GILROY — Looking for the No. 4 running back in California? Look no further, Gilroy.
Mustangs standout Brandon Boyd had his best game of the season on Sept. 27 against Gonzales — a 70-0 shutout — in which he picked up 304 yards on just 10 carries and scored five touchdowns in the game.
The senior RB has already surpassed his total from his breakout sophomore year (1,116 yards), rushing for 1,204 yards on 105 carries through just four games to boast his position from No.6 to No.4 in California according to MaxPreps.com. Boyd was also named the Cal-Hi Sports Athlete of the Week.
Boyd is leaps and bounds in front of his competition in the Monterey Bay League, with the next closest rusher trailing him by 493 yards. As the accolades continue to pile up Boyd is happy, but humbled.
“The credit is all due to the line and the wide receivers’ blocks,” Boyd said following the game. “I don’t want it to be the ‘Brandon Boyd Show’. I want to give all the credit to the linemen — that’s all I want.”
Boyd scored four times in the first half, helping the Mustangs (2-2) to a 43-0 lead at the break. His final TD was a 97-yard run with 7:30 left to play that gave the Mustangs their final score of the game.
Sophomore quarterback David Munoz was able to restore the balanced offense the Mustangs saw in weeks 1 and 2. He was 7 for 12 for 136 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Munoz’s showing led him to being named the Mustangs’ Offensive Player of the Week.
“He rebounded after having a horrible week the week before,” coach Brian Boyd said. “He looked phenomenal at practice yesterday — I think yesterday was his best practice he’s had. I think his confidence is building. …I think if he has confidence in what he’s doing and gets in a rhythm we’re going to be fine.”
Bubba Lara led the team in receiving, grabbing three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown that came just before halftime to put Gilroy up 50-0. Lara also had a pick 6 with two minutes left in the third, which he returned for 33 yards to make it 63-0 Mustangs.
Gilroy’s young defense was stellar once again, coming up with six sacks from six different players. Darius Alexander-Jones had one of those sacks and also forced a fumble. The Mustangs were able to recover three Gonzales fumbles in the game and held their opponent to just 64 yards of offense.
“We’ve been faster than pretty much everyone we’ve faced,” Brian Boyd said. “(Trevor) Bearden was pretty fast, but that was our eye opener for our kids and after that they really stepped it up. …Our defense has never been this good since I’ve been here.”
Gilroy had an idea of how to prepare for Gonzales, but this week’s matchup against Watsonville is clouded in mystery. It’s the first time in coach Brian Boyd’s four years with the Mustangs that he’s seeing the Wildcatz (2-2), but said his team continues to up the ante each week.
“We’re challenging the boys to shutout again,” Brian Boyd said. “We wouldn’t challenge them with those goals if we didn’t think they could achieve it. …We think we can achieve that if we do everything we need to do.”
The Catz are led by quarterback Nick Carrillo, who is 26 for 50 for 303 yards and has two touchdowns and two interceptions through four games. The Mustangs will also need to be wary of Dustin Rocha, the point leader for Watsonville who has 38 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and five receptions for 47 yards and touchdown in the air.
Gilroy is prepared to get the ball in the air this week as they are expecting to the Catz to mimic Sobrato’s effort. Watsonville requested film from the GHS-Sobrato game most likely because that was the only game Brandon Boyd was under 300 yards. The Mustangs won’t be surprised if Watsonville tries to do something differently defensively and are confident they will get the job done with their balanced offense.
The Mustangs and Catz will square off at 7:30 p.m. tonight at home for their first matchup of the Monterey Bay Pacific League. Brandon Boyd said that his team just needs to do two simple things to be successful this week.
“Our defense is playing outstanding; we got the shutout again tonight. That’s all we need,” the running back said after defeating Gonzales. “We need blocking and defense, that’s all we need.”
Gilroy
David Munoz — The Mustangs are expecting the Wildcatz to provide heavy run defense tonight, so they anticipate to have to switch to an aerial attack. Munoz had a stellar game last week against Gonzales, going 7 for 12 for 136 yards and three touchdown.
Julian Carabajal — The senior defensive linemen leads the league in tackles with 39. He’ll no doubt be looking to get a few more tonight as the Mustangs for the shutout once again.
Watsonville
Nick Carrillo — The Wildcatz quarterback is the team’s offensive leader, throwing for 303 yards and two touchdown so far this season.
Dustin Rocha — Watsonville may also take to the ground and utilize offensive Rocha, the running back who has 136 yards on 38 attempts and two touchdowns so far. Rocha has talented hands, nabbing five catches for 47 yards and touchdown through four games.
