It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Leading 27-20 at halftime of
the Central Coast Section Open Division Championship at San Jose
City College Friday night, the Gilroy Mustangs’ storybook season
looked like it was going to have a glorious final chapter as the
team held control after a wild couple of quarters against the Oak
Grove Eagles.
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
Leading 27-20 at halftime of the Central Coast Section Open Division Championship at San Jose City College Friday night, the Gilroy Mustangs’ storybook season looked like it was going to have a glorious final chapter as the team held control after a wild couple of quarters against the Oak Grove Eagles.
But a slow start to begin the second half and two touchdowns scored by the Eagles in a four-minute span washed away a lead and confidence coming out of the intermission.
A quarter and a half later, Oak Grove was crowned CCS champs with a 46-35 vicotry.
“I don’t know (what happened). I’m surprised,” senior safety Dennis Rathi said. “I thought we wanted it more than them. Just little mistakes turned into a victory for them.”
Receiving the kickoff to start the third quarter, Oak Grove looked to be a play away from giving Gilroy the ball after fumbling the snap on second down. But seeing a lane up the middle on third-and-8, Oak Grove quarterback Regis Ward scrambled out of the pocket for a 63-yard touchdown, tying the game at 27-all.
Less than four minutes later, the Eagles struck again when Omari Carr (26 carries, 135 yards, 2 TDs) scored on a 5-yard burst after forcing Gilroy’s offense off the field in three plays. Carr filled in for the Eagles’ starting running back Nevin Gardiner, who was sidelined by injury after the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Gilroy’s offense never regained the rhythm it had in the first half.
Quarterback Jamie Jensen completed 24-of-42 passes for 355 yards for four touchdowns, but also had four interceptions, three coming in the second half.
The play that put the game out of reach came with just over three minutes remaining, when cornerback Stacy Long – who also had 65 yards and two touchdowns rushing – broke on a comeback route, bobbling the ball before gathering himself for a 27-yard touchdown return to make it 39-27 after the extra point.
“We learned a lot tonight,” GHS Coach Rich Hammond said. “(Oak Grove has) been in this game and lost the last two years. I think they were more hungry for it in the second half than we were.
“It just wasn’t our night, I guess.”
Going into the break, though, plenty of things were going Gilroy’s way.
Down 6-0 in the middle of the first quarter, Gilroy responded by going on a 13-play drive for a score, which ended with a 26-yard screen pass to Danny Contreras (seven catches, 150 yards, 2 TDs). Kevin Grove’s extra point gave the team a 7-6 lead.
Trailing Oak Grove again – the Eagles followed Gilroy’s score with a 9-play drive for a touchdown and two-point conversion to lead 14-6 – the Mustangs showed their big play ability when Sean Hale caught a 46-yard touchdown pass down the sideline. The extra point was blocked to make it 14-13.
The ensuing kickoff gave Gilroy its second lead of the game when Long tried to lateral the return as he was being dragged to the turf. GHS linebacker Ethan Ogle was in the right place at the right time, snatching the toss to give his team the ball at Oak Grove’s 10-yard line. Three plays later Dante Fullard snuck into the end zone for a touchdown to go up 20-14.
Gilroy’s defense held firm on the next series, forcing a punt to take over at its own 13-yard line.
Three plays later, Contreras caught a 65-yard touchdown after Long – who would have been covering the GHS receiver on the play – was ordered off the field by referees when they saw he was bleeding.
Taking a 27-14 lead, the Mustangs did not score again until 1:36 remained in the game, when Marshad Johnson caught a 17-yard touchdown pass.
“I thought we could have played a lot better,” Contreras said. “I thought we were going to come out in the second half even harder than we did in the first half … All I can say is people didn’t think we could get this far and we did.”
While outsiders’ expectations of the Mustangs may have been low coming into the year, the excitement surrounding the team as the season progressed was palpable. At 5 p.m. Friday night, the entire cheering section behind Gilroy’s bench was filled, a full two hours before kickoff.
“We turned into a family (this year),” Rathi said. “I’ve never been a part of a team like this. We did things no one expected us to. Look how involved our town is now. It’s really great.”
Hammond had similar thoughts after the game as he addressed his players, calling them a football family as they kneeled for the final time in uniform this season.
“You guys have nothing to hang your heads about,” he said. “I’m proud to talk about being from Gilroy. I’m proud to say that I coach at Gilroy. I’m proud of the effort that you guys put forth on a week to week basis. You guys did something no one in school history has ever done. Look at me! Get your heads up! You’ve got nothing to hang your heads about. You’ve got a ton to be proud about.”
Items the coach was certainly referring to include a 10-3 record – which ties the school record for wins in a single season, the first outright league title by GHS football since 1981, the largest margin of victory in the school’s 51 years of playing in the Prune Bowl and a first-time appearance in a CCS Championship game.
“I told our seniors, whatever we do from here on out, they’re a huge part of it,” Hammond said. “If we go and win a section title next year, they’re a huge part of it. If we go out and are bigger and better, they’re a huge part of it because they helped make it come about.
“I’m incredibly proud of them and I’m going to miss them…. I can’t say enough about the effort and sacrifice they’ve made.”
