Gilroy
The Gilroy and San Benito High football teams got a taste of real competition last Friday during the Mustangs’ 3-team Jamboree scrimmage.
The squads were joined by North Monterey County, taking turns running offensive and defensive drills, but things were most heated when Gilroy and San Benito squared off against one another — something they won’t be doing during the regular season for the first time in almost 60 years.
Gilroy senior running back Emilio Chambers was a shining example of the rivalry, playing at his best against the Haybalers and even getting a touchdown against them.
“The whole team was definitely fired up facing Hollister,” Chambers said. “They’re our rivals. We want to play them. We want that trophy back but there’s really nothing we can do about the schedule.”
The coaches, on the other hand, didn’t share the same enthusiasm to face one another. After losing to San Benito 70-0 last season, Mustangs coach Brian Boyd was less than pleased to see their neighbors to the south. Balers coach Chris Cameron simply brushed the meeting off as just another practice.
“It’s worthless. It means nothing,” Cameron said. “It’s an opportunity for us to go out and play against other teams and execute the things that we’ve been working on in practice. …It’s just another team in another color. It doesn’t mean much at all.”
But the scrimmage did provide some bright spots for both teams. The Mustangs and Balers defenses looked stellar, allowing only three TDs between them. San Benito also came up with a pair of interceptions in its 40 defensive plays.
“At some spots, we’ve had some real bright moments. In other spots, we haven’t had some real bright moments,” Cameron said. “We’re still making some mistakes out there that we shouldn’t be making. We’ll take the good with the bad — praise the good and get better on the bad.”
Offensively, San Benito quarterback David Stanton was hitting his targets — generating several touchdowns in the scrimmage. After shaking the rust off Gilroy was able to get things going offensively, too. Star running back Brandon Boyd didn’t participate due to an injury, but Chambers’ performance provided a good look at the depth the Mustangs have at that position.
“He’s a ball player,” Coach Brian Boyd said. “He definitely could be one of the best players on the team and that’s the way we approach it with coaching him. It’s all a matter of who shows up. He could not come off the field if he really wants to. He’s a second string quarterback, a back-up running back and he’ll be starting for us on defense as a linebacker.”
Chambers was full of adrenaline following the Jamboree, waiting for his opportunity to take on Live Oak at 7:30 p.m. tonight at home.
“We’re really fired up to play Live Oak,” Chambers said. “They are our rival, too. They’re not very far from us in Morgan Hill and it’s a home game — we’re really excited.”
