So what made the Gilroy football team rally 21 points back from
a 34-13 halftime deficit against the San Lorenzo Valley Cougars?
Did the coaching staff come up with an improved game plan?
Felton – So what made the Gilroy football team rally 21 points back from a 34-13 halftime deficit against the San Lorenzo Valley Cougars? Did the coaching staff come up with an improved game plan? Did head coach Darren Yafai give a “My heart is full” halftime speech a la Billy Bob Thornton in “Friday Night Lights”?
None of the above.
Instead, the coaching staff gave the Mustangs some logic to chew on.
“We said, ‘Guys, we’ve dug ourselves a hole,'” Yafai related. “We’ve scored 21 points or 28 points in a half plenty of times. So let’s just do it now.”
And the Mustangs did.
They outscored the Cougars 21-7 in the second half and with 6.8 seconds remaining they had one shot from the SLV 12-yard line for a potential game-winning score.
And they almost did.
As the last-chance play unfolded, quarterback Nick Tovar scrambled away from the Cougar defense toward the right sideline and let a pass go as the final buzzer sounded. The ball found senior tight end Steven Quistian alone in the endzone, and brought Gilroy within one point of the Cougars, 41-40.
“(I felt) just a bunch of excitement and relief,” said Tovar (10-of-19, 122 yards, 2 TD’s), who had thrown one touchdown but three interceptions up to that point. “I don’t really see much of anything (on the field), to tell you the truth. I just try to make a play. I ran right and saw Steven open and just threw it.”
But the explosive celebration would be brief. After a 5-yard penalty was called on Gilroy’s special teams for having too many players on the field, kicker Neil Martin’s extra point attempt sailed wide left. With the 41-40 loss sealed, the same Mustang players that had just been jumping up and down and yelling in elation dropped to their knees silent on the field in disappointment.
In a game that Yafai called “bittersweet,” Gilroy (3-1) took its first loss of the season. SLV improved to 2-1 with its only loss this season coming to San Benito in the first week of play.
“(After the penalty), instead of being at the 3-yard line, we were at the eight. So we just tried to kick it,” said Yafai about Gilroy’s point-after attempt. “We were gonna go for two and the win after the score.”
For Gilroy, the first half was as bad as the second half was good. After a week of practice that Yafai said lacked effort and focus, Gilroy came out and didn’t play its best half of football. On top of that, the Mustangs were on the bad end of a very lopsided penalty count and found themselves down 34-13 at halftime.
“The bitter part is we can’t dig ourselves a hole,” Yafai said. “We played a really, really poor half of football. We turned the ball over, made mistakes, gave up big plays and that’s something we hadn’t been doing this year.”
On the opening drive, SLV scored on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Harlan Prather (16-for-22 for 193 yards, 3TD) to Jesse Stephens. Matt Kiel, also the Cougars’ star wide receiver, converted the PAT for the 7-0 lead.
Gilroy didn’t take long to respond. At his team’s own 30 on the following drive, junior running back Justin Sweeney took his first carry of the game to the outside and down the left sideline for a 70-yard touchdown run. It was the first of four trips to the end zone for Sweeney, who rushed for 286 yards on 24 carries. SLV foiled the ‘Stang extra point attempt, keeping itself ahead 7-6.
Minutes into the second quarter, SLV’s Josh Davis blocked Gilroy’s fourth down punt attempt and the Cougars recovered the ball at the Mustang 23-yard line. San Lorenzo capitalized on the opportunity and Prather scored with 8:58 on the clock on a 1-yard run. Kiel’s PAT bounced off the right post. After stopping Gilroy’s next offensive series and forcing a punt, the Cougars would score again. This time, Prather hit Kiel in the back of the end zone. Falling out of bounds under pressure from Gilroy cornerback Jay Raven, Kiel held on for the 18-yard reception and Raven was called for pass interference. Kiel’s extra point made it 20-6 SLV.
The Stangs’ scored on the ensuing drive. On the first play of the series, Sweeney broke loose for another big run from the Gilroy 24 for a 76-yard touchdown down the right sideline. Gilroy made the point-after attempt to come within 20-13.
