GILROY—Last week, Gilroy head coach Jubenal Rodriguez said his team needed to be more physical. The Mustangs got the message loud and clear.
Gilroy’s defense was instrumental in the team’s 14-10 win over Sobrato Friday, forcing four turnovers on downs—three of which were in the redzone.
“I feel that we still had a sour taste in our mouth from the loss last week and we just built on that drive to win,” said middle lineback Noe Garcia, who had a team-high 11 tackles in the game. “The only thing I was thinking was I needed to get a stop for my team. The game is on the line.”
Gilroy’s Will Soares stopped the Bulldogs in their tracks as they marched down field in the second quarter. Soares grabbed Bulldogs’ quarterback Matt Bolino and spun him around before finally planting him on ground for a loss of six yards.
Flags were flying all night as both teams combined for 18 in the game. Sobrato took the brunt of the penalties racking up 10, which cost the team 100 yards and scoring opportunities.
Bulldogs’ quarterback Matt Bolino found Reese Short for a touchdown midway through the first quarter, but the play was called back on a holding penalty. Sobrato found the endzone 12 plays later on a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Marcus Valcarcel, but the penalty was just the beginning of the team’s problems. Gilroy stopped Sobrato at the 3, 2 and 7-yard lines, resulting in turnovers on downs.
And with just over two minutes left in the game, what would’ve been a 46-yard pass from Bolino to Reese Short to put the Bulldogs in scoring position was called back due to a holding call.
“Today was a pretty big blow to us,” Sobrato head coach Tony Holmes said. “We came in with the expectations that we were going to get better, which honestly, it’s hard to say if we did or not.”
Gilroy got on the board early in the second quarter. Sophomore quarterback Jon Jon Castro punched the ball in from the 3-yard-line, but the kick was no good.
Minutes later, senior David Munoz ran straight through the Bulldogs’ defense for a 1-yard score and then hit Mark Oliveira for the 2-point conversion to give Gilroy a 14-7 lead.
Sobrato got down to the 5-yard-line, but had to settle for a field goal as it faced a 4th-and-7 situation late in the third. Vitale Butera’s kick was good for the final score of the game.
Munoz led the Mustangs on the ground with 18 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Playing running back was all brand new for the senior, who has played quarterback the past two seasons.
“It was so much fun, honestly,” Munoz said. “Playing the game and using the contact of the sport was so much fun. It’s a big change, I still want (the QB job) back, but it’s still so much fun.”
Rookie QB Castro displayed a new sense of confidence, too. He went 5 for 10 for 102 yards with an interception, and racked up 41 yards on 10 carries for his team. At times he found himself scrambling, but was fearless in his pursuit of extra yards.
“The performance we had tonight was the new Gilroy football, the way it’s going to be run,” Castro said. “As soon as I saw an open hole, I took it. I fought for every yard I can and just helped the team. My O-line was the biggest thing.”
The win was bittersweet for Rodriguez, who was an assistant at Sobrato last season. While he was delighted to have his first ‘W’ as a Mustang under his belt, he also said it was hard to battle his former team.
“The kids earned it,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a little emotional; I know every single one of those guys over there; those are great kids. (Gilroy) fought hard…they deserved it.”
Bolino finished 9 for 23 with 125 yards. He also notched 29 on the ground. Darius Wheeler led the run game with 14 carries for 40 yards. Short was the leading receiver, pulling down two passes for 53 yards.
Despite the outcome, Bolino said he believes his team is starting to click. And as it preps for the El Toro Bowl against Live Oak, the focus will be on executing in the redzone. The two teams clash at 1:45 p.m. Sept. 19 at Sobrato (0-2). It’s the first time the annual contest will be played on the Bulldogs’ home field.
“It just comes down to simple execution,” Bolino said. “I don’t think we have to make any changes, a lot of things worked, it just came down to bad passes, maybe dropped balls. It’s simple things that happened that shouldn’t have that gave the game away.”
The Mustangs (1-1) will have the week off to recoup some injured players for their 7 p.m. contest Sept. 25 at Piedmont Hills. But just because they’ll be on a bye, doesn’t mean they’ll be taking it easy.
“We’ve got to work harder, some of us just need to condition more,” Castro said. “It’s a big game and we just can’t take it easy from here on out. We’ve just got to work harder.”
