An unknown coming into the season, Jamie Jensen has blown away
every expectation Gilroy High School’s football coaches had for the
junior quarterback.
An unknown coming into the season, Jamie Jensen has blown away every expectation Gilroy High School’s football coaches had for the junior quarterback.
During the summer, Head Coach Rich Hammond thought his team could put up 28 points per game. Instead, the Mustangs have scored an average of 35 en route to a Tri-County Athletic League title and a finish that will at least match the best in school history when the team plays in the Central Coast Section semifinals tonight against Los Gatos ( 7p.m. at San Jose City College).
A victory would put Gilroy football into its first-ever CCS championship game. Even more impressive, the team is playing in the prestigious Open Division, which puts the section’s best eight teams in one bracket.
Through a hurry-up offense that operates almost exclusively out of the shotgun and is designed to get GHS’ athletes into space, Jensen was twice named one of the top weekly performers in the country by USA Today. After eleven games (9-2 record), Jensen has compiled 3,580 yards passing and 33 touchdowns. He has thrown 17 interceptions, but such turnovers have occurred only once for every 24 attempts.
Coaches were unsure if they were getting through to Jensen in the preseason, wondering if their yelling and screaming was actually being ignored. But over time, coaches have come to understand that their quarterback is able to absorb criticism or praise with the same mellow nature.
“I’ve realized that you can’t sit and sulk with what happens. You’ve just gotta move on to the next play,” Jensen said. “And it seems like it’s working pretty well.”
So well, in fact, that Jensen currently has thrown for the ninth most yards in the nation, with a game – or two – still to be played.
After setting a new single-game CCS record for passing yards (486), and tying the mark for touchdowns (8) in a 57-27 victory over rival San Benito, Hammond said Jensen had pulled off the best performance by a high school quarterback the coach had ever seen.
Jensen, now only 19 yards away from the CCS single-season passing yards record, isn’t one to demand the spotlight, however, as he credits his coaches, offensive line (only 17 sacks in 11 games), running backs (over 100 yards rushing per game) and receivers (four players with 45 catches or more this season) for making his job manageable.
Three months ago, no one quite knew what to expect from Jensen. By keeping a level head, its his opponents that are starting to expect a long day on the field.
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Gilroy cross-country runner Kathleen Miller is only a junior, but she already has her name sitting atop the GHS record books. And for good measure, she has made sure her name sits in the second slot as well.
Competing in the CIF State Championship meet at Woodward Park in Fresno this morning (9:05 a.m.), Miller is the only Gilroy High girl to ever compete at state. This will be the second year in a row she has accomplished the feat after taking second in the Central Coast Section Championships on Nov. 10 at Crystal Springs Park in Belmont. Last year Miller qualified to place 75th in the state with a time of 19:40.
“She’s a champion,” GHS Coach Art Silva said. “Nobody has been as fast as her – ever – at Gilroy High.”
But for the compact runner, making it to Fresno was a bittersweet moment. The GHS girls cross-country team finished in a tie for second at CCS, which should have meant the Mustangs as a group qualified for state. But just minutes later it was announced by race officials that Salinas had edged Gilroy in a tiebreaker, and Miller’s teammates would only be heading to Woodward Park as spectators.
“It was awkward because we’d all worked so hard and we wanted to go as a team,” Miller said. “They’re still coming out to support me.”
That support could be a boost to Miller, who has her sights set on a very strong finish.
“I definitely want to do better than I did last year,” Miller said. “A lot of my friends think I can make the top ten, so maybe I’ll be able to do that.”
Modest about her abilities, Miller also knows how to take a joke.
“I told her, if she had made first the other day (at CCS), we would have gone to state (as a team),” Silva said. “So, I told her it’s all her fault. I knew she could take it because she’s tough. She’s not very big, but she’s tough.”
The coach also added that Miller is incredibly intelligent, knowing what it takes to reach her full potential at the conclusion of the season, when meets matter most.
“This year, when she started, Jessica (Hopf) was just flat beating her,” Silva said. “But this one doesn’t care. She doesn’t have this ego that she has to win every race. She knows that November is when you race with all your heart, not in August or September.”
Miller’s expectations are tempered for today’s race, with the knowledge that she still has next year to fulfill her ultimate goals.
“I think each year pretty much stands on its own, and next year we’ll see where I am,” she said. “Hopefully better, but time will tell.”
If her mark stays consistent with how she’s been running in the last month of the season, someone could be telling Miller its time called herself one of the very best in California.
Football – ALL-FALL TEAM
Team Finish: TCAL Champions, CCS placing TBD
Team MVP: Jamie Jensen
While quarterback Jamie Jensen was named The Dispatch’s All-Fall male athlete, we think too many people deserve credit for this year’s success to name a couple other top performers. Instead of picking a few standouts, here is every one of the TCAL champions – the first Gilroy High football team to win an undisputed league title in 26 years. Showcasing an offense that broke CCS records and posted the largest margin of victory for GHS in the 51-year history of the Prune Bowl (30 points), the Mustangs now stand only one win away from advancing further than any team in school history. A victory over Los Gatos (7 p.m. at San Jose City College) would also tie this 2007 team the single-season record of 10 wins set by the 1985 squad, which went 10-3, losing to Los Gatos in the CCS semifinals.
