fourth in the nation. Their “Fast Break” offense has finished No. 1 in the nation in passing in three of the past six seasons.
“We’re finally getting everybody back,” Simons said of his squad’s health entering the CLO Bowl. One Bear Cub missing this weekend will be defensive back Mike Savage. The sophomore, verbally committed to TCU next fall, is still recovering from a broken collarbone.
Bear Cub quarterback Kevin Ballatore has 3,029 yards passing in 10 games. Wide receiver Kyle Sammons led the state with an average of 117 yards per game receiving. He has 78 receptions and 12 touchdowns this season. Brandon Simpson was fourth in California with a 104.9 yards per game average, along with nine touchdowns on 60 grabs.
“We had several players out the last four games.” said Simons. “We’ll need everyone ready Saturday because Gavilan’s a solid team, well-coached. They fly around on defense, have a size advantage with their offensive line against our defensive front, and have a punishing runner.
“I’m concerned about #13 (defensive lineman Roy Sims). He jumps out at you watching him on film. We’ll have to keep him out of our quarterback’s face.”
Gavilan and Santa Rosa had two common opponents, West Valley and San Mateo. While the Bear Cubs beat both – 45-15 over West Valley and 46-34 over San Mateo – Gavilan split those games – a 21-3 win over West Valley and a 35-25 loss to San Mateo.
“Santa Rosa is very solid on offense,” said Lango. “They are very good defensively, but we should be able to run the ball well enough to sustain drives. We’ll need to protect the football. Santa Rosa blocks a punt about once a game, so we don’t want to give up any special teams points.
“If we can keep Santa Rosa to 28 points, we’ll have a chance. I’d prefer to keep this a low-scoring game.”
Lango was enthused about the bowl opportunity.
“It’s a great bowl game. The bowl committee puts on a great experience for the players. We’ll arrive Friday in time for a 2:30 practice, get to the hotel (the Hilton) by 4 and a 6pm banquet on campus. The Hilton will have a 9am breakfast for us Saturday.
“Just being in a bowl game is a plus,” the Rams coach said. “It helps in recruiting, it gives us three more weeks of practice for player evaluation, and it gives us another chance to represent the school and community. We’re one of only six community college teams still playing.”
