It was an odd feeling for the Gilroy High football seniors as
they slowly left practice late Friday afternoon.
It was an odd feeling for the Gilroy High football seniors as they slowly left practice late Friday afternoon.
Will there be more practices next week? Or the week after that? Or were, perhaps, they exiting the field at Mustang Stadium for the final time?
“It’s strange when it begins to hit you,” senior defensive end Kevin Collins said. “Not knowing if there’s even going to be practice on Monday.”
By the end of tonight’s CCS first-round playoff game at Independence, Collins and his classmates will have their answer.
“It’s come down to this,” senior quarterback Peter Mickartz said. “It’s playoff time … win or go home.”
The latter thought is “scary,” admitted senior defensive tackle Rico Loza.
“It’s all or nothing,” he said. “If we lose, for some of us it might be our last game ever.”
To prolong that inevitably at least one more week, the Mustangs (7-3) must buck both recent and not-so-recent history.
The recent history is a pair of sloppy home losses to Salinas and Live Oak to end the regular season. After turning the ball over just three times during a 7-1 start, Gilroy has given the opponent eight turnovers in the last two games.
“Turnovers killed us,” GHS offensive coordinator Tim Pierleoni said. “We’re gunning for a mistake-free game (Saturday). That’s our goal.”
On defense, the goal is simple: stop the run.
“That’s our main thing,” defensive coordinator Greg Garcia said. “No question about it.”
Behind a massive offensive line that averages 285 pounds, the 76ers (7-2-1) have run their way to nearly 3,000 yards this season. Led by the shifty Quentrell Hunter (1,546 yards, 20 TDs), three Independence tailbacks average over seven yards a carry.
The Sixers make no secret about their affinity to run out of multiple formations, and the Mustangs know it.
So all week in practice, the Gilroy defensive coaches challenged their unit with more responsibilities and checks, something the Mustangs have very rarely utilized this year.
“Everything they have, we have our own call for,” Garcia said. “We’ve got 11 checks for 11 different formations.
“We’ve challenged the kids … it’s been a college-level atmosphere this week.”
And how have the high-school level players responded?
“Everything went well,” Garcia said. “We went through the intro, reviewing, tests, chalkboard talks, video … the kids have done a real good job picking it all up.
“It’s a must-win. We’re pulling out all the strings.”
Will it be enough, though? Will this Gilroy team be the one that ends the school’s six-game playoff losing streak?
Ironically, the last CCS game the Mustangs won took place 19 years ago at Independence High, on the same field where the festivities will kick off at 7 tonight.
Current GHS head coach Darren Yafai, 0-2 as head coach in two previous trips to the postseason, was a wide receiver on that 1985 Gilroy team.
He’s been telling his team all week about the opportunity it now has.
“Our kids know they have a chance to make history,” Yafai said. “This football program is desperately seeking a playoff win. They know we need to get a win and take that next step.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to seize. It’s right there for us.”
