GHS gridmen run over by Palma, 27-0
GILROY – Senior linebacker Danny Melendez chased down Palma quarterback Chad Bozzo – stripping him of the ball inside the Mustang 10-yard line – and senior defensive end Korey Gray fell on the loose ball to give Gilroy possession.
But as the case has been the past few weeks for Gilroy, the referee whistled Bozzo down by contact – giving the Chieftains a first-and-goal from the six-yard line and allowing them to score a touchdown on their opening drive.
“That was a fumble right there,” head coach Darren Yafai said. “I told (Athletic Director) Jack Daley I guess we’re used to that now.”
The first-quarter call going against Gilroy was almost expected – and set the tone on a long, cold Halloween night as the host Mustang gridmen suffered a 27-0 loss to private power Palma.
“There were times where we were overmatched tonight, but at least I was proud of the guys that they hung in and kept scrapping and fighting,” said Yafai, after a third straight league loss.
The Mustangs (0-3 in T-CAL, 3-4-1 overall) stayed with the powerful Chieftains (3-0 in T-CAL, 6-2 overall) for as long as they could – looking to go into the break down by only one touchdown. But Palma added two second-quarter strikes in the final three minutes to claim a commanding 20-0 edge at the half.
“I thought defensively tonight we scratched and clawed and fought and held on as best we could. That Palma has some incredible talent. They had some amazing size and talent,” Yafai said. “I think we’re a good football team and we’ve beaten four teams and tied a team this year, but we’re not as good as that Palma team. They’re an incredible football team.”
The Gilroy defense shut out Palma in the third quarter – but finally broke down when the Chieftains added another touchdown with 7:32 remaining.
“What’s amazing is their skill position guys are big. We have a couple of big guys on the line, but our skill guys are small. Their skill guys are huge,” Yafai said. “That fullback they have is like six-two, 220. Their tailback, (Luke) Lippencott, is six-one, 200. All their wide receivers were gigantic. That’s rare in high school football to have big, fast, athletic skill position guys like that.”
Palma used a punishing running game to compile 316 yards on 56 carries and were successful in the air as well with 101 passing yards on a 7-of-10 day split between two quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the Gilroy offense managed only four first downs – compared to 18 by the Chieftains – and a season-low 117 total yards.
“Offensively, we did not get it done as a group,” Yafai said. “It’s a combination of us not executing and Palma having a great defensive unit.”
The Mustang offense did not even cross midfield until senior tailback Melvin Bryant – who rushed for a team-high 61 yards on 16 carries – broke a 15-yard run in fourth quarter to bring the ball to the Palma 35-yard line. Gilroy, however, could not pick up another first down and turned the ball over on downs.
“Palma’s defense is a very big, strong, athletic defense. All those big skill position guys that play ‘O’, they play ‘D’ too. They have some kids going both ways that are kids who are college-bound football players,” Yafai said. “Should we have been shut out 27-0? No. I think we could have battled a little better. Last year that Palma team was better than us and it was like 28-14.”
Up next, the Mustangs hope to put some points on the board and get their first T-CAL win in Friday night’s home game against North Salinas at 7:30 p.m. Gilroy then finishes its league schedule with a Nov. 14 road game against neighboring rival Live Oak.