But in the last four and a half minutes of the half, SLV scored two touchdowns, one fueled by an interception. Less than 20 seconds after Sweeney’s touchdown run, SLV, at its own 31-yard line scored on a trick play where Prather threw to the right behind the line of scrimmage to Jake Williams, who completed a pass to Kiel up the middle. Kiel ran it in for the 69-yard pass and run. Then, with 1:13 in the half, Kiel intercepted a pass from Tovar, setting the Cougars up at the Gilroy 40. They went on to make it 34-13 when Prather connected with Kiel once again on a 24-yard TD pass.
“That guy, Matty Kiel, is one of the best players in CCS,” Yafai said of the wide receiver, who had eight receptions for 195 yards. “As far as I’m concerned, Justin Sweeney is the number one running back in CCS and that kid, Matt Kiel, is the best receiver in our section. He’s amazing. Time and time again, that kid made big play after big play.”
The Mustang defense had trouble against the pass, especially in the first half, but was able to hold SLV’s running game. The Cougars only amassed 104 rushing yards.
Having ruminated on their head coach’s halftime speech Gilroy came out fired up and quickly took back the game’s momentum.
In the second half’s opening drive, which began on the SLV 30-yard line, Quistian caught a 15-yard pass from Tovar and on the next play hit Stefon McCrimon on a 15-yard touchdown pass.
The Mustangs added to their momentum by recovering SLV’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff and despite the fact that Gilroy was unable to capitalize on the turnover Yafai admitted, “it was nice to get a break.”
Gilroy and SLV traded posessions until the end of the third quarter.
And then with two seconds left, Sweeney somehow managed to barrell through a clump of SLV defenders for a 20-yard touchdown, his third of the game. Martin converted the PAT to bring close the Cougars margin to 34-27.
With 10:35 left in the final quarter, following a crucial defensive stop by the Mustangs, Sweeney struck again, this time returning the Cougars’ punt 55 yards to the end zone. The play tied the game at 34 and was probably Sweeney’s most eye-popping run of the game. The senior looked to be cut off by SLV as he ran to the right. But then he cut back, reversing his direction around the pack to the left. A crushing block by teammate Vince Giacalone helped free Sweeney who darted up the left sideline for the score.
“Everyone kept telling me about (Giacalone’s hit), that the guy was lying on the floor,” said Sweeney about the run. “I was supposed to go left, but I think they knew I was supposed to go left. I don’t know, I was just playing and made it happen.”
Gilroy’s game-tying effort, however would be short-lived.
With the Mustangs needing to make a defensive stop with 2:08 left in the game insteadit was the Cougar offense, namely Kiel, who would once again answer the bell. SLV had the ball at the Gilroy 40-yard line when Kiel struck again, catching a 39-yard pass from Prather. A 5-yard penalty was called, but SLV got the automatic first down and the ball at the Gilroy 6-yard line. The Cougars eventually punched it in the end zone on a 2-yard run to give the Cougars the 41-34 edge with 56 ticks left on the clock.
With less than a minute left on the clock Gilroy would have to work quickly if it held out any hopes of a game-winning final drive. On the Mustangs second play of the drive Sweeney picked up 14 yards to move Gilroy into SLV territory at the 46-yard line. Following an incomple pass Tovar was sacked for a loss on second down. His 9-yard rush on third down moved Gilroy backk into SLV territory but a Mustangs penalty for illegal motion moved the ball back to the 50-yard line.
But this Mustang team wasn’t through. They still had fight left in them and with 16.5 seconds they struck back.
Tovar hit Quistian, who made a tough catch on a ball at his shins, for a 26-yard gain and a first down.
“I fell on that and got back up and caught it,” said Quistian, who finished with six catches for 89 yards and had two touchdowns.
On the next play, with 11.2 seconds left, pass interference was called on SLV on Tovar’s pass to running back Paul Gonzales in the end zone. That moved Gilroy up to the 12-yard line and set up Tovar’s touchdown pass to Quistian.
“We came out really flat and scored three touchdowns and came back,” Quistian said. “It just wasn’t good enough, I guess.”
Added Sweeney, “(The biggest disappiontment is) definitely that we didn’t come out with the win. All that effort and we came up a point short. We made a good effort and showed we’re a good team.”