Field Hockey
Team Finish:
TCAL Champions; Lost 3-2 in a CCS quarterfinals match with Archbishop Mitty that went into overtime.
Team MVP:
Amanda Spellman
One of the team’s senior captains, Amanda Spellman was a leader that helped keep players motivated while also getting it done on the field. Spellman has an excellent ability to control the ball with players swarming around her, and still being able to finish a play with a strong pass or shot.
Other Top Performers:
Elise Ogle, Laura Spellman, Lindsey Valadez, Caitlyn Pierotti
Player to Watch:
Junior Laura Spellman will likely take over the role of her older sister Amanda next season, which should allow the ’08 version of the Mustangs to continue their dominance over the TCAL without missing a beat.
Cross Country – Girls
Team Finish:
TCAL Champions,
Tie for 2nd in CCS
Team MVP: Kathleen Miller
Girls Cross country had its most successful season in school history, taking its first league title in 22 years. The TCAL proved to be very good competition in preparing for the CCS Championships at Crystal Springs Park. The team missed advancing to state by a matter of 14 seconds due a tie with Salinas. Nonetheless, the team is an impressive group of girls who place a priority on school and their sport. The team will be in the running for the highest team grade point average in the state of California for the second-straight year.
Top Performers:
Jessica Hopf, Paty Hernandez, Brandie Rodriguez, Anne Donahoe, Kristina Schmidt
Players to Watch:
Jessica Hopf, Paty Hernandez and Kathleen Miller will form the core of a state challenger next year.
Cross Country – Boys
Team Finish:
4th in TCAL Championships,
8th-place finish at CCS
Team MVP: Derek Pesta
Senior Derek Pesta was a team captain and led the Mustangs to an 8th-place finish in the Central Coast Section meet at Crystal Springs Park in Belmont. Pesta crossed the finish line in 16 minutes, 28 seconds to take 20th.
Top performers:
Juan Velasquez, Tim Williams, Agustin Serafio
Player to Watch:
Velasquez and Williams, only a sophomore and freshman, respectively, will be leaders for next season and should be able to build off their experiences at CCS this year.
Water Polo – Boys
Team Finish:
2-6, 7th in TCAL
TeamMVP: Eric Boe
Senior Eric Boe led a very young team, in a very talented Tri-County Athletic League. Boe was a model performer for the Mustangs, playing hard until the final whistle in each game. He also had a deft scoring touch, netting the majority of Gilroy’s goals.
Top Performers:
Daniel Shields, Eddie Malick, Corey Nettleblad, Kyle Nettleblad
Player to Watch:
Sophomore Will LaRoque saw some time as a varsity keeper this season, spelling senior Ethan Fortuna on occasion. LaRoque will have the position full time next year as a junior.
Water Polo – Girls
Team Finish: 6-8 record; 4th in TCAL Championships
Team MVP: Jenny Ailes
Senior Jenny Ailes was an outstanding scorer as a varsity player. She simply had a knack for scoring goals, and often provided them in crucial moments. Over the course of her career, Ailes developed a wicked backhand shot that consistently caught opponents off guard, adding to an already impressive ability to swim by other players and finish with authority.
Top Performers:
Alana Osaki, Kelly Been, Lauren Van Herk, Meghan Collett, Talia Lauber
Player to Watch:
Freshman Chelsea Hill is a player that could try to fill the role of Ailes in the coming seasons. A crafty scorer that was able to contribute several goals in the final varsity games of the season, Hill has the chance to be a very good player.
Volleyball
Team Finish:
16-18 record, 5th in TCAL; Lost in the first round of CCS to Milpitas in five close games.
Team MVP: Caitlin Chisolm
A rocky season in which the squad had several players quit the team ended on a relatively strong note when the Mustangs got into the CCS playoffs. A very close loss against Milpitas in the first round showed Gilroy had plenty of potential, but was still coming together as a team. GHS will be missing leaders Caitlin Chisolm and Katelin Faria next year, but the Mustangs should have enough pieces coming back to make a run at another CCS appearance next season.
Top Performers:
Melissa Avila, Lindsay Meazell, Lindsey Foster, Jasmine Perez, Loryn Ferreira
Player to Watch:
Melissa Avila is a very good athlete that will most likely fill Chisolm’s role as the main outside hitter. With some refinement, Avila could be a very dangerous player for Gilroy next season.
Golf and Tennis
Season Summary: Both programs were very young this year and are being built back up through the efforts of coach Eric Kuwada (golf) and Jami Reynolds (tennis). Two players who were flawless this year were No. 3 doubles partners Anneliese Zelina (Sr.) and Melanie Morelos (Fr.), who went undefeated in tennis this season.
