Finally, some competition.
After a summer full of training and a couple weeks of double-day
practices, the ‘Stangs were ready to face a team other than
themselves.
Gilroy – Finally, some competition.
After a summer full of training and a couple weeks of double-day practices, the ‘Stangs were ready to face a team other than themselves.
How about three? On a brand new field? On Friday night, it all came together and Mustang football is officially on at the new Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
“It was incredible,” said senior tight end/defensive end Steven Quistian with a big smile after scrimmaging on Gilroy’s brand new artificial turf. “It’s so soft … Just a nice, nice field.”
There were some nice football teams there, too. In the four-way scrimmage, the ‘Stangs faced Serra, a top team in the ultra-competitive West Catholic Athletic League, before taking on rivals Hollister and Salinas.
When it was all over, head coach Darren Yafai was pleased with how his squad stuck with the big and fast Serra Padres.
“I told the guys we had to come out and be aggressive,” Yafai said. “We’re going to make mistakes, but we want to be physical.”
There were mistakes: Some fumbled center-to-quarterback exchanges and some miscommunication on plays.
But Yafai did see some areas where practice paid off in his team’s execution.
“The defense swarmed to the football,” he said. “On some plays our team’s speed was shown off.”
That was certainly the case on the very first play from scrimmage against Hollister, when junior z-back Paul Gonzalez darted through the Hollister defense to score standing up from 40 yards out.
“That’s humongous,” said Quistian about the run. “They’re our rivals.”
Later, the end had a nice play himself when he sacked Hollister quarterback Karson Klauer.
Yafai was impressed with Gonzalez, who starred for the JV team last year. The coaching staff was also pleasantly surprised by junior linebacker Vince Giacalone, sophomore defensive back David Alejo and junior defensive back Marc Vegas.
For Gilroy quarterbacks Chris Velasco and Nick Tovar, the scrimmage ended up being the final tryout for the starting job. Both got fairly equal playing time and Yafai said he’ll likely be able to name the starter after reviewing the game film.
Standout tailback Justin Sweeney was used sparingly, but he did get into the end zone against Serra for the Mustangs’ first score of the scrimmage.
Some key Gilroy players didn’t even make it on to the playing field because of injuries, including senior linebacker Chris Hernandez (knee) and senior starting cornerback Jay Raven (strained back).
The Mustangs open their season at Burlingame High next Friday in a game in which Quistian believes the team’s defense will be the ke to success.
“We have faith in our offense, but it’s all about defense,” he said. “That’s our motto this year.”
On the sidelines
Don’t forget our Football Focus pull-out section in Tuesday’s Dispatch … we’ll break down all the area teams, with previews of Gilroy High and Gavilan, provide rosters and schedules for your favorite squads, and much, much more.
The Gilroy High field hockey team kicked off play with an away game Friday – taking on Los Gatos, the school that knocked the Mustangs out of the CCS playoffs last year. This time around, Gilroy fared far better – managing a 1-1 tie in their first game of the season. Look for our full report on the upcoming field hockey season in the Dispatch on Tuesday, when we’ll preview all the GHS fall sports.