HIT OF THE GAME – Justin Sweeney might not have scored on a 55-yard punt return if not for this one. As Sweeney cut back left and up the field, junior Vince Giacalone nailed SLV’s Scott Pavlina with a block, clearing Sweeney’s path up the left sideline. Giacalone’s hit left Pavlina on his back on the ground for a few minutes.
PLAY OF THE GAME – This game was full of worthy plays. But none beat the Nick Tovar to Steven Quistian 12-yard touchdown at the final buzzer to tie the game and give the Mustangs a chance for the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME – Justin Sweeney: The senior tailback was at his best, scoring over half of Gilroy’s total points and rushing for nearly 300 yards against a very good SLV squad. He was also a force on defense, making several tackles.
STAT OF THE GAME – First half penalties: Gilroy 9, San Lorenzo Valley 1
GHS (3-1) TEAM STATS
Total Offense: 466
Rushing Offense: 344
Passing Offense: 122
Passing
ATT CMP YDS TD
Nick Tovar 18 10 122 2
Rushing
CAR YDS TD
Justin Sweeney 24 286 3
Paul Gonzalez 5 35 0
Stefon McCrimon 5 9 0
Receiving
CAT YDS TD
Steven Quistian 6 89 2
Stefon McCrimon 1 15 1
Paul Gonzalez 2 18
Kicking
FGA FG XPA XP
Neil Martin 1 0 6 4
Returns
R YDS TD
Justin Sweeney 1 55 1
Forced Fumbles:
Vince Giacolone
Fumble Recoveries:
Marc Vegas
SLV (2-1) TEAM STATS
Total Offense: 366
Rushing Offense: 104
Passing Offense: 262
SLV INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
ATT CMP YDS TD
H. Prather 22 16 193 3
Rushing
CAR YDS TD
Daniel Allen 8 39 1
Cody McGhee 5 22
H. Prather 3 13 1
Receiving
CAT YDS TD
Matt Kiel 8 195 3
Jesse Stephens 3 24 1
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SLV -Stephens 6-yard pass from Prather (Kick good), SLV 7-0
GIL – Sweeney 70-yard run (Kick failed), SLV 7-6
2nd Quarter
SLV – Prather 1-yard run (Kick failed), SLV 13-6
SLV – Kiel 18-yard pass from Prather (Kick good), SLV 20-6
GIL – Sweeney 76-yard run (Kick good), SLV 20-13
SLV – Kiel 69-yard pass from Matthews (Kick good), SLV 27-13
SLV – Kiel 24-yard pass from Prather (Kick good), SLV 34-13
3rd Quarter
GIL – McCrimon 15-yard pass from Tovar (Kick good), SLV 34-20
GIL – Sweeney 20-yard run (Kick good)
SLV 34-27
4th Quarter
GIL – Sweeney 55-yard punt return (Kick good), Tied 34-34
SLV – Allen 2-yard run (Kick good), SLV 41-34
GIL – Quistian 12-yard pass from Tovar (Kick failed), SLV 41-40
Gilroy JV Football
San Lorenzo 24, Gilroy 8
The JV team lost its first game of the season Saturday afternoon at the Cougars’ field. The Mustangs scored their only touchdown of the game with .7 seconds when Tony Travis caught a 19-yard pass from quarterback Steven Martinez. Gilroy’s 2-pt conversion was also successful, with Martinez finding Robert Salazar in the end zone.
‘Stangs frosh still perfect; JV falls to SLV
Gilroy Freshmen Football
Gilroy 36, San Lorenzo 0
The freshmen Mustangs shut out the Cougars Saturday, improving to 3-0. Touchdowns were scored by quarterback Jamie Jensen (threw for a TD and scored one himself), Sean Hale (84-yard run), Dante Fullard, Richie Sotelo and Jared Shreck.
No team has scored on the freshmen team yet this season. The team opened by beating Woodside 50-0 and then Watsonville the following week 40-0. In fact, the defense has scored 31 total points this season and has had eight takeaways.
“That’s a pretty impressive feat, considering so far we’ve been playing second and third team players a lot,” said freshmen team head coach Tim Lemos. “Defensively, it’s a great squad.”
Joshua Gonzales and Lucas Fortino led the team in tackles against San Lorenzo. Lemos said Jaime Gaeta and Manuel Lujan also stood out on defense.
